Republican pulls in eight state press awards

    Staff at the Imperial Republican were recognized for its news and advertising efforts in the annual Nebraska Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest.
    The Imperial-based newspaper earned eight awards for entries from 2018, five in news/editorial divisions and another three for staff efforts in creative advertising.
    In the news/editorial divisions, the Republican earned a first, two seconds and two thirds.
    Those included:
    First place for editorial page. Newspapers were given three specific months in 2018, and entered one editorial page from a week of their choice in each month. Judges wrote, “A variety of voices on issues at many levels. Good presentation.”  
    In the sportswriting division, Russ Pankonin’s feature story on Lyndsy Schultz’s efforts in the 2018 Boston Marathon was a second place winner. The story expounded on the Imperial native’s training schedule and how she battled the rainy, cold conditions in last year’s 26.2 mile race.
    Pankonin also took second in news photography for a popcorn harvest photo snapped last October of Jim Haarberg unloading a combine full of grain. The judge wrote, “I can just hear the corn spilling; it puts you in the moment.”
    Jan Schultz took third for her editorial last November questioning action by the Chase County Schools board of education and its new policy that limits public discussion at board meetings only during a “public comment” time. She feared it was a “slippery slope,” leading to potentially more restrictions.
    Co-Publisher Lori Pankonin earned a third place in a personal column written in January 2018. Titled, “How to chop onions without crying,” she expounded on her efforts to cook en masse, preparing a month’s worth of meals which included the tearful task of onion-cutting.
    In the advertising area, the Republican staff earned a trio of thirds for reader interaction, creative ad writing and for its classified ad section.

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