ANR wins top press honors

The Aurora News-Register was among the top winners in the Nebraska Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest, earning first place honors in the competition among the state’s largest weekly publications.
ANR co-publishers Kurt and Paula Johnson accepted the awards Saturday at the conclusion of a two-day convention at the Cornhusker Hotel in Lincoln.
The News-Register earned first place honors in 16 categories, including general excellence; single special section, for a “Lights & Sirens” edition honoring law enforcement and EMS personnel; classified section design by Paula Johnson; photo page design by Richard Rhoden, featuring the Aurora youth wrestling program; feature series writing by Elizabeth Hunter for ANR’s ‘Where Are They Now’ series; sports page design by Richard Rhoden; sports featuring writing, for a story by Richard Rhoden about Nate Boerkircher’s “Final act with the 12th Man” at Texas A&M; sports action photo by Richard Rhoden, featuring a girls basketball photo; sports feature photo by Richard Rhoden, featuring an emotional moment after a Lady Huskies wrestling match; entertainment story by Elizabeth Hunter, featuring coverage of Aurora’s Band on the Bricks concert series; front page design by Kurt Johnson; headline writing by Richard Rhoden; editorial writing by Kurt Johnson; preserving local history by Elizabeth Hunter, for a story remembering the voyage of the NSN SS Centennial on display at the Plainsman; use of color in news design, for a Salute to Veterans special section front page layout; online video advertising, a spot featuring Schneider’s Hardware employees “mowing circles around the competition.”
The News-Register earned second place honors in 12 categories, including a reader interaction contest for a Super Shot hunting photo contest coordinated by Bekah Mead; specialty sections featuring Ag Life pages by Ron Burtz; the local impact of the trucking industry for a staff report titled “Aurora is on the road to everywhere;’ creative ad writing by Bev Eastman for an Aurora Veterinary Clinic message; single color ad design by Bekah Mead and Karla Senff for a Christmas advertisement; special sections published on multiple days for fall, winter and spring sports previews by Richard Rhoden; local youth coverage by the staff; sports column writing by Richard Rhoden; news writing by Kurt Johnson for reports on the city’s EMS operations; editorial page design by Kurt Johnson; entertainment story writing for a staff report summarizing the A’ROR’N Days celebration; preserving local history by Kurt Johnson for a story tracing the history of the former Gambles building before its demolition.
The News-Register earned third place honors in eight categories, including a Salute to Veterans edition; in-depth writing for a special workforce recognition report on changing careers; creative ad writing by Bekah Mead; black and white ad design by Karla Senff; color ad design by Bekah Mead and Karla Senff for a Christmas message; small black and white ad design by Bekah Mead and Karla Senff for a Mars Petcare message honoring first responders; news photography for an image by Ron Burtz of the Gambles building demolition; front page layout by Kurt Johnson.
The staff at the News-Register includes co-owners Kurt and Paula Johnson; Marc Russell, press supervisor; Ron Burtz, news editor; Richard Rhoden, sports editor; Karla Senff, graphic design supervisor; Jill Bartling, graphic designer; Bekah Mead, advertising manager; Bev Eastman, advertising representative; Elizabeth Hunter, reporter; Jesse Schelkoph, production assistant; Sonja Schaffert, inserter.
By placing first among all the Nebraska weeklies entered, the Knox County News was the third recipient of the Allen and Linda Beermann Community Newspaper Sweepstakes Award. The Hastings Tribune won the sweepstakes award for dailies. Long-time former publishers and NPA members R.L. “Butch” and Nancy Furse sponsored the print Division A, B, C and D winners, based on circulation. The winners included: Division A – Stanton Register; Division B – Cedar Valley News; Division C – Knox County News; and Division D – Aurora News-Register. 
There were 2,051 separate entries judged this year by members of the North Dakota Newspaper Association.
The Cedar County News won the Community Newspaper Digital Sweepstakes Award for weekly newspapers.
The Scottsbluff Star-Herald won the daily Digital Sweepstakes Award in Division B, recognizing newspapers publishing three or more times per week.
Flatwater Free Press won the inaugural Class C Digital Sweepstakes Award, recognizing larger print and digital newsrooms.  
On Friday, Russ Pankonin, former publisher of the Imperial Republican and co-owner of Johnson Publications, was honored as NPA’s 2026 Master Editor-Publisher recipient. Pankonin is the brother-in-law of ANR co-publishers Kurt and Paula Johnson.