2025 PRINT/ONLINE CONTEST WINNERS
Overall Print/Online Excellence Award:  The scarlet & Black, grinnell college

Best News Reporting
1st Place - ​Grinnell College, Grinnell College student seeking criminal charges after being punched, called anti-gay slur on campus, Taylor Nunley
2nd Place- Grinnell College, Over 98% of Grinnell employees' political donations in the past decade went to Democrats, Thai Theodoro
3rd Place- Saint Ambrose University, Chicago on ICE: Students Voice Concern, John Breakey
Hon. Mention- Kirkwood Community College- Communique, Students drive climate initiative, Lauren Smith

Best Investigative Reporting
1st Place - Grinnell College, In rural Iowa, trans people are standing strong against anti-trans legislation, Zach  Spindler-Krage
2nd Place- Buena Vista University- Tack Online, Civil war on civil discourse, Jaxon Van Pelt
3rd Place- Grinnell College, Nearly all Grinnell property owners own just one property, yet 15 owners control 15 percent of the city, Thai Theodoro
Hon. Mention- Saint Ambrose University, International Students Fear Deportation, Mallary Helmig

Best Profile
1st Place - Grinnell College, Remembering Tammy Zywicki `93, Thai Theodoro
2nd Place- Grinnell College, Transgender alum Chase Strangio defends gender-affirming care before the Supreme Court, Scarlett Saldaña, Isiah Moliga-Puletasi
3rd Place- University of Northern Iowa - The Northern Iowan, Mastering mindset with Doug Schwab, Emerson Hahn
Hon. Mention- Grand View University- Viewfinder Media, Serving Smiles, Not Just Meals: The Impact of Glenda Comstack, Ginevra Spinelli

Best Sports Reporting
1st Place - Grinnell College, Steve Lewis and Maddy Griess strengthen Grinnell's athletic department, Katelyn  Johnson
2nd Place- Grinnell College, Not with a whimper: Grinnell fights back to end historic season, Henry Horn
3rd Place- Simpson College, Simpsonian- From emerging to elite, Clare Hackman
Hon. Mention- Wartburg College, The Trumpet, Battle of the Burgs: A Legacy, Caleb Kammerer

Best Written Feature Reporting
1st Place - Buena Vista University- Tack Online, Designing a future: Isabela Lopez turns heritage into inspiration, Fernanda Japa
2nd Place- Grinnell College, "OJALÁ": Remembering Julian Sahlin `28, Nora Kohnhorst, Charlotte Krone, Isaiah Moliga-Puletasi, Taylor Nunley
3rd Place- Simpson College, The Simpsonian, Hidden treasures, Hannah Rosenfeld
Hon. Mention- University of Northern Iowa - The Northern Iowan, The Reader's Cup turns a new page, Lily Munnik

Best Sports Feature Reporting
1st Place - Simpson College, The Simpsonian, Competing for a Cause, Clare Veren
2nd Place- Simpson College- The Simpsonian, One Graph at a Time , Brie Ginnaty 
3rd Place- Grinnell College, Series: Injured athletes cope on campus, Carrie Little
Hon. Mention- University of Northern Iowa, The Northern Iowa, Chase Lauman aims for the Panther record books, Carter Lust

Best Headline Writing
1st Place - Kirkwood Community College- Communique, Headlines, Communique Staff
2nd Place- Grinnell College, Scarlet & Black headlines, Scarlet & Black staff 
3rd Place- Wartburg College- The Trumpet, Censorship is so 1984: Banned Books Week at Wartburg, Lyla Pier-Atkinson
Hon. Mention- University of Northern Iowa - The Northern Iowan, Best Headlines, Cohen Kamaus

Best Opinion Writing
1st Place - Grinnell College, Opinion: Grinnell College has a mental health problem, Sara Evans
2nd Place- University of Northern Iowa, The Northern Iowan, What does 'equity' really mean?, Bailey Klinkhammer
3rd Place- Simpson College, The Simpsonian, Simpson College needs to stop using AI, Makayla Paulsen
Hon. Mention- Buena Vista University, Tack Online, Toto, we're not in Iowa anymore, Carter Soyer

Best Review
1st Place - University of Northern Iowa, The Northern Iowan, Superman: The savior of superhero cinema, Josue Villatoro
2nd Place- Wartburg College, The Trumpet, Review: Beauty in Black: A Twisted Tale that Never Seems to End, Cyrah Isa-Mogoba
3rd Place- Simpson College, The Simpsonian, The Summer I Turned Pretty, Savannah Richardson
Hon. Mention- Grinnell College, The chaos and collaboration of "Pity", Zoe Zappas

Best Staff Editorial(s)
1st Place - Wartburg College- The Trumpet, Letters from the Editors 2025-2026, Ali Parkhurst, Chloe Rehmert, Addison Wells
2nd Place- University of Northern Iowa, The Northern Iowan, State legislature aims to restrict faculty, students, not empower them, Bailey Klinkhammer
3rd Place- Buena Vista University, Tack Online, A democracy built on disobedience, Tack Editorial Board 
Hon. Mention- Kirkwood Community College, Communique, Flaws of AI detection tools, The power of positive thinking, Making your voice heard through activism, Communique Staff

Best News Photograph
1st Place - Kirkwood Community College- Communique, A walk through history, Josh Ngari
2nd Place- Kirkwood Community College- Communique, Stepping away from the studio: Flavin's final edits, Marloe Spencer
3rd Place- University of Northern Iowa- The Northern Iowan, Students protest during Applied Engineering Building ribbon cutting, Gov. Reynolds is a no-show, Josue Villatoro
Hon. Mention- Kirkwood Community College- Communique, Students lend media skills for veterans project - right photo, Marvin Johnson

Best Sports Photograph
1st Place - University of Northern Iowa, The Northern Iowan, All-Time Attendance Record Shattered, Maci Swanson
2nd Place- Simpson College, The Simpsonian, Men's Gymnastics, Addi Olson
3rd Place- Grinnell College, Cheering swimmer Maya Comer, Meilynn Smith
Hon. Mention- Kirkwood Community College- Communique, Eagles remain undefeated, Kota Winterboer

Best Feature Photo
1st Place - Simpson College, The Simpsonian, Dance Like Hell, Abby Hintz
2nd Place- Grand View University, Viewfinder Media, Dome After Dark, Karlee Knode
3rd Place- Kirkwood Community College, Communique, Jazz Jam, Gibson Lowenberg
Hon. Mention- Simpson College, The Simpsonian, May term travel, Frank Novak

Best Photo Story/Essay
1st Place- Grinnell College, Grinnell softball plays Lake Forest and Beloit, Meilynn Smith
2nd Place- Grinnell College, Grinnell Men's Basketball vs. Illinois College, Marc Duebener
3rd Place- Grand View University, Viewfinder Media, Doormat Painting, Kylie Arai
Hon. Mention- Buena Vista University- Tack Online, BVU football using summer growth and looking ahead, Jacob Kriewald

Best Print Design
1st Place - Buena Vista University- Tack Online, The Cobblestone Ballroom: Where old meets new, Lauren McCoy
2nd Place- Grinnell College - QPOC drag cover, Sarah Evans
3rd Place- University of Northern Iowa - Uprising Magazine, Layers of Me, Staff 
Hon. Mention- Buena Vista University- Tack Online, Impostor Syndrome, Tack Magazine Staff 

Best Front Page
1st Place - Grinnell College, Student Punched, Called Anti-Gay Slur, Zach Spindler-Krage, Taylor Nunley
2nd Place- University of Northern Iowa, The Northern Iowan, UNI tops 9,200 for two years in a row, Estelle Johnson
3rd Place- Simpson College, The Simpsonian, 1.30.25, Abby  Hintz
Hon. Mention- Kirkwood Community College, Communique, A walk through history, Communique Staff

Best Magazine/Special Section Cover
1st Place - Grand View University- Viewfinder Media, Volume 9 Issue 4, Karlee Knode
2nd Place- University of Northern Iowa- The Northern Iowan, Homecoming 2025, Lily Munnik
3rd Place- University of Northern Iowa- Uprising Magazine, Issue 18, Staff 

Best Online Design
1st Place - Grinnell College, Grinnell College student seeking criminal charges after being punched, called anti-gay slur on campus, Taylor Nunley, Zach Spinder-Krage

Best Graphic or Illustration
1st Place- University of Northern Iowa, Uprising Magazine, The Fear of "F" Word: Feminism, Taylor Krull
2nd Place- Grinnell College, ICE on campus illustration, Henry Loomis
3rd Place- Wartburg College, The Trumpet, Travis Bockenstedt Promotional Graphic, Rishita Gathala
Hon. Mention- Grand View University, Viewfinder Media, GV Bubble, Jesus Martinez-Aviles