Newsleaders Editor Mike Knaak won a first-place award for editorial writing from the Minnesota Newspaper Association.
The award was in the Editorial Portfolio category with competition among the state’s more than 250 weekly newspapers.
The entry included a collection of five editorials published in the past year. The award recognizes overall excellence in locally written editorials and sustained quality as reflected by a broad sample of the newspaper’s editorials. Judges consider the editorials’ significance to the community, sound reasoning, power to influence public opinion and clarity.
There were more than 4,100 entries in all contest categories. The awards were announced Jan. 24 in Bloomington.