The Whitefish Pilot earned 13 awards during the annual Montana Newspaper Association convention Saturday in Billings.

Included in the awards were six first-place honors.

Pilot reporter Daniel McKay won first place in the best lifestyle coverage category for a story he did on the HiddenKey escape room in Whitefish. The judges said the story was nicely written and “by far the best entry in [the] category.”

He also earned first place for best sports page layout and design, and first place in the best portrait photo.

McKay also took home second place honors for best feature story and best education coverage. He also earned third place in the best sport story category, best feature story, best sports page layout and design, and best sports photo.

Pilot editor Heidi Desch won first place for best graphic for a graphic she designed to accompany a package of stories chronicling the affordable housing crisis in Whitefish. In addition, she won second place in the investigative journalism category for a story on the same topic.

The staff earned a first place award for best headline writing.

The Whitefish Pilot competes in the Division 2 of the contest that includes weekly newspapers in the state with a circulation size from 1,251 to 2,000.