At the Iowa Newspaper Association awards banquet on Friday evening, February 3, Mid-America Publishing Corporation collected 35 individual awards.

            In all, the company collected 10 first place honors.

            The (Rockwell City-Lake City) Graphic-Advocate finished in a tie for seventh overall in the Newspaper of the Year competition with 49 points. The overall winner, the Des Moines Register, collected 127 points. The points are generated by finishing first, second, or third in your respective class categories.

            “I couldn’t be more proud of our entire staff at Mid-America,” said President/CEO Ryan Harvey. “Without every member of our staff, no matter the position you hold in the company, we can’t be successful. As our speaker said in the Friday morning kickoff, each of us is a piece to the puzzle. If one piece is missing or not fully committed to making the company as a whole successful, then we fail.”

            “With that said, regardless of the awards, our company success is predicated on the work we do each and every day for our clients and readers,” Harvey added. “If we can maximize what we do every day and provide a product of the highest standards, our rewards will be repaid in spades.”

            “I congratulate each and every one of you on your successes,” Harvey added. “It was a great way to end my year as President of the Iowa Newspaper Association. There’s no greater thrill than to hand one of my fellow employees a plaque or to watch them collect the top prizes.”

            Here’s a run down of the awards earned:

-       The Graphic-Advocate claimed first place in the general excellence for Weekly Class I.

-       In Best of Advertising, the Graphic-Advocate also collected first and third place in the Best in Class Ads.

-       Monica Edeker, of Hampton, collected first place honors in the Weekly Class 1 division for best ad designer. Edeker, collected the award after submitting several designs pertaining to Champion Chrysler and Champion of Carroll ads.

-       Sara Paulsen, of Hampton, took third in the Weekly 2 division for best ad designer. Paulson claimed the honors for her work on the Calmar Courier.

-       In the best ad featuring agriculture, the Graphic-Advocate collected first place with a 50th anniversary ad for Napa. This ad, finished third overall in the best of class advertising competition.

-       Mid-America swept the field in the Best Ad Idea for a Community Promotion or Event category. The Graphic-Advocate claimed top honors with its homecoming week 2016 ad. The ad, designed by Danielle Potkonak of Parkersburg, also claimed the top honors in the Best of Class Advertising. Jennifer Lubka’s ad for the Postville Herald claimed second place while Kim Demory’s Jam the Gym ad took third for the Eagle Grove Eagle.

-       The Graphic-Advocate took second and third in the Best Ad Series or Campaign featuring and Service of Merchandise Category. The pair of series submitted featured Champion Chrysler.

-       In the best special section advertising category, the Postville Herald claimed third for its holiday greetings section.

-       In the best ad featuring miscellaneous, the Buffalo Center Tribune earned second place for a Buffalo Center Ambulance ad.

-       For the best ad featuring automotive category, the Graphic-Advocate took first and third with a pair of Champion ads. While the Grundy Register took second in the weekly class 2 category for a Rouse Motors campaign.

-       For the best ad featuring furniture, furnishings, appliances, or hardware, the Graphic-Advocate took second with a Lake City Hardware ad featuring Valspar paint.

-       The Buffalo Center Tribune claimed a first place honor for its Buffalo Center Ambulance Brunch ad in the Best Ad featuring Grocery, Food, or Entertainment. The Graphic-Advocate earned third in the same category for its No Tricks! Our Treats! Ad.

-       In the Best Photo Category, Kim Demory of the Eagle Grove Eagle earned first and third in Weekly 1 division. Demory used a photo spread for a mock disaster drill. The third place entry was a photo series of the senior class of 2017 and the incoming kindergarteners for the graduating class of 2029.

-       The Graphic-Advocate claimed second place in the Best Series category. Erin Sommers wrote a series of stories on pediatric cancer research.

-       The Calmar Courier earned third place in the Weekly 2 excellence in editorial writing category. Mike Hohenbrink’s efforts received high regards from the judges.

-       Kim Demory took the top spot in the Best Personality Feature Story.

-       The Keota Eagle claimed the top spot for the Best website in the Weekly 1 category.

-       The Graphic-Advocate earned second in the Best Use of Graphics.

-       The Hampton Chronicle earned a third place finish in the Weekly 3 category for best headline writing.

-       The Hampton Chronicle collected a third place finish for its Viva Iowa product. The paper received high marks for its diversity and layout.

-       The Pioneer Enterprise finished second in Total Newspaper Design. The paper received high marks for its clean, easy to read design

-       The Graphic-Advocate claimed first place in a series of articles dealing with coverage of courts and crime.

-       The Graphic-Advocate finished second in coverage of agriculture.

-       The Graphic-Advocate finished second in coverage of education.

-       The Calmar Courier finished second in coverage of education.

-       The Graphic-Advocate finished second in coverage of local government and politics.

-       The Grundy Register finished third in coverage of local government and politics in the Weekly 2 category.

-       The Sheffield Press finished second in the Weekly 1 category for best front page.