Last week, the Kansas Press Association announced the winners of the 2023 KPA Awards of Excellence competition. The Ellsworth County Independent-Reporter came out of the competition with a number of awards.

Graphic Designer Bill Beckmeyer won third place for his editorial cartoon titled “Wanna bet?” This is a significant achievement, as many categories were judged based on the size of the newspaper, but this particular category was not.

“I’m so excited for Bill’s win,” Independent-Reporter Editor/Publisher Karen Bonar said. “It is judged against all entries from all newspapers in the state. We are fortunate to have a staff member who produces a weekly editorial cartoon, and it’s gratifying to know his work is competitive across all newspapers in Kansas.”

Lori Farmer also received a third-place award in the sports photo category. The photo was from the article “Bearcat football falls to Kingman.”

“My background is in photojournalism, so I’m extremely proud of the awards for photography, especially Lori’s sports photo,” Bonar said. “Photographing a football game in a cold, dark downpour provides many technical difficulties. I’m proud she toughed it out, especially given the difficult weather.

The resulting photo really summed up the game. The moment we saw it in the newsroom, we knew it should be recognized.”

Senior Writer Linda Mowery-Denning received second place in the religion story category for her “Comforting the community” piece.

“Linda is such a gifted writer. She stepped back from the volume of writing in the last year, but whenever she does write, it’s gold,” Bonar said. “Her story about Keren Comfort Dog is one that’s important to our community. I’m so excited she was recognized with an award for that story.”

Advertising Manager Alan Rusch was rec- ognized multiple times.

Rusch has been writing articles for the newspaper in addition to his ad work, and did well considering he received two different awards.

“What I think is remarkable about this recognition is that Alan is our advertising manager, yet he also writes governmental meeting stories, as well as assists in many aspects of the paper,” Bonar said. “With such a small staff we all pitch in, and it’s remarkable that our ad man is also a capable writer.”

Rusch received a thirdplace award for his “After the fire” article.

“Alan’s story on the aftermath of the fire was incredible,” Bonar said. “I love long-form writing, and this story was simply sensational. The moment I read it, I knew it should be entered.”

In addition, he received first place for headline writing. His headlines “Candidates square off; Council chickens out; and Lady Liberty shines” were witty enough to bring home the gold.

“We love clever headlines in our office.

They’re one of the first ways we entice readers into a story,” Bonar said.

“Our staff is sharp-witted, and we love one-liners and a good zinger.

We try to use cleverness and creativity in our headlines.”

Not to be left out, Bonar received plenty of recognition as well. She brought in five awards for the newspaper. She received third place in the government/political category for “Seat shuffle,” in the headline writing category for “Chicken survey ruffles feathers; A Czech of a good time; Interrupted flight,” and in the feature photo category for “Jingle & Mingle.”

She also took first place in the photo package category for her “Final Homecoming Parade” coverage.

But it was another first-place win that was astonishing for Bonar.

She managed to win the sports story category.

“When I first read the list, I laughed out loud.

The first award was a first-place for a sports story I wrote,” Bonar said. “The hilarious part of it is that in no way do I consider myself a sports writer. My husband worked in sports journalism for more than 20 years, and I often ask him questions. The story that won was about the Jackie Stiles camp, which was a good old-fashioned feature story about a small-town girl who achieved her dreams. I enjoyed traveling to Claflin to witness the camp, and immensely enjoyed my subsequent interview with Stiles.

Writing that story was such a joy, but I will always smile because I’m just not a sports writer.”

The Independent-Reporter continues its tradition of excellence and dedication, and the recognition from KPA showcases the hard work of the staff.

“The contest covers the 2022 year, and I was only editor/publisher for a portion of that time.

This recognition is a nod to the strong journalism tradition I inherited at the I-R,” Bonar said.