HURON – The Fall River County Herald-Star earned one of the highest awards during last week’s 2023 SDNA Better News Media Contest when it won first place in General Excellence in the Weeklies over 1,300 circulation category.
The award recognizes news organizations for overall quality work in news, editorial, advertising, design, digital and social media.
“A hyper-local newslover’s dream,” was one of the judge’s comments, who also added, “The amount of in-depth local coverage is impressive.”
Since changing to its now current county-wide format six years ago, the Fall River County newspaper has won the award for General Excellence two other times, but in different circulation categories. The Fall River County Herald earned the top honor in 2018 for the smallest weekly newspaper division for publications with under 1,150 circulation. Then in 2019, the newspaper again won the first place award for General Excellence in the mid-sized division for weekly newspapers with between 901-1,300 circulation.
Since growing its circulation to now more than 1,700 copies each week, this year’s award marks the first time the newspaper has won the top award for General Excellence in South Dakota’s largest weekly circulation division for newspapers with more than 1,300 circulation.
In addition to the first place award for General Excellence, Herald-Star reporters also won four other individual first place honors.
Publisher Brett Nachtigall won first place in both the “Best Local Government Story” and “Best News Series” categories, and also combined with sports correspondent Richard Anderson to win first place in the “Best Sports Series” category as well.
The first place Government story by Nachtigall was published in December 2023 and described the Hot Springs School District’s plan to ban cell phones in the middle school during the second semester. Judges comments included, “Got my attention from opening paragraph and kept it all the way through the story. Excellent writing and great use of sidebar. Great use of quotes, facts and examples. Addressed concerns of opposition well.”
Nachtigall’s win in the “Best News Series” category also involved the Hot Springs School District and was centered around multiple stories covering the scrutiny of a guidance counselor’s lesson plan which was taught in the elementary school and sparked parental concerns at a board meeting.
“The writer did a good job of capturing a controversial story in a straightforward way,” the judge stated.
Nachtigall and Anderson’s combined “Sports Series” win included several articles covering the Hot Springs Bison football team’s run for a State Class 11B State Championship.
“What a fantastic finish to the championship game!” the judge stated. “Very thorough coverage, from multiple angles and with good use of history.”
Correspondent Marcus Heerdt earned the newspaper another first place finish in the “Best Spot News Story” category for his coverage of the water at Cascade Springs running red for first time in 31 years.
“Interesting story with some great quotes and historical look at a rare natural phenomenon. Nicely done,” the judge stated about his entry.
Heerdt also earned a third place prize in the “Best Lede” category for his story entitled “Esports spark excitement at Hot Springs Secondary.”
In journalism, the lede refers to the introductory section of a news story that is intended to entice the reader to read the full story. Heerdt’s lede in this particular story was, “The students of the Hot Springs School District (HSSD) now have another extracurricular option that does not involve sweating in the hot sun or running conditioning drills on the basketball court because … esports has come to town.”
The judge in the category said, “Good, solid lede. Draws the reader in with a relatable metaphor.”
Other award winners from the Herald-Star staff in the photography categories included a second place for photographer Dick Kettlewell in the “Best Photo Series” category for his monthly Fall River Rhapsody feature. Charity Maness also earned a third place in the “Best Spot News Photo” category for her shot of members of the Hot Springs Volunteer Fire Department conducting a Live Fire Training.
The newspaper staff – including Nachtigall and Sheryl Grimes – also earned a second place in the “Best Special Section” for its 2023 Class 11B State Football Championship tabloid section.
“A perfect celebration of the Bison football team’s state championship!” stated the judge of the category. “A breakdown of the event, with local advertisers offering their congratulations, coupled with photos from the event as well as individual team players. This one scores!”