On Friday, May 13, the South Dakota Newspaper Association held its annual Better Newspapers Contest. South Dakota newspapers received recognition in several categories, including best layout and design, best feature profile, and best photo series. Three Garretson Gazette writers received recognition for their work, with two first place, two second place, and one third place award.
The results of the contest are released during SDNA’s yearly convention, a time of continuing education and networking for the newspaper publishers, owners, and staff of South Dakota newspapers. Judges consisted of colleagues in Washington state, who evaluated entries from small weeklies, large weeklies, and dailies.
Carrie Moritz took home two first place awards and one second place in the categories Best Feature-Profile, Best Sports Reporting, and Best Local Government Story, respectively.
The profile was on world-renowned photographer and local resident Robb Long, published in the September 2, 2021 issue. In that article, C. Moritz explored Long's achievements, photographic history, and journey from Richmond, Virginia to Garretson.
The sports reporting that caught the judges' eye was published on November 24, 2021, and covered the Garretson High School volleyball's play at the State Tournament. In this article, C. Moritz looked not only at the history of Lady Dragon volleyball, but covered each game from the State tournament in detail.
The judges were complimentary of the use of history, remarking, "Great story telling. Liked the background on the team's recent history to provide context for the second-place finish."
The article which garnered second place in Best Local Government Story was titled, "Winging It, residents make the case for chickens to be allowed back in city limits!" This is the second time Moritz has taken home an award for her government reporting. In this article published on November 11, 2021, Garretson residents worked with the city council to re-build a section of the animal ordinance that pertained to fowl, a long-contested ban that didn't make sense to residents and was overturned at the December 2021 meeting. The judges appreciated the coverage, stating it was "A topic of great debate for small towns."
Publisher and Editor Garrick Moritz was recognized with a second-place award for Best Feature-Non-Profile in his coverage of the booby trap disarmed at the Garretson Museum. The article, which was published on November 18, 2021, followed Historical Society president Bruce Brown and Mike's Lock & Key owner Mike Meinders as they discovered and subsequently removed a tear gas trap in the old bank vault door. The judges appreciated the conversational tone of the story, which allowed the two participants to outline how the trap was made, how it was removed, and what its consequences would be if it had been released.
County Correspondent Dave Baumeister was awarded third place in Local Government Reporting, something that came as a bit of a surprise to him as he initially thought he didn't have any articles of merit in 2021. To prove his perception false, the article outlining the cooperation between newly-installed County Auditor Ben Kyte and County Treasurer Kris Swanson was recognized. Baumeister has been covering Minnehaha County news for the Gazette for the past four years. His weekly editorial column, published in the Minnehaha Messenger and named "Nobody Asked Me," was awarded first place in Best Editorial Writing.
At the same convention, G. Moritz was voted by the members of the association to be SDNA President for 2022-23. (See article here).
