Mid-America Publishing staff were recognized for their achievements at the annual Iowa Newspaper Association Convention and Trade Show. Pictured are Matt Grohe, Rob Maharry, Monica Edeker, Pam DeVries, Ashley Billings, Toni Venteicher, Christina Risting, (sitting) Bethany Carson, Pia Hovenga, and Danielle Potkonak.

The newspapers made the news as industry professionals across the state attended the annual Iowa Newspaper Association Convention and Trade Show.

The three-day convention kicked off on Wednesday, February 6 with a legislative meet-and-greet where reporters and legislators from across the state met with each other to socialize in a rare non-work setting.

On Thursday, the convention really began as newspaper staff flocked to the Des Moines Marriott for an afternoon of educational panels that encompassed different aspects of the industry. The panels continued on Friday, concluding the convention with an award banquet for the winners of the Better Newspaper Contest.

The convention was a learning experience for Mid- America Publishing’s President, Pam DeVries. Though DeVries has been with the company for a long time, this is her first year as company president and first time attending the INA convention.

“I enjoyed it,” said DeVries, who spent the convention listening to speakers talk about editorial practices, online presence, and the importance of the First Amendment.

“It was really inspiring considering the job that we all have to do, providing information to our readers,” said DeVries.

DeVries brought several Mid-America Publishing employees with her to the convention this year, each there to network with their contemporaries and learn about their specific area of the newspaper industry, from news writing to design to advertising.

“At the trade show you can talk with all the exhibitors and see if they have any new information for us,” said graphic designer Monica Edeker. “We learned a lot about how to use our programs to speed up production.”

Beyond job specific advice, the various programming offered encouragement of a philosophy that can be applied to any aspect of daily life.

“The message was that we can do anything we set our minds to, but we have to work to get where we are” said Edeker.

“I was very happy that I got to go,” said Bethany Carson, editor of the Butler County Tribune Journal and Clarksville Star. “It’s a good experience. You learn things and talk with a lot of interesting people.”

At the various panels, Carson partook in discussions about community journalism, lede writing, and how to write award winning stories, a topic she’s become familiar with as her work placed for several awards during this year’s INA contest, including agricultural and business coverage, special sections, editorial, education coverage and best news story.

Carson was far from the only Mid-America Publishing employee to earn recognition. Mid-America Publishing newspapers were recognized across the board for advertising, news coverage, design, photography, and more.

“We got a nice pile of awards at our table,” said Carson. “It’s kind of neat to see what everybody did.”

Of particular note, Rob Maharry of the Eldora newspapers received the Harrison “Skip” Weber Investigative Reporting Award for his work reporting on the environmental impact of large scale farming.

“I was very proud of Rob,” said DeVries. “I know he worked hard to gather the facts and present them to the public. It was a big honor for him.”

Whether earned individually or for a paper as a whole, the awards are treated as an accomplishment for the entire company.

“It’s not just one person, It’s a whole team. I’m just incredibly proud of our staff,” said DeVries. “I think the awards, while they’re named for one person or paper, reflects on the entire team that we have.”

Full List of INA Awards: 

Harrison “Skip” Weber Investigative Reporting

Robert Maharry

General Excellence

Weekly I

Third Place- Clarksville Star

Best Editorial Page

Weekly I

First Place - Sheffield Press

Best Front Page

Weekly I

Second Place- Rockwell Pioneer Enterprise

Best Feature Page

Weekly I

Third Place Sheffield Press

Coverage of Gov’t and Politics

Weekly I

First Place- Clarksville Star

Third Place – Butler County Tribune

Weekly III

Second Place – Grundy Register

Coverage of Education

Weekly I

First Place – Eagle Grove Eagle

Third Place – Allison Butler Co. Tribune-Journal

Coverage of Agriculture

Weekly I

First Place – Clarksville Star

Weekly II

Second Place – Graphic Advocate

Coverage of Business

Weekly I

First Place – Clarksville Star

Coverage of Court & Crime

Weekly I

Third Place- Sigourney News Review

Best Special Section – Editorial

Weekly I

First Place – Clarksville Star

Best Headline Writing

Weekly I

First Place – Sheffield Press

Weekly III

Third Place – Hampton Chronicle

Best use of Graphics

Weekly I

First Place – Sheffield Press

Weekly III

Second Place – Hampton Chronicle

Best News Story

Weekly I

Third Place – Clarksville Star – Bethany Carson

Weekly II

Third Place – Buffalo Center Tribune – Andrew Shaw

Best Personality Feature Story

Weekly II

First Place – Garner Leader - Curran McLaughlin

Best Sports Story

Weekly II

Second Place – Parkersburg Eclipse News-Review – Jake Ryder

Best Sports Feature

Weekly I

Second Place – Allison Butler Co. Tribune-Journal – Kristi Nixon

Best Series

Weekly I

Third Place – Clarksville Star – Bethany Carson

Best News Photo

Weekly I

Third Place – Clarksville Star – Chris Barragy

Best Breaking News Photo

Weekly III

First Place – Ida Grove Ida County Courier – Amy Forbes

Best News Feature Photo

Weekly III

Second Place – Clear Lake Mirror Reporter – Chris Barragy

Advertising Best Ad Featuring Grocery, Food or Entertainment

Weekly I

First Place – Aurelia Star – Becky Bruning – Booze & Dues

Weekly II

First Place – Graphic Advocate- Toni Venteicher, Danielle Potkonak - Burds St. Patrick’s Day

Second Place - Garner Leader -Tayna Beyer- Job at 18

Weekly III

Third Place – Hampton Chronicle – Monica Edeker – Best ad Feature Grocery: Fareway

Advertising Best Ad Featuring Financial, Insurance or Other Professional Service

Weekly II

Third Place – Graphic Advocate – Toni Venteicher, Dannielle Potkonak – Calhourn County Veteran’s Affairs

Advertising Best Ad Featuring Automotive, Boats, Aircraft, Tires, Gasoline, Etc

Weekly II

First Place – Graphic Advocate – Toni Venteicher, Monica Edeker – Champion Anniversary

Weekly III

Second Place – Grundy Center Register – Clint Poock, Tanya Beyer – Big Finish 2017

Best Ad Featuring Miscellaneous

Weekly I

Second Place – Holstein Advance – Becky Bruning – Tigers, Wolves, Bears and Webelos Oh My!

Weekly II

Third Place – Eldora Hardin Co. Index – Fourth of July Salute

Advertising Best Special Section Advertising

Weekly I

Second Place – Aurelia Star – Becky Bruning- Ho-Ho-Hometown Holidays

Weekly II

First Place – Parkersburg Eclipse-News-Review – Dave Vallery and Danielle Potkonak – Butler County Visitor’s Guide

Advertising Best Ad Series or Campaign Featuring Any Service or Merchandise Category

Weekly III

First Place – Ida Grove Ida County Courier – Toni Venteicher, Jenny Seuentjens – Johnson’s Propane

Advertising Best Ad Idea for a Community Promotion or Event

Weekly I

First Place – New Sharon Sun – Amie Van Patten, Tanya Beyer – Southern Iowa Fair & Exposition

Weekly III

First Place – Hampton Chronicle – Pia Hovenga, Monica Edeker – Franklin County Visitor’s Guide

Advertising Best Ad Designer

Weekly I

Second Place – Aurelia Star – Becky Bruning

Weekly II

First Place – Lake City Graphic-Advocate – Monica Edeker

Best of Class Advertising

Weekly I

First Place – New Sharon Sun – Southern Iowa Fair & Exposition

Weekly II

First Place – Parkersburg Eclipse – News – Review – Butler County Visitor’s Guide

Third Place – Lake City Graphic Advocate – Champion Anniversary

Weekly III

Third Place – Hampton Chronicle – Franklin County Visitor’s Guide