Eden Prairie Local News (EPLN) received awards in three categories from the Minnesota chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) at this week’s awards banquet, including first-place recognition in the category of State Politics/Government Reporting.
EPLN received second-place awards in the categories of Local Politics/Government Reporting and Best Interview.
The winning entry in the State Politics/Government Reporting focused on coverage of the 2024 Minnesota House District 49 election. The entry included the stories “Get to know the candidates in Eden Prairie’s House Districts 49A and 49B ahead of Nov. 5 election” by Stuart Sudak, “MN House 49A and 49B candidates air their views at forum” by Joanna Werch Takes, and “Additional Q&A with Stacy Bettison,” with reporting by Mark Weber.
Judges’ comments called the stories included in the entry “an essential public service.”
EPLN’s second-place award in the Local Politics/Government Reporting category was for an entry that included EPLN’s 2024 Voter Guide and the stories “EP makes casting a ballot accessible to all” by Lea Jacobson and “Eden Prairie’s campaign sign rules: What voters and candidates need to know” by Mike Wilkinson. The award’s recognition went to EPLN Staff in recognition of the multiple contributors to the 2024 Voter Guide.
EPLN also received a second-place award in the Best Interview category for “St. Andrew book group leader closes a chapter” by Joanna Werch Takes.
All of EPLN’s awards came in the division of small — less than 50,000 subscribers — print and online media. The Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists (MNSPJ) chapter reported receiving over 500 submissions to this year’s Page One Awards contest. The contest judged work published in 2024. A full list of winners is available on the MNSPJ website.
The awards were presented at a ceremony at Nicollet Island Pavilion in Minneapolis on June 26, with a keynote presentation on mindfulness by New York Times reporter Ernesto Londoño. The ceremony also honored newsrooms celebrating significant anniversaries, including the 90-year-old Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder and WCCO Radio and the Rochester Post Bulletin, both 100.
While accepting the recognition, Post Bulletin editor Jeff Pieters read an excerpt from an editor’s note published in the Post Bulletin’s first issue, in March 1925. The note indicated the paper’s mission was “to serve the local public interest.”
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