Observer Wins 10 State Awards, 3rd In General Excellence

The Western Nebraska Observer ranks among the top three newspapers of its class in general excellence statewide for the third time in four years.

The Observer regained this distinction when winners were announced Saturday in Lincoln for the Nebraska Press Association’s annual Better Newspaper Contest. The Observer won 10 awards in Division B, its highest total during a four year run of strong showings.

Publisher Jim Orr and reporter/photographer Daria Anderson-Faden both received multiple awards with some firsts sprinkled in to underline the Observer’s third place status in general excellence. Only three papers are recognized in general excellence. The Observer also was first in 2021, third in 2022.

Anderson-Faden’s photo skills again shined in the contest.

She won first place in feature photography for her “King of the Road” picture of a dog perched on top of a moving pickup’s roof on Highway 71 in Banner County. She also was runner-up in breaking news photography for her image of state Sen. Brian Hardin revealing his sidearm during his town hall meeting in Kimball.

On the reporting side, Anderson-Faden placed third in news writing for her article on dark times at Hometown Hardware.

Meanwhile, under Orr’s direction, Observer classifieds were named Division B’s best for the third straight year.

Orr also took first in headline writing for an assortment of headlines on July 13’s front page. Among the headlines was “Hometown Heartache” to go with Anderson-Faden’s award-winning report about Hometown Hardware.

In addition, Orr claimed first and third in creative ad writing with a first for Beer & Loathing’s fun September activities and a third for FirsTier Bank’s support of the Kimball Banner County Fair.

Orr’s other ad award was for a black-and-white entry about Hays Contracting serving the area before and after damaging storms hit.

Finally, Orr won second place in efforts to build circulation with an Observer 138th birthday subscription offer.

An 11th award that the Observer earned this year also deserves notice. The Heartland Farm & Ranch annual special section – which the Observer puts out with the Pine Bluffs Post and Sidney Sun-Telegraph – recently earned first place in this year’s Wyoming Press Association newspaper contest. Orr coordinated the winning section’s production.