Newly sworn Superior firefighter Breena Kolquist, left, gives a kiss to her daughter, Letty, after getting her pin from her husband, Riley, during the Superior Fire Department Swearing In and Awards Ceremony at the Government Center in Superior on April 4, 2024.
Superior senior Kloe Zentkowski (13) runs out in the spotlight as she is announced before the Spartans game with Duluth East in Superior on Jan. 30, 2024.
Muddy water explodes off the ground while rain falls as Northwood-Solon Springs’ Tristan Groski dives head-first into home plate after the Green Eagles game with Flambeau was postponed due to rain in Minong on May 7, 2024.
Owner/handler Taylor Vohaska of Crystal Lake, Minnesota, shares a laugh with her border collie, Veyette, after competing at an all breed dog show at the Head of the Lakes Fairgrounds on Sept. 21, 2023.
From left, Superior Telegram editor Kristine Goodrich, photographer Jed Carlson, and sports reporter Reagan Hoverman celebrate after the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation Better Newspaper Contest awards ceremony Friday, March 7, at The Madison Concourse Hotel in Madison.
Superior Telegram photographer Jed Carlson, left, and sports reporter Reagan Hoverman hold up their first-place awards and the Weekly Newspaper of the Year trophy after the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation Better Newspaper Contest awards ceremony Friday, March 7, at The Madison Concourse Hotel in Madison.
Superior Telegram reporters Shelley Nelson, left, and Maria Lockwood, on Monday, March 10, with their first-place 2024 Better Newspaper Contest Awards.
MADISON
The Superior Telegram was recognized by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association as the 2024 Wisconsin Weekly Newspaper of the Year.
The Telegram was honored at the WNA convention Friday, March 7, in Madison.
The Newspaper of the Year recognition is based on awards received in the WNA Foundation’s 2024 Better Newspaper Contest. Points are determined by the number of awards received and the places earned. One weekly paper and one daily paper are honored annually.
The Telegram won 29 awards, including 13 first-place awards, earning the most points out of 105 participating newspapers.
For the third consecutive year, the Telegram also won Best in Division for earning the most award points in its circulation category.
The Telegram received the following first-place awards:
• Best sports pages: All sports staff
• Best headlines: All staff
• Audio storytelling: Dan Williamson and Maria Lockwood for the Archive Dive monthly history podcast
• Reporting on local education: Maria Lockwood, for a sampling of three stories: about financial challenges for the Superior School District, about the Superior High School Pledgemakers group’s anti-vaping advocacy, and about the resignation of a longtime Superior School Board member.
• Enterprise/interpretive reporting: Shelley Nelson, for a series of stories about efforts to limit youth access to vaping products.
• Environmental reporting: Shelley Nelson, for a story about plans for controlled burns on Wisconsin Point.
• General news story: Maria Lockwood, for a story about a former American Legion commander’s false claims about his military service.
• General news photo: Jed Carlson, for a photo of a new Superior firefighter and her family.
• Artistic photo: Jed Carlson, for a photo featuring Spartan basketball player Kloe Zentkowski.
• Sports feature story: Reagan Hoverman, for a story on retiring Superior head football coach Bob DeMeyer.
• Sports news story: Reagan Hoverman, for a story on the Solon Springs boys basketball team’s most successful season in school history.
• Sports feature photo: Jed Carlson, for a photo of Northwood-Solon Springs baseball player Tristan Groski diving into a muddy home plate.
• Best video: Dan Williamson, for his video of the Lake Superior Dragon Boat Festival.
The Telegram received the following second-place awards:
• General excellence: All staff
• All-around newspaper photography: All photography staff
• General news photo: Maria Lockwood, for a photo of the dog show at the fairgrounds.
• Sports action photo: Jed Carlson, for a photo of Northwestern baseball player Tori Kaufman.
• Visual storytelling: Dan Williamson and Clint Austin, for their coverage of the Lake Superior Dragon Boat Festival.
• Business coverage: Reporter Maria Lockwood, for sampling of stories, including on the Village Marketplace in Poplar,
the closing of Video Vision, and the Superior Business Improvement District’s Women in Business group.
• Best restaurant ad: Scott Blatchford and the advertising creative team for an ad for Keyport Lounge.
The Telegram received the following third-place awards:
• General news story: Shelley Nelson, for a story about resident concerns over plans to placement a sex offender in Gordon.
• Breaking news reporting: Shelley Nelson, for stories about a primary election ballot error in Summit that led the losing candidate to call for a new election.
• Sports news story: Reagan Hoverman, for coverage of Northwood/Solon Springs’ Division 4 state semifinal win.
• Business coverage: Shelley Nelson, for a sampling of stories, including Jeff Foster Trucking’s plans for a multimodal port facility, Downs Life Celebration Center’s new facility, and Fraser Industries’ expansion plans.
• Bill Payne Award: Scott Blatchford and the advertising creative team for an ad for the Douglas County Beef Improvement Association.
The Telegram received the following honorable mentions:
• Enterprise/interpretive reporting: Shelley Nelson, for stories about the staffing shortage at the Douglas County Jail.
• Localized national story: Shelley Nelson, for a series of stories about President Joe Biden’s visit to Superior to announce funding for a new Blatnik Bridge.
• Best use of color in an ad: Scott Blatchford and the advertising creative team for a VIP Pizza ad.
• Best small ad: Scott Blatchford and the advertising creative team for a discoverpc.NET ad.