The South Dakota Newspaper Association (SDNA) announced the results of its annual Better Newspapers Contest on Thursday, April 29. Garretson Gazette writer Carrie Moritz received First Place and Third Place recognition for excellent writing in the Weeklies Under 900 division. Garrick Moritz and Dave Baumeister both received recognition for their photographic work.
Normally, 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. This year the convention was postponed due to the pandemic. However, that did not stop the contest, which was judged by colleagues in other states.
C. Moritz received a first-place win for her story, "A Frank Discussion about Racism in the 21st Century" in the Best Feature Story: Non-Profile category and a third-place win for Best Local Government story on her coverage of the city council’s decisions regarding COVID mitigation at the beginning of the pandemic. In the comments of the story regarding racism, the judges wrote, “Timely topic. Pertinent data and personal experiences make the reader think. Time was also given to both sides of the issue.”
The story was run in the June 25, 2020 issue of the Gazette, and covered discussions from the Blue Dragon Podcast with local business owner Omar Thornton and Sheriff Mike Walsh of the Minnhehaha County Sheriff's Department and included extensive research about the issue of racism and police brutality.
"I wish to thank Omar and Officer Walsh for being so willing to speak about the issue, and Tyler for his compassionate interviewing abilities which made much of this story possible," said C. Moritz.
The issue of racism and police brutality has been at the forefront of many minds as the United States wrestled with the fallout from the death of George Floyd, a Minneapolis man who was pinned down with a knee on his neck for nine and a half minutes by Police Officer Derek Chauvin. Chauvin was recently found guilty by a jury on three charges, second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.
The story, "Two emergency meetings at the City: the COVID-19 Virus continues to impact our lives" was run in the April 2, 2020 issue and won third place in Best Local Government Story. This is the second year in a row that C. Moritz has placed in the top three in local government coverage.
Baumeister received a second-place win for his photo, "Taking Social Distancing to New Heights," which depicted a young lady on the cliffs at Palisades State Park and was run in the April 30, 2020 issue. Judges' comments were, "I like the composition and subtext of the photo. It shows the need for people to be out in the world but still remain isolated. The person sitting atop the rock pillars is both a literal and metaphoric representation of this."
G. Moritz received a second-place win for his photo series, "Controlled Burn," a series of photographs taken at the Todd and Mary Tilberg homestead last fall and run in the December 10, 2020 issue. The homestead had provided valuable training to the Garretson Fire Department for several months, and culminated in the controlled burn. Judges' comments were, "The composition of these photos appear to be well thought through. The photographer used basic photographic concepts to capture great patterns and colors within the flames."
"Though we’re a small operation here at the Gazette, we’re proud of the work we do, and we’re happy and proud to be recognized for it by our peers," said G. Moritz.
He continued, "We’re also extremely proud of, happy for, and maybe just a little jealous of our neighbors to the South in Brandon, as Jill Meier and the Brandon Valley Journal cleaned up like Tom Hanks at the Oscars again this year, with several full sweeps in this year’s contest! Congratulations!"
