The Nebraska Press Association (NPA) celebrated the best in Nebraska journalism during its annual convention held April 17-18 in Lincoln, and the Callaway Courier was proud to bring home eight awards during the annual Better Newspaper Awards contest Saturday evening.

Categories for both weeklies and dailies are focused on writing, photography, advertising, digital, design, and creativity. There were 2,051 separate entries from newspapers across Nebraska that were judged this year by members of the North Dakota Newspaper Association. The entries were published between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2025.

In the category of special single section, the Courier received first place for Salute to Beef. Judges commented, “Nice focus on a very important industry, covering much information in a well-written storyline.”

We also earned a first-place nod in the feature series category for our series on Saluting Our Veterans. This series featured William Schaad and Raymond Kolbo. Judges comments stated, “Fascinating subject matter, well told. Splitting Schaad’s story into two parts was a wise decision, as his story was worth extending.”

For reader interaction and contest, Bailey Schwarz and Leta Connell earned second place for the football contest and Christmas greeting cards drawn by fourth and fifth graders for local businesses. The judge wrote, “These cards, if saved, will be pure joy to see in 20 years…cute!”

Bailey and Leta also earned second place in the agricultural advertisement category for a Beef Month ad for Nebraska Owners Insurance titled, Bullieve it or not… The judge commented on the clever wordplay in this ad.

A signature page for the Callaway Kite Flight garnered a second place award for Bailey and Leta as well, with the judge commending them for “great explanations of each event”.

Ellen Mortensen received a third-place award for in-depth writing for her coverage of the Callaway school board’s discussion of the dress code policy. She also earned third place in the preserving local history category for a piece outlining a campaign to preserve the stained glass windows of the historic Episcopal Church. The judge commented, “Well written. Good job on making a fundraising campaign historically significant and interesting to read.”

Finally, Bailey earned third place in the agricultural advertisement category for a harvest ad representing Agri Best Feeds titled “We tip our hats”.

Along with the individual awards, there are a few prestigious press awards that are presented at the convention. The Nebraska Press Association’s highest honor, the Master Editor-Publisher Award, was presented to Russ Pankonin of Imperial. Selected by a panel of past honorees, Pankonin was recognized for his 39-year career in community journalism and his leadership of newspapers in Imperial, Grant, and Wauneta.

Zach Wendling of the Nebraska Examiner was named the 2026 Outstanding Young Nebraska Journalist, with Alyssa Johnson of the Lincoln Journal Star recognized as runner-up.

The Don Harpst Sr. Leadership Award honors individuals who demonstrate outstanding leadership and a commitment to strengthening their communities through local journalism. This year’s award was presented to Amy Johnson, publisher of the Springview Herald.

The Golden Pica Pole Award, given annually to newspaper professionals with more than 50 years of service, was presented to our friend Marcia Hora of the Stapleton Enterprise and Thomas County Herald. A pica pole is a metal ruler historically used in printing to measure type. Traditionally, it was tapped against a metal surface to honor an employee retiring from the newsroom.

The Nebraska Press Association and Nebraska Press Advertising Service boards of directors thanked outgoing presidents John Erickson, publisher of the Bridgeport News-Blade, and Lynell Morgan, co-publisher of the Elgin Review, for their leadership. The incoming NPA president is Cody Gerlach, publisher of the Valley Voice in Cambridge, and the incoming NPAS president is Timothy Linscott, publisher of the Fairbury Journal-News.

The Courier’s own Ellen Mortensen is in her second year as a member of the NPAS board of directors.