Lake County Leader claims 15 statewide newspaper awards
Scot Heisel's photo of Mission Bulldogs football player Cedrick McDonald for an article about McDonald's efforts to raise awareness of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People won a first-place award for portrait photography. (Scot Heisel/Lake County Leader)
The Lake County Leader had a strong showing at the 2021 Montana Newspaper Association awards ceremony held June 19 at Big Sky.
The Leader collected 15 awards, all in writing and photography categories, in competition with other weekly newspapers of a similar size. Awards are for work completed in 2020.
Editor Scot Heisel, who joined the Leader in September, won five first-place awards, including Best News Story (CSKT leaders say ‘Big Sky’ producers exploiting tribes) and Best Sports Story (Speaking for the silenced). Heisel also submitted first- and third-place entries for Best Sports Feature Story and shared a third-place award for Breaking News Coverage with Scott Shindledecker of the Daily Inter Lake.
Heisel's photo of St. Ignatius football player Cedrick McDonald, which accompanied his first-place sports story, also earned an award for Best Portrait Photo. His column about the passing of former UM sports announcer and Polson resident Mick Holien (One of the greats signs off) won first place in the category of Best Sports and Outdoors Column Writing.
Leader reporter Carolyn Hidy took home five awards — three second-place and a pair of third-place entries.
Hidy took second and third in the Best Feature Story category for an article about a Valley View farm producing sheep milk, and another about Lake County Deputy Prosecutor Molly Owen, who specialized in domestic violence cases.
Her series of articles on the Today’s Achievers, Tomorrow’s Leaders high school award program, sponsored by the Leader, took second place for Best Education Coverage.
Whitefish Pilot reporter Whitney England, who contributed to the Leader on a part-time basis for the first half of 2020, won three second-place awards for work published in the Leader. One of her awards was for Best Sports Feature Story, giving the Leader a clean sweep in the category. She also won for sports writing and outdoors writing.
Following is a list of the Leader’s awards and links to the winning entries.
Best News Story
1st place: CSKT leaders say ‘Big Sky’ producers exploiting tribes — Scot Heisel
Best Sports Story
1st place: Speaking for the silenced — Scot Heisel
2nd place: Catching on: Bulldogs softball star signs with Providence — Whitney England
Best Sports Feature Story
1st place: Turning the corner in Pablo — Scot Heisel
2nd place: Riding to the top — Whitney England
3rd: Speaking for the silenced — Scot Heisel
Best Portrait Photo
1st place: Cedrick McDonald MMIP — Scot Heisel
Best Sports and Outdoors Column Writing
1st place: One of the greats signs off — Scot Heisel
Best Education Coverage
2nd place: Today’s Achievers, Tomorrow’s Leaders series — Carolyn Hidy
Best Feature Story
2nd place: Valley View farm finds niche in sheep milk — Carolyn Hidy
3rd: Domestic violence prosecutor focusing on victims, improving outcomes — Carolyn Hidy
Best Lifestyle Coverage
2nd place: Mission farmer works through CSA to make local food accessible — Carolyn Hidy
Mark Henckel Outdoor Writing Award
2nd place: Nonprofit ski patrol keeps Blacktail skiers safe — Whitney England
3rd: Author Bryce Andrews sees predators from both sides — Carolyn Hidy
Best Breaking News Coverage
3rd: Hesse sentenced to 80 years for Ronan man’s beating death — Scot Heisel and Scott Schindledecker