Marshall Independent advertising manager Karen Beebout, sports editor Jake McNeil, and staff writer Samantha Davis held up certificates for awards from the Minnesota Newspaper Association’s Better Newspaper Contest. The Marshall Independent received a total of seven awards, including recognitions for design and photography, sports reporting, arts and entertainment story, and advertising design.

MARSHALL — The Marshall Independent was among the Minnesota newspapers recognized in the Minnesota Newspaper Association’s 2024-25 Better Newspaper Contest.

The Independent received a total of seven awards, which were presented Jan. 29 at the MNA’s annual convention. Among multi-day newspapers with a circulation of 3,000 to 7,000, the Independent received honors for typography and design, use of photography, sports reporting, arts and entertainment story, special section, institutional advertising, and use of color in advertising.

The typography and design award recognized the look and overall use of type in the Marshall Independent, while the photography award looked at the use of photos in the entire newspaper. Judging was based on selected editions of the Independent from the past year. The institutional advertising and use of color in advertising awards looked at the design of advertisements submitted to the contest by the Independent.

The sports reporting award also looked at the overall quality of the Independent’s sports section. Judging was based on a selection of editions of the Independent from different dates over the past year.

Marshall Independent reporter Samantha Davis was recognized for her arts and entertainment story profiling Blake Schmitz, a Currie farmer also pursuing a country music career. Judges’ comments said the story “really gave readers a great glimpse of (an) interesting individual, and his life and ambition.”

The Independent was recognized for the special section “Celebrating Success: Honoring Southwest Minnesota’s Champions.” The section celebrated the state, section and conference championship teams in southwest Minnesota high school sports. Judges’ comments said the section’s stories were ones that parents and students would keep in their memorabilia.