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WENATCHEE — The Newport Miner won second place in General Excellence in the 3,400 to 6,499 circulation group category of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association’s 2025 Better Newspaper contest. The recognition was one of 23 awards Miner staffers received.
The contest awards were presented Oct. 4 in Wenatchee at the WNPA annual conference.
Judges from Maryland, Delaware and District of Columbia decided the awards. “Pleasing layout, catchy ledes and interesting images,” they said of the General Excellence award. “Design is clean and not too crowded.”
The Miner’s winter Voice of the Pend Oreille River Valley 2024 won third in the special sections category.
Miner Newspaper publisher/owner Michelle Nedved was happy with the results.
“I think this might be a record for The Miner. Our staff is really on top of their game and I could not be prouder of them,” Nedved said.
Miner editor Don Gronning received three firstplace awards. “Call saves man from burning house” won for breaking news, “Monasmith wraps up 40-year legal career” won for personality profile long and “New wrestling coach retired MMA fighter” won for sports personality profile.
Miner reporter Gabrielle Feliciano won two firstplace awards. “County’s only marijuana retailer changes with industry” was the top health or medical story. “‘There’s a need here’” about a driver’s education school won for best business news story.
Murrow News Fellow Sophia Aldous won first place for her headline “The incredible, edible (and pricey) egg” in the news headline division.
Miner freelancer Jason Duchow took top place in the sports action photo category for his picture of a Newport girls’ basketball player battling for a loose ball.
Former Miner staffer Greg Hitchcock’s story “Korean War veteran gets his Purple Heart, finally” took first in the general feature story, long division.
Miner publisher Michelle Nedved took second for her editorial “My family loves the county fair.” She also took second for her special sections cover for the Pend Oreille Valley Visitor Guide. Nedved was awarded third place for her ad Pend Oreille Cannabis in the single advertiser, smaller than a half page division.
Gronning won three second-place awards. “Cougars growing accustomed to people” won second as an environmental story, “Idaho Medicaid cuts, potential national cuts threaten hospital care” won second for a business news story and “Cusick student sets sights on becoming a doctor” won second as lifestyle feature story. He also took a third-place award for the “Hospital looking to open daycare” story in the health or medical category.
Feliciano won second place awards for “Newport volunteer fire department disbands after 100 years” in historical feature story and “Priest River Animal Rescue at capacity” in the animal feature story category. She won third place in the education story category for “‘That interest just sparked’” about the Kalispel Career Training Center and third place in the business feature category for “Meet the siblings behind these iconic local businesses” about the Naccarato family.
Aldous won a third place for her “Be patient and prepare with county winter road maintenance policy” in the news story short category.
