Staff at the Decorah Leader were pleased to come away with almost two dozen awards during the annual Iowa Better Newspaper Contest, which was held Thursday, Feb. 6 in Des Moines. The Decorah Leader earned 23 separate honors, including nine first place awards, two Best In Class Advertising Awards and a second place General Excellence Award, which is awarded based on total points earned in each of the contest’s five newspaper classifications. The Decorah Leader competes in the state’s largest class of weekly publications.
“A lot has been asked of our staff in the fairly short period since the Decorah Leader debuted this past summer, and everyone here rose to the challenge,” said Seth Boyes, news editor at the Decorah Leader. “A good majority of our entries were ads, photos and news stories published during the two-month window between Enterprise Media’s purchase of the paper in July and the close of this year’s state contest cycle at the end of August, but the staff’s dedication to providing a quality local newspaper shone through. Standing on the proverbial podium in 21 competition categories and bringing home literal armfuls of first-place plaques isn’t something that happens without the hard work and dedication our staff here has put in each week, and I’m very pleased they received the recognition they deserve.”
The Decorah Leader’s overall results were enough to catapult the newspaper to a second-place finish in the state contest’s General Excellence category behind the Northwest Iowa Review.
“We wouldn’t have been able to achieve this level of success without our subscribers and advertisers, so our staff is particularly thankful for the community’s support during our first year under the Decorah Leader’s masthead,” Boyes said. “We’ve treasured the kind notes included with your subscriptions, the cards wishing us well and the emails expressing your thanks for coverage of certain topics. In some cases, we included a sampling of those comments in our entry materials so contest judges could hear from our readers rather than simply from us.”
Boyes went on to say at least two of the paper’s recent awards were almost certainly secured because of the added context the community’s expressions provided to contest judges.
“It is great to see a small town newspaper bought and rejuvenated,” one contest judge wrote in awarding the Decorah Leader second place in the Community Leadership category.
The Decorah Leader also took first place in the Best Newspaper Marketing category, after sharing community comments the newspaper received during its “Pints and Papers – Brews and News” subscription special. The paper partnered with several area businesses to provide new subscribers with vouchers for free beverages or ice cream. The special drew almost 170 new subscribers within 10 weeks.
“Creative concepts,” the category judge said. “My favorite was the shoutout from a subscriber that left and decided to come back!”
Top marks
Ad designer Kayla Thompson earned several of the Decorah Leader’s first place plaques during this year’s contest. She earned first place in the Best Ad Featuring Agriculture category with an entry showcasing a local Earth Day Festival. The category judge described the ad in one word — “beautiful.” Judges also praised Thompson’s ability to tie area businesses to local history as part of a special section which celebrated the 175th anniversary of Decorah’s founding — the commemorative publication as a whole received first place recognition as Best of Class Advertising, earned first place in the Best Special Section Advertising category and received a third place award in the Best Special Section Editorial category.
“Decorah’s 175th anniversary edition was jam-packed with history, interesting anecdotes and features about interesting properties,” the judge’s comments said. “I especially liked the idea of interviewing members of the 50th class reunion members about what they remembered about growing up in the community and the 125th anniversary.”
Thompson was also selected as Best Ad Designer in the Weekly Class III category, beating out designers at Waverly Newspapers and the Northwest Iowa Review — entrants must submit a portfolio of up to 10 examples of their work to be considered. Thompson’s selected work included advertisements designed for local retail businesses, community events and other organizations. The categories judge said Thompson’s work “stood out even if the competition was close. Great use of fonts, color and images, but most importantly putting them all together in a readable and eye-catching layout. I am positive this designer gets requested by customers.”
Fellow ad designer Samantha Ludeking earned first place recognition for an ad featuring Rockweiler Appliance in Decorah, which was entered in the Best Ad Featuring Furniture, Furnishings, Appliances or Hardware category.
“I loved this ad,” the contest judge said. “It was bright, showed longevity of the company, friendly faces and good information.”
Ludeking’s work on a series of advertisements highlighting local student musicians for the Decorah Music Boosters also earned a first place award.
“Love the idea of spotlighting local students,” the judge wrote. “Layout with photos and short write ups for each kid make it inviting to read. Nice idea, well executed.”
On the podium
The Decorah Leader also earned a number of second and third place finishes this year. Judges made not comment on the newspaper’s second place award for Best Headline Writing or for Sports Writer Becky Walz’s second place finish in the Best Photographer competition — another category in which entrants must submit a portfolio of up to 10 examples of their work for judging. Boyes earned second place recognition as a Master Columnist behind Mike Putz of the Dyersville Commercial, and Boyes earned third place in the Excellence in Editorial competition — both categories requires a sampling of three opinion columns, and no single column can be submitted in both categories.
“All three entries are topical and timely, from reaction to the assassination attempt on Donald Trump to Joe Biden’s withdrawal from his campaign for re-election as president to the controversial issue of a carbon capture pipeline through Iowa,” one of the contest judges wrote.
Boyes also earned a second place award for his initial coverage of the local case against James Bachmurski — a former Decorah resident who now stands accused of murdering a teenage girl in 2017, after authorities launched a renewed investigation into the teen’s disappearance.
“This was a good news story,” the judge wrote. “Meat and bones plus some background that the reader would like to know.”
Staff writers Denise Lana and Zach Jensen earned awards for their writing as well. Lana dipped a toe into the Best Sports Feature Story competition and came away with a second place award for her feature on Festina’s annual Kicking It Forward kickball tournament, which raises funds to support families during medical emergencies. The yearly fundraiser was established after the family of then 7-year-old Kort Steffens found themselves in need following a UTV accident in 2018.
“A good retelling of Kort’s accident and the reason for paying it forward,” the judge said of Lana’s work. “The reporter handled the retelling with grace and appropriately.”
Jensen’s work conveyed words of caution from Winneshiek County emergency personnel regarding potential for local flooding in the future, and the story earned him third place in the Best News Story category.
“Great information and resources shared,” the judge wrote. “The article flowed well, answered a lot of questions and explained the issue thoroughly.”
This year’s contest entries were judged by the Kansas Press Association.
Staff at the Decorah Leader brought home nine first place award plaques and a Best in Class Advertising award from the 2025 Iowa Better Newspaper Contest last week. Pictured (from left to right) are News Editor Seth Boyes, Production Manager Samantha Ludeking, Production Associate Crystal Busch and Staff Writer Denise Lana.
2025 Awards
Iowa is one of only fives states in the U.S. which can claim to have no local news deserts, according to officials with the Iowa Newspaper Association. INA Executive Director Debbie Anselm said Iowa has at least one local newspaper in each of its 99 counties. Contest organizers said approximately 3,200 entries were received during this year’s contest. Competition categories are based on circulation, and the Decorah Leader competed in the state’s largest class of the weekly newspapers.
Staff was recognized for:
• General Excellence, Weekly Class III: Second place
First place awards
• Best in Class Advertising
• Best Ad Designer: Kayla Thompson
• Best Ad Featuring Financial, Insurance or Other Professional Service: Kayla Thompson
• Best Ad Featuring Furniture, Furnishings, Appliances or Hardware: Samantha Ludeking
• Best Ad Featuring Automotive, Boats, Aircraft, Tires, Gasoline, Etc.: Kayla Thompson
• Best Special Section Advertising
• Best Advertising Series or Campaign Featuring Any Service or Merchandise: Samantha Ludeking
• Best Ad Featuring Agriculture: Kayla Thompson
• Best Newspaper Website
• Best Newspaper Marketing
Second place awards
• Community Leadership
• Best Headline Writing
• Best Photographer: Becky Walz
• Best Sports Feature Story: Denise Lana
• Master Columnist: Seth Boyes
Third place awards
• Best in Class Advertising
• Best Ad Featuring Financial, Insurance or Other Professional Service: Kayla Thompson
• Best Special Section Editorial
• Best Use of Social Media
• Best News Story: Zach Jensen
• Best Breaking News Story: Seth Boyes
• Excellence in Editorial Writing: Seth Boyes
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