TPD takes home a first at 2017 INA Convention

Cresco - It is always good to get together with peers and talk shop. Many times it refreshes attitudes and brings out new ideas for a business or group.

That is what took place Feb. 3-4 when Shellie Gossman, sales; Marcie Klomp, editor; and Dan Evans, publisher, of the Times Plain Dealer attended the annual Iowa Newspaper Association Convention.

This year staff was pleased to come home with one first-place award for Special Section - Editorial, for Cresco’s commemorative sesquicentennial issue. The newspaper is a Weekly Class 3, circulation 1,801 and above.  The Colorado judge commented, “Wow. Just wow. If I could give this a 20, I would. Incredible amount of work, organizations and creativity. Do I really have to return this? I would love to steal it for my idea collection.”

Evans agrees. “It was definitely a ‘Wow’ section. My staff did a tremendous amount of work to give the community of Cresco a keepsake that covered 150 years of history.

“Editor Marcie Klomp did much of the research, along with getting help from community members to fill in the blanks. Nate Troy wrote some articles and put much of the sections together. Mary McConnell typed up some older articles and, along with Theresa Hudecek, proofed the stories.”

“My mom, Janet Henry, was also instrumental in helping collect information from old newspapers. It saved me a ton of work,” said Klomp.

All-in-all it took a village to write and publish the souvenir issue.

Although the award ceremony was the culmination of the convention, the three staff from Cresco, along with Monitor Recorder editor Casandra Leff, attended several sessions that will help them in their respective positions.

“Chatting with colleagues from around the state is invigorating and spurs ideas for our own paper,” Klomp continued. “Look for some changes in the next few months as we put what we learned into practice.”

The Monitor Recorder, a Weekly Class 1 with a circulation of 1,140 and under, also won first-place  for Special Section - Editorial; second for Best Editorial Page; and third for Best Breaking News Story, Best Sports Story and Best Advertisement Featuring Furniture, Furnishings, Appliances or Hardware.

Both newspapers will continue to put out award-winning publications and hopefully earn even more accolades next year.