Evening News earns more statewide awards

The Illinois Press Association has honored the Benton Evening News and its sister publications in southern Illinois with five awards for excellence in journalism in 2016, the association has announced.
Managing Editor Geoff Ritter is being honored for original column writing. It's the second recognition his column has received in the past few weeks. The Illinois Associated Press Media Writers association announced in April that his column  had won a second-place award in its journalism competition.
In addition, staff writer Holly Kee is being honored in feature writing for a story she wrote last October on Johnston City Homecoming Queen Laini Williams, a student with Down's Syndrome who captured the hearts of her classmates.
"These IPA awards recognize the talent and hard work that epitomizes the editorial staff," said Group Editor Renee Trappe.
The Southern Illinois LOCAL Media Group also earned three other awards from the press association:
-- News Reporting Series by Pete Spitler, managing editor of the Randolph County Herald Tribune, for coverage of Chester Open Meetings Act violations.
-- Original Column writing by John Homan, managing editor of the Marion Daily Republican, Eldorado Daily Journal and Harrisburg Daily Register.
-- Single Page Design by Michael Dann, sports editor of the Harrisburg Daily Register and the Eldorado Daily Journal.
The awards follow the announcement in early April that the group also won five awards, including Ritter's column-writing honor, in the Illinois AP Media Editors competition.
The Illinois Press Association, founded in 1865 as an organization for Illinois publishers, is one of the largest state newspaper associations in the country.  It represents more than 450 daily and weekly newspapers in the state.
The association releases its contest finalists each spring but does not disclose the place each entry earned until the awards are presented. This year, those presentations will take place June 9 at the association's annual conference in Springfield.