Leader rakes in 16 Better Newspaper Contest awards

The Lake County Leader claimed 16 awards at the Montana Newspaper Association Convention in Miles City last week.

Among the Better Newspaper Contest winners for newspapers with a circulation of 1,250 to 2,000:

Reporter Emily Messer, with just six months of editorial contributions under her belt by the end of 2025, claimed the Mark Henckel Outdoor Writing Award for “The Mission Valley's invasive chorus of American Bullfrogs.” Her reporting on the financial plight of rural firefighters, “Small fire departments battle big equipment costs,” earned second in Investigative Journalism.

Messer also swept the Best Portrait Photo category, winning first, second and third for photos from the Indigenous Peoples’ Day powwow. Her photo accompanying a story titled “Family and community members march for justice after toddler’s death” placed third for Best Breaking News Photo; and she contributed a photo to “Never Forget,” which won second place for a front page designed by regional editor Matt Baldwin.

Leader editor Kristi Niemeyer took first place for Best Sports Feature for her story titled “The tale of two sisters who meet on a softball field,” and first in Best Column Writing for “Wrangler ponders the Fork in the Road.” She also received second in Best Breaking News for her story about two teens who rescued a woman trapped beneath a mower.

Her story about the nail-biting 2025 Lake County Spelling Bee, “A-N-O-M-A-L-Y: Winners flummoxed by spelling bee outcome,” earned her a second in headline writing and third in education coverage.

“Paddlers propel dragon boats on Flathead River” won reporter Berl Tiskus second place for Best Sports Story.

The Leader sales staff also did well, bringing home second place for the Polson Summer House Tour, and third place for Help Us Celebrate Your Teams and Game Hub promotions.

All told, the newspapers owned by Hagadone Media Montana earned 91 individual awards this year, including 30 first-place honors. For the third straight year, the Daily Inter Lake also brought home General Excellence in Group 4 and the Sam Gilluly Award for Best Montana Daily Newspaper.

Other Montana newspapers lauded for General Excellence were Whitehall Ledger and Terry Tribune, tied in Group 1, Choteau Acantha in Group 2 and The Monitor, serving Jefferson County, in Group 3. 

“These awards reflect strong reporting, photo and multimedia journalism, graphic design, advertising, special sections, and the day-to-day effort it takes to serve our communities. They also reflect the work people do that does not always show up directly on an awards list: editing, planning, selling, designing, producing, delivering, measuring, supporting customers and keeping all the moving parts moving,” wrote publisher Anton Kaufer in a letter to staff announcing the awards. “Each of you plays a role in our success.”

The Utah Newspaper Association judged the entries submitted for this year’s contest.

As Kaufer noted in his kudos to staff, “Awards are not why we do this work, but they are a meaningful reminder that the work matters, and that others across our industry recognize the standard you continue to set.”

Matt Baldwin, regional editor of Hagadone Media's Montana newspapers, steps into the role of president of the Montana Newspaper Association for the coming year.