The Dakota County Star was honored with 13 awards during the 2026 Better Newspaper Contest presentation Saturday by the Nebraska Newspaper Association during its annual convention in Lincoln.
The Star earned two first-place awards, five second-place winners and sixth third-place awards in a variety of events that included advertising, news and sports coverage, and general excellence.
First-place awards included in Building Circulation, an award that featured the Star’s “director of security,” Noodles, in an promotional ad called “Dog Days.”
The Star’s other first-place award was a front-page feature photo of young kids chasing a pig during Emerson’s annual Tri-County Days celebration.
Second-place awards included:
— Sports Feature Photo
— Sports Page
— Sports Column
— Breaking News
— Feature Series
Third-place awards received were:
— General Excellence
— Sports Feature Photo
— Sports Feature Writing
— Sports Game Coverage
— News Writing
— Special Section
Complete coverage in next week’s edition of the Dakota County Star.
