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Kirkland Reporter wins 8 WNPA awards, including 3 first-place honors

Published 3:31 pm Monday, October 7, 2013

Kirkland Reporter Assistant Editor Matt Phelps won a first-place award for this photo that he took of Kirkland's Brynn Radke attempting to leap over the tag of the catcher from Canada during the opening game of the Junior Softball World Series in 2012.
Kirkland Reporter Assistant Editor Matt Phelps won a first-place award for this photo that he took of Kirkland's Brynn Radke attempting to leap over the tag of the catcher from Canada during the opening game of the Junior Softball World Series in 2012.

The Kirkland Reporter earned eight awards – including three first-place honors – in the 2013 Washington Better Newspaper Contest.

The awards were presented Friday during a dinner at the 126th annual Washington Newspaper Publishers Association convention in Olympia

The Kirkland Reporter won the following awards:

• First place: Investigative Reporting, “Elderly couple files fraud suit against Kirkland Councilman Bob Sternoff,” by Editor Carrie Rodriguez, Assistant Editor Matt Phelps and Raechel Dawson, reporter.

• First place: Best General Feature Story – Short, “Kirkland woman travels across country to find family,” by Dawson.

• First place: Color Sports Photo – Action, “Kirkland host team for the Junior Softball World Series advances to semifinals,” taken by Phelps.

• Second place: Best News Story – Short, “Two pit bulls attack, injure two women near Kirkland school,” by Dawson.

• Second place: Best Crime and Court Story, “Remains of an adult male found near Kenmore and Kirkland border,” by Phelps.

• Second place: Best Sports News Story, “YouTube video, incident leads to division in Kirkland American Little League community,” by Rodriguez and Phelps.

• Third place: Best Health or Medical Story, “Kirkland woman battles anorexia, bulimia with baked goods,” by Dawson.

• Third place: Best General Feature Story – Short, “Kirkland community celebrates little boy’s life with Pinwheel Day,” by Dawson.

The annual contest recognizes excellence in editorial, advertising, photography and service to communities by members of WNPA. This year, 78 newspapers submitted nearly 1,200 entries in the news category and nearly 400 entries in the photography category.

Sound Publishing newspapers earned 218 awards overall, including 75 first-place honors.

The contest was judged by members of the Tennessee Press Association.