SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The Deseret News in Utah and the Times-News and Moscow-Pullman Daily News in Idaho were named the winners Friday in the general excellence category of the Utah Idaho Spokane Associated Press Association’s news contest.
The Deseret News in Salt Lake City won the William H. Cowles III Memorial Award for public service reporting for their coverage of Utah’s opioid epidemic.
Top investigative honors for the largest division of newspapers went to Mark Shenefelt of the Standard-Examiner in Ogden for coverage of inmate deaths reaching a 17-year high in northern Utah.
A total of 16 daily newspapers submitted 532 entries in the contest. The Associated Press is a not-for-profit news cooperative representing 1,400 newspapers and 5,000 broadcast stations in the United States.
Here is a complete list of winners in the 2017 contest:
DIVISION I, II, III COMBINED:
Reviews: 1, Carolyn Lamberson, The (Spokane) Spokesman-Review; 2, Josh Terry, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News; 3, Ellen Fagg Weist, The Salt Lake Tribune.
William H. Cowles III Memorial Award for Public Service: 1, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News, “The Hidden Plague: Utah’s Opioid Epidemic.”
General Excellence Division III: 1, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News.
General Excellence Division II: 1, (Twin Falls) Times-News.
General Excellence Division I: 1, Moscow-Pullman Daily News.
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DIVISION III:
Beat Reporting: 1, Mark Shenefelt, (Ogden) Standard-Examiner, “Criminal Justice/Inmate Deaths”; 2, The Salt Lake Tribune, “Lead-Up to Reduced Monuments”; 3, Katie McKellar, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News.
Editorials: 1, Hal Boyd, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News; 2, Jay Evensen, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News; 3, Tim Fitzpatrick, The Salt Lake Tribune.
Feature Photo: 1, Steve Griffin, The Salt Lake Tribune, “Dragonfly”; 2, Chris Detrick, The Salt Lake Tribune, “Polar Bear”; 3, Colin Mulvany, The (Spokane) Spokesman-Review, “Eclipse Wedding.”
Feature Story: 1, Maria La Ganga, (Boise) Idaho Statesman, “The High Cost of Long-Term Healthcare”; 2, Rachel Alexander, The (Spokane) Spokesman-Review, “Dayton Lost its Asparagus Business to the War on Drugs, but Residents Persevered”; 3, Nick Deshais, The (Spokane) Spokesman-Review, “The Woman Who Fought Freeways.”
General News Photo: 1, Trent Nelson, The Salt Lake Tribune, “FLDS Evictions”; 2, Tyler Tjomsland, The (Spokane) Spokesman-Review, “A Soldier to Soldier Salute”; 3, Ravell Call, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News, “Dental Distractions.”
General Reporting: 1, Emma Penrod, The Salt Lake Tribune, “Disappearing Great Salt Lake”; 2, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News, “U. of Utah Huntsman Cancer Boss Saga”; 3, Lois M. Collins, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News, “Is the Right of Way the Right to Die? What you Don’t Know About Crossing the Street Might Kill You.”
Graphic Artist: 1, Aaron Thorup, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News, “Invasion of Poland”; 2, Heidi Perry, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News, “Right of Way? Right to Die”; 3, Aaron Thorup, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News, “The Hurricanes.”
Investigative Reporting: 1, Mark Shenefelt, (Ogden) Standard-Examiner, “Inmate Deaths Reach 17-year High in Northern Utah”; 2, Daphne Chen and McKenzie Romero, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News, “The New Asylums: How Utah Traps the Mentally Ill Behind Bars”; 3, Taylor Anderson, The Salt Lake Tribune, “Jail Safety.”
Online: Best Website: 1, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News; 2, The Salt Lake Tribune.
Online: Breaking News: 1, The (Spokane) Spokesman-Review, “Freeman High School Shooting”; 2, The Salt Lake Tribune; 3, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News.
Online: Special Package: 1, The (Spokane) Spokesman-Review, “A Year in the Fields: The State of the Washington Farmer”; 2, Tad Walch and Scott Taylor, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News, “What the BYU Pathway Program is in 11 Graphics”; 3, Christopher Kamrani, The Salt Lake Tribune, “Last of the Enforcers.”
Personal Column: 1, Lois M. Collins, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News; 2, Shawn Vestal, The (Spokane) Spokesman-Review; 3, Erin Alberty, The Salt Lake Tribune.
Photo Illustration: 1, Francisco Kjolseth, The Salt Lake Tribune, “BYUtah Fan”; 2, Trent Nelson, The Salt Lake Tribune, “MyKayla Skinner”; 3, Dan Pelle, The (Spokane) Spokesman-Review, “Cirque and Gargoyles.”
Picture Story/Photo Essay: 1, Kristin Murphy, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News, “Some Races Don’t Have a Finish Line”; 2, Laura Seitz, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News, “How Utah Became One Refugee Family’s Final Chance at Survival: A Story of Hope, Sacrifice and the Power of Family”; 3, Trent Nelson, The Salt Lake Tribune, “Exodus of the FLDS.”
Portfolio: 1, Jeffrey D. Allred, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News; 2, Ravell Call, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News; 3, Kristin Murphy, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News.
Portrait: 1, Kathy Plonka, The (Spokane) Spokesman-Review, “On the Spectrum”; 2, Laura Seitz, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News, “Refugee Arrival”; 3, Colin Mulvany, The (Spokane) Spokesman-Review, “Bigfoot Hunter.”
Series or Special Project: 1, Sara Israelsen-Hartley, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News, “Gender Wage Gap Series”; 2, The Salt Lake Tribune, “Arrested Nurse Alex Wubbels”; 3, Nate Carlisle, The Salt Lake Tribune, “Exodus of the FLDS.”
Sport Feature Photo: 1, Colin Mulvany, The (Spokane) Spokesman-Review, “Final Four Loss Stings”; 2, Scott Sommerdorf, The Salt Lake Tribune, “American Fork Wins State Champs”; 3, Kristin Murphy, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News, “Losing.”
Sports Column: 1, Brad Rock, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News, “It Might not be BYU’s Dave Rose Who Has Hit the Ceiling; Utah’s Darren Carrington Should Sit this One Out; Screaming Eagles Shame Themselves”; 2, Douglas Robinson, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News, “Throwing Darren Carrington a Lifeline Destroys Student-Athlete Myth. Detmer Wasn’t Ready and BYU Should Have Known it; Hayward Move is Bad for Jazz, Bad for NBA”; 3, Amy Donaldson, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News.
Sports Feature: 1, Christopher Kamrani, The Salt Lake Tribune, “The Rise of American Figure Skating’s Next Phenom, Nathan Chen”; 2, Douglas Robinson, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News, “How Hunter Woodhall Went from Blade-Running Novelty to a Legend. Do Blade Runners Have an Unfair Advantage”; 3, Amy Donaldson, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News, “Un-limb-ited Hope: Teenage Amputee Finds Healing, Inspiration at Sports Camp.”
Sports Photo: 1, Jeffrey D. Allred, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News, “Bucked”; 2, Laura Seitz, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News, “Eye Poke”; 3, Leah Hogsten, The Salt Lake Tribune, “Swimmer.”
Spot News Photo: 1, Francisco Kjolseth, The Salt Lake Tribune, “Standoff Grips Downtown.”
Spot News Story: 1, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News, “President Trump Comes to Utah”; 2, Nick Deshais and Chad Sokol, The (Spokane) Spokesman-Review, “One Freeman Student Dead, Three Hospitalized”; 3, Jennifer Dobner and Tom Harvey, The Salt Lake Tribune, “Swallow Acquitted.”
Spot Sports Story: 1, Eric Woodyard, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News, “Donovan Mitchell Mania Invades Utah as Jazz Rookie Embraces Community”; 2, Nate Carlisle and Aaron Falk, The Salt Lake Tribune, “BYU, NCAA Investigating Nick Emery’s Ties to Booster”; 3, Eric Woodyard, (Salt Lake City) Deseret News, “New York Native Donovan Mitchell Cherishes Madison Square Garden Debut.”
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DIVISION II:
Beat Reporting: 1, Julie Wootton-Greener, (Twin Falls) Times-News, “Education”; 2, Heather Kennison, (Twin Falls) Times-News, “Business”; 3, Emily Havens, The (St. George) Spectrum, “FLDS Women and Women in Utah.”
Editorials: 1, Matt Christensen, (Twin Falls) Times-News, “Our View”; 2, Jordan Carroll, (Provo) Daily Herald.
Feature Photo: 1, Drew Nash, (Twin Falls) Times-News, “Corn Maze”; 2, Isaac Hale, (Provo) Daily Herald, “Outdoor Show”; 3, Patrick Sutphin, (Twin Falls) Times-News, “Ballet Audition.”
Feature Story: 1, Braley Dodson, (Provo) Daily Herald, “Transgender at BYU: Current and Former Students Living Lives Despite Unclear Policies”; 2, Julie Wootton-Greener, (Twin Falls) Times-News, “Dual Credit Changes Higher Ed Landscape”; 3, Bree Burkitt, The (St. George) Spectrum, “Mental Health Court: Changing One Defendant’s Life at a Time.”
General News Photo: 1, Isaac Hale, (Provo) Daily Herald, “Orem Mayor Cuts Ribbon on New Splash Pad”; 2, Loren Benoit, Coeur d’Alene/Post Falls Press, “Mounted Shooter”; 3, Jordan Allred, The (St. George) Spectrum, “Killer Stare.”
General Reporting: 1, Bree Burkitt, The (St. George) Spectrum, “Enoch Nurse Recounts Scene in Las Vegas Hospital Following Mass Shooting”; 2, Emily Havens, The (St. George) Spectrum, “Why LGBT Youth in Utah Consider Suicide”; 3, David DeMille, The (St. George) Spectrum, “Washington County Population Growth: What it Will Look Like.”
Graphic Artist: 1, David Revilla, (Provo) Daily Herald, “The Ticket.”
Investigative Reporting: 1, Bree Burkitt, The (St. George) Spectrum, “Coerced: How a Cedar City Police Interview Ended in a False Confession”; 2, (Provo) Daily Herald, “Utah County’s Housing Dilemma”; 3, Kurt Hanson and Genelle Pugmire, (Provo) Daily Herald, “Claims, Statements of Provo Mayoral Candidates Verified, Disputed.”
Online: Best Website: 1, Jordan Carroll and Stacy Johnson, (Provo) Daily Herald; 2, (Twin Falls) Times-News; 3, (Pocatello) Idaho State Journal.
Personal Column: 1, Ralph Bartholdt, Coeur d’Alene/Post Falls Press, “Outdoors”; 2, Bradley Guire, (Nampa) Idaho Press-Tribune, “My Journey to Quit Painkillers; Be Careful with Your Hot Butts; Tales of a Blind, Biased Zebra.”
Photo Illustration: 1, Patrick Sutphin, (Twin Falls) Times-News, “Pitch Count”; 2, David Revilla, (Provo) Daily Herald, “Making the Cut”; 3, Drew Nash, (Twin Falls) Times-News, “Allergies.”
Picture Story/Photo Essay: 1, Patrick Sutphin, (Twin Falls) Times-News, “Idaho Aquaculture”; 2, Sammy Jo Hester, (Provo) Daily Herald, “Learning to Breathe”; 3, Drew Nash, (Twin Falls) Times-News, “Foster Care.”
Portfolio: 1, Drew Nash, (Twin Falls) Times-News; 2, Patrick Sutphin, (Twin Falls) Times-News; 3, Chris Caldwell, The (St. George) Spectrum.
Portrait: 1, Patrick Sutphin, (Twin Falls) Times-News, “Sport Cancellation”; 2, Patrick Sutphin, (Twin Falls) Times-News, “Ring Maker”; 3, Isaac Hale, (Provo) Daily Herald, “The Candy Bomber.”
Series or Special Project: 1, (Twin Falls) Times-News, “Foster Care in Idaho”; 2, Maureen Dolan, Coeur d’Alene/Post Falls Press, “Art or Blasphemy? Our Lady of Disagreement.”
Sport Feature Photo: 1, Isaac Hale, (Provo) Daily Herald, “Skyhawks vs. Lions”; 2, Drew Nash, (Twin Falls) Times-News, “Leaders”; 3, Loren Benoit, Coeur d’Alene/Post Falls Press, “Fight for the Fish.”
Sports Column: 1, Jared Lloyd, (Provo) Daily Herald; 2, Sunny Mahe, (Provo) Daily Herald, “A Coach’s Wife.”
Sports Feature: 1, B.J. Rains, (Nampa) Idaho Press-Tribune, “The July Grind: A Behind the Scenes Look at Life on the Recruiting Trail”; 2, Ryan Miller, The (St. George) Spectrum, “Patrick Tyler was a Security Guard, Now he’s Leading One of the Nation’s Top Offenses”; 3, Jeff Papworth, (Pocatello) Idaho State Journal, “Snake River Player Overcomes Disability to Succeed on Pitch.”
Sports Photo: 1, Loren Benoit, Coeur d’Alene/Post Falls Press, “High Flyer”; 2, Chris Caldwell, The (St. George) Spectrum, “UHSAA Rodeo”; 3, Drew Nash, (Twin Falls) Times-News, “Pole Vaulter.”
Spot News Photo: 1, Isaac Hale, (Provo) Daily Herald, “West Mountain Fire”; 2, Drew Nash, (Twin Falls) Times-News, “Fire”; 3, Chris Caldwell, The (St. George) Spectrum, “Santa Clara House Fire.”
Spot News Story: 1, Alex Riggins, (Twin Falls) Times-News, “Students Injured in Carey Bus Crash”; 2, Ryan Miller, The (St. George) Spectrum, “Left No doubt: T-Birds Get Revenge on Weber State”; 3, David Ashby, (Pocatello) Idaho State Journal, “Easter Moose - Wild Animal Visits Old Town Pocatello.”
Spot Sports Story: 1, Jared Lloyd, (Provo) Daily Herald, “Miracle Cowboy”; 2, Darnell Dickson, (Provo) Daily Herald, “Top-Ranked Duke Teaches Wolverines a Lesson in Elite Play”; 3, Michael Guise, (Pocatello) Idaho State Journal, “Blackfoot Baseball Player Who Died in Wreck Memorialized.”
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DIVISION I:
Beat Reporting: 1, Mary Malone, (Sandpoint) Bonner County Daily Bee, “Education”; 2, Keith Kinnaird, (Sandpoint) Bonner County Daily Bee, “Courts”; 3, Taylor Nadauld, Moscow-Pullman Daily News, “Higher Education Beat.”
Editorials: 1, Devin Rokyta, Moscow-Pullman Daily News, “Nazis, Growth and Little Big Reasons”; 2, Alysen Boston, Moscow-Pullman Daily News, “Blame Game, Free Speech and WSU Faculty”; 3, Anthony Kuipers, Moscow-Pullman Daily News, “Posters, Columbus Day, Words.”
Feature Photo: 1, Geoff Crimmins, Moscow-Pullman Daily News, “Church Window”; 2, Savannah Hopkinson, The (Provo) Daily Universe (BYU), “Missionary Letters Returned After 50 Years a Miracle”; 3, Mary Malone, (Sandpoint) Bonner County Daily Bee, “Golden Magic.”
Feature Story: 1, John Zsiray, The (Logan) Herald Journal, “Lights in the Dark: Deserae Turner Rescuers Named Cache Valley Residents of Year”; 2, Sean Dolan, The (Logan) Herald Journal, “Utahans, Others From all Over Flock to Idaho for Total Eclipse”; 3, Kaitlyn Bancroft, The (Provo) Daily Universe (BYU), “From BYU to ESPN, How Holly Rowe Brings Passion to Sportscasting, Cancer Fighting .”
General News Photo: 1, Caroline Lobsinger, (Sandpoint) Bonner County Daily Bee, “Low Rider”; 2, Kai Eiselein, Moscow-Pullman Daily News, “Pumpkin Drop”; 3, Mary Malone, (Sandpoint) Bonner County Daily Bee, “On Fire with Science.”
General Reporting: 1, Carley Porter, The (Provo) Daily Universe (BYU), “Pipeline Opponents Say Trump’s Executive Order Tramples Tribal Sovereignty”; 2, Sean Dolan, The (Logan) Herald Journal, “Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation Plans to Restore Sacred Site”; 3, Caroline Lobsinger, (Sandpoint) Bonner County Daily Bee, “Fast and Furious.”
Graphic Artist: 1, Caroline Lobsinger, (Sandpoint) Bonner County Daily Bee, “Holiday Headers.”
Investigative Reporting: 1, Keith Kinnaird, (Sandpoint) Bonner County Daily Bee, “Document Exposes Jail Sex Scandal”; 2, Kaitlyn Bancroft, The (Provo) Daily Universe (BYU), “BYU Investigates Cheating Ring Allegations “; 3, Keith Kinnaird, (Sandpoint) Bonner County Daily Bee, “Utt Sought in Trestle Creek Slaying.”
Online: Best Website: 1, Craig Staszkow, Moscow-Pullman Daily News; 2, The (Provo) Daily Universe (BYU).
Online: Breaking News: 1, Craig Staszkow, Moscow-Pullman Daily News; 2, The (Provo) Daily Universe (BYU).
Online: Special Package: 1, Jaylen Bohman and McKenna Flores, The (Provo) Daily Universe (BYU), “Pregnancy and Prison: the Untold Story of Women Who Give Birth Behind Bars”; 2, Theresa Davis, The (Provo) Daily Universe (BYU), “What’s Next for Bears Ears?”; 3, Haley Hilton, The (Provo) Daily Universe (BYU), “The Cost of Perfection.”
Photo Illustration: 1, Eli Lucero, The (Logan) Herald Journal, “Solar Eclipse.”
Picture Story/Photo Essay: 1, Caroline Lobsinger, (Sandpoint) Bonner County Daily Bee, “Fun at the Fair”; 2, Caroline Lobsinger, (Sandpoint) Bonner County Daily Bee, “Hurrah for the Red, White & Blue”; 3, Savannah Hopkinson, The (Provo) Daily Universe (BYU), “Couples Seek Support, Understanding When Struggle with Infertility.”
Portfolio: 1, Eli Lucero, The (Logan) Herald Journal; 2, Geoff Crimmins, Moscow-Pullman Daily News; 3, Chanse Watson, (Osburn) Shoshone News-Press, “Snapshots of the Silver Valley.”
Portrait: 1, Geoff Crimmins, Moscow-Pullman Daily News, “Kean Wilcox”; 2, Kai Eiselein, Moscow-Pullman Daily News, “Independence Day6”; 3, Caroline Lobsinger, (Sandpoint) Bonner County Daily Bee, “Jim Wood.”
Series or Special Project: 1, Katie Short, Moscow-Pullman Daily News, “The Night that Shattered Moscow”; 2, Chanse Watson, (Osburn) Shoshone News-Press, “Strike! The Saga at the Lucky Friday Mine”; 3, The (Provo) Daily Universe (BYU), “BYU-Approved Housing Can be a Bust for Students, Boon for Landlords.”
Sport Feature Photo: 1, Eric Plummer, (Sandpoint) Bonner County Daily Bee, “I Swim Therefore IM”; 2, Eric Plummer, (Sandpoint) Bonner County Daily Bee, “Future Shock.”
Sports Column: 1, Eric Plummer, (Sandpoint) Bonner County Daily Bee, “The Front Row”; 2, Shawn Harrison, The (Logan) Herald Journal; 3, Josh Grissom, Moscow-Pullman Daily News, “Monday Morning Quarterback.”
Sports Feature: 1, Eric Plummer, (Sandpoint) Bonner County Daily Bee, “Open Your Doors”; 2, Josh Grissom, Moscow-Pullman Daily News, “Former Vandal Jesse Davis Finds Starting Role with Dolphins”; 3, Caleb Turner, The (Provo) Daily Universe (BYU), “BYU Alumnus Leads Second Life in MMA Ring.”
Sports Photo: 1, Eli Lucero, The (Logan) Herald Journal, “Youth Rodeo”; 2, Kai Eiselein, Moscow-Pullman Daily News, “Basketball”; 3, Eli Lucero, The (Logan) Herald Journal, “Safe at Third.”
Spot News Photo: 1, Josh McDonald, (Osburn) Shoshone News-Press, “Fighting the Flames- McConnell Hotel fire”; 2, Mary Malone, (Sandpoint) Bonner County Daily Bee, “Rough Landing”; 3, Geoff Crimmins, Moscow-Pullman Daily News, “Steam Tunnel Rescue.”
Spot News Story: 1, Camille Baker and Jacob Osborn, The (Provo) Daily Universe (BYU), “#VegasShootings: the Facts, People Affected and Ways to Help”; 2, Katie Short, Moscow-Pullman Daily News, “Swastikas Carved Into Wall at WSU Residence Hall; Same Hall Evacuated After Bomb Threat Found”; 3, Keith Kinnaird, (Sandpoint) Bonner County Daily Bee, “Deputies Shot.”
Spot Sports Story: 1, Josh Grissom, Moscow-Pullman Daily News, “Cougs Can’t Break Through.”
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