ANR earns statewide honors from NPA

Newspaper also receives OWH award for Service to Ag

  • ANR ad representative Bekah Mead, left, was named runner up Saturday in the Nebraska Press Association’s Outstanding Young Journalist award. Pictured at right, co-publisher Kurt Johnson accepted the Omaha World-Herald’s Service to Agriculture award.
    ANR ad representative Bekah Mead, left, was named runner up Saturday in the Nebraska Press Association’s Outstanding Young Journalist award. Pictured at right, co-publisher Kurt Johnson accepted the Omaha World-Herald’s Service to Agriculture award.
  • This photo of Aurora grad Carsen Staehr taken by ANR sports editor Richard Rhoden at the 2023 state track and field championships was selected as the sports photograph of the year, announced Saturday at the Nebraska Press Association convention in Lincoln. The photograph was part of Staehr’s gold medal efforts in the long jump last season.
    This photo of Aurora grad Carsen Staehr taken by ANR sports editor Richard Rhoden at the 2023 state track and field championships was selected as the sports photograph of the year, announced Saturday at the Nebraska Press Association convention in Lincoln. The photograph was part of Staehr’s gold medal efforts in the long jump last season.

The Aurora News-Register received the Omaha World-Herald’s Service to Agriculture award Saturday and later earned distinction as a top newspaper in its circulation class at the Nebraska Press Association convention in Lincoln.
In the World-Herald competition, judges commended ANR staff for its weekly Ag Life section, citing consistent local coverage incorporating ag and business news which impacts the whole community.
At that same awards luncheon, Bekah Mead was named as Outstanding Nebraska Young Journalist runner-up, honoring her for outstanding achievement in the News-Register’s advertising and marketing efforts. Among her other projects, Mead spearheaded ANR’s Topsy Turvy edition in September, which featured print advertisements at the top of the page and invited readers and advertisers to change their perspective. The concept drew rave reviews and sparked similar promotions at other newspapers across the state.
In the Better Newspaper Contest, the News-Register placed second in the division of the largest circulation weeklies. Richard Rhoden also received special recognition as the winner of the sports photo of the year for an image he captured of Carsen Staehr winning gold in the long jump at the state track meet. That photo appears on the front page of this week’s edition.
The Stanton Register and Norfolk Daily News were named the top weekly and daily newspapers, respectively, as sweepstakes winners in the Better Newspaper Contest. Long-time former NPA members Butch and Nancy Furse sponsored the printing division winners in the various circulation categories. Those went to the Stanton Register in Division A, the North Bend Eagle in Division B, the Hartington Cedar Catholic News in Division C and the Antelope County News in Division D.
First place awards for the News-Register included: sports column by Richard Rhoden; sports action photo by Richard Rhoden; specialty/lifestyle sessions featuring ANR’s Ag Life and Business Page reports by staff; editorial page layout by Kurt Johnson; digital ad layout by Karla Senff featuring the Aurora Mall.
Second place awards: creative ad writing by Karla Senff and Bekah Mead; sports page layout by Richard Rhoden; special section with multiple publications featuring the spring, fall and winter sports previews; feature story by Ron Burtz featuring AHS custodian Maddy Barnes and her motivational sticky notes; in-depth writing by Ron Burtz involving economic development efforts in Hampton; editorial writing by Kurt Johnson; retail black and white advertising idea featuring a Topsy Turvy message from Schneider’s Hardware by Karla Senff and Kurt Johnson; Where Are They Now feature series by the news staff; 
Third place awards: overall general excellence in the large weekly circulation category; sports game coverage by Richard Rhoden during Hampton’s successful football season; headline writing by Ron Burtz; front page design by Kurt Johnson; entertainment story by Kurt Johnson on Aurora’s one-act play; Editorial of the Year competition among all circulation categories for “Nuisance concerns in city” editorial by Kurt Johnson. 
The staff at the News-Register includes co-owners Kurt and Paula Johnson; Marc Russell, press supervisor; Karla Senff, graphic design supervisor; Jill Bartling, graphic designer; Bekah Mead and Bev Eastman, advertising representatives; Ron Burtz, news editor; Richard Rhoden, sports editor; Elizabeth Hunter, reporter; Sonja Schaffert, inserter.