Reporter wins 13 awards at state level

Last week members of The MSU Reporter attended the Minnesota Newspaper Association banquet. This banquet celebrates newspapers all over Minnesota, with awards handed out to college and city newspapers in a variety of categories. 

The Reporter took home 13 awards, five of those being first place.

In the editorial category The Reporter was awarded first and second place, covering topics of the Lincoln statue on campus and the celebration of Columbus Day. The design and layout of the website won second place with the general excellence of the newspaper winning third place. 

Staff writers of the newspaper took some awards home for their storytelling skills. News Director Julia Barton won third place in Investigative Reporting for her story on police education standards for Minnesota. Former sports editor Daniel McElroy was awarded first place in Sports Story for his coverage on the MSU hockey team and their advancement to the Frozen Four. Staff writer Ashley Opina took first place in Social Issues Story with her story discussing the controversy of the Lincoln statue on campus.

The Reporter photographer Mansoor Ahmad left the awards ceremony with six awards. He won first and second place for both Feature Photo and Sports Photo, and won second and third place for News Photo.

Ahmad was honored earlier in the school year with awards from the Associated Collegiate Press, a national organization that recognizes journalists and photojournalists throughout the country. In this competition, he was awarded first, second, ninth, and tenth place for his photos. Categories Ahmad placed in were Feature Photo, Sports Feature Photo, Hard/Breaking News Photo, and Environmental Portrait, respectively.