What the?? City Beat wins award?

Yes, it's true. Someone out there likes us. Specifically someone in Montana who agreed to be a judge for the North Dakota Newspaper Association. That someone decided that my series on the proposed Indian casino in Grand Forks, which I worked on with my buddy Susanne Nadeau, was worth of first place among newspapers in the state with 12,000-plus circulation.

I think our research on the impact of Indian casinos near Thief River Falls and Devils Lake gave us a nice boost. (Note that the link goes somewhere else. Looks like The Herald doesn't have it on the Web site any more.)

Besides Suzie, I'd have to give credit to my friend and boss Jaime DeLage for giving us the story idea.

If you're thinking this is an interesting juxtaposition with the previous mea culpa, mea maxima culpa post, you're right. Some days you get the bear. Some days the bear gets you.

Not to get too big an ego, I should mention that my colleagues also brought home a couple of blue ribbons as well due to the fine judgement of some other Montanans.

My buddy Kirsten Stromsodt won first in the standing news front category, for which the Herald achieved a sweep!

Opinion page editor Tom Dennis won first places for an editorial and for an editorial page. My wonderful, wonderful boss, publisher and editor Mike Jacobs won first for a personal column. The Herald's favorite funny guy, Ryan Bakken won first for sports feature. Steve Lee, owner of the messiest desk at the Herald, won first for ag coverage. My other boss Mike Brue and Kirsten won first for best headline.

The Herald also won some other second and third place awards, but we only got plaques for first place so we'll have to hold off boasting for now.

Update 4:16 p.m., 5/8/06: The City Beat spent the weekend celebrating so was not able to bring you an update until now.

Here's more of who won: Elisa Rinehart, Second for Feature Reporting, Third for Reporting and Third for Spot News; Herald staff, Third for Reporting Series, Third for Special News Section and Third for Overall Design Excellence; Rona Johnson, Third for Humorous Personal Column and Honorable Mention for Feature Reporting; Ryan Bakken, Second for Humorous Personal Column; Ronaand Bakken, Second for Spot News; Stephen J. Lee, Second for Feature Reporting Series and Third for Government Reporting Series; me and Suzie, Honorable Mention for Government Reporting; Paulette Tobin, Third for Government Reporting; Kevin Fee, Second for Sports Page and Third for Sports Column; Fee and Paulette, Honorable Mention for Sports Reporting Series; Brad Schlossman, Honorable Mention for Sports Reporting; Greg DeVillers, Second Place for Sports Reporting Series; Tom Dennis, Honorable Mention for Editorial (and also First; see above); Mike Jacobs, Second for Editorial; Leann Weber, Honorable Mention for Standing News Front; Janelle Vonasek, Third for Standing News Front and Third for Front Page Design; Jodi Sherman and Bobbi Berberich, Second for Standing News Front; Vonasek and Berberich, Second and Third for Section/Feature Fronts; Kirsten, Second for Front Page Design; Dorreen Yellow Bird, Second for Personal Column (Serious); Mike Brue, Second for Headline; Kirsten and Brue, First for Headline; Eric Hylden, First for Outdoor Recreation Photo, First for News Photo, Second for Sports Photo, Second for Feature Photo and Third for Pictorial; John Stennes, First for Portrait Photo, Second for Spot News Photo and Third for Sports Photo; Jackie Lorentz, First for Sports Photo, First for Spot News, Second for Outdoor Recreation Photo, Second for Feature Photo; Tom Dutcher, First for Best Web Site; Berberich, First for Info Graphics; Claire Rydeen, High School Reporter of the Year.