MARSHALL — The Marshall Independent received a total of eight Better Newspaper Contest awards Thursday, at the Minnesota Newspaper Association’s annual convention. The Independent received second place in the General Excellence Award category for multi-day newspapers with a circulation of up to 5,000. The awards the Independent received also cover advertising, design, photography and business coverage.

“It’s a credit to the great staff we have at the Independent that we received these awards,” said Grant Gibbons, publisher of the Independent. “The General Excellence award is one we are very proud of,” he said. It means the Independent ranks among the best newspapers in the state.

The advertising awards also show the quality of the work the Independent’s staff does, Gibbons said.

“We deliver great results for our advertisers,” he said.

All the awards the Independent received were in the category for multi-day newspapers with circulations of up to 5,000. Submissions in each category came from newspapers published in September 2021 through August 2022.

In addition to the General Excellence award, the Independent won second place for its Classified Advertising section, and third place in the Typography and Design category for multi-day papers with a circulation of up to 5,000.

Independent editor Mike Lamb won first place in the Business Story category for his February 8 story, “Beef Without the Bull.”

Mild Du was awarded second place in the Photography — Feature Photo category, for her photos for the Aug. 2 story “Tiny Inventions.” The judge’s comments said Du’s photo had “terrific composition” and captured great facial expressions.

In advertising and sales, Karen Beebout won both first and third place in the Use of Color in Advertising category. The judge’s comments said Beebout’s use of color helped evoke emotions and tell a story in her advertisements. Bette Zinnel won second place for Best Advertisement, for the “Honoring our Heroes” Bisbee Plumbing & Heating ad. The contest judge’s comments praised both the ad design and its message.

“We’re very proud of our staff, and we’re delighted to be able to provide a really good local newspaper for our readers and advertisers,” Gibbons said.