TOP YOUNG JOURNALISTS AT APG OF EAST CENTRAL MINNESOTA

East Central Minnesota

APG of East Central Minnesota had another strong showing at the Minnesota Newspaper Association Better Newspaper Contest, held annually in January. As a group an estimated 70 awards were collected.

Perhaps the most impressive awards went to three of the group’s youngest journalists: Natalie Ryder, Natalie Cierzan and Nikki Hallman.

The three captured first, second and third, respectively, in the Dave Pyle Young Journalist Award category.

The award is named after longtime MNA committee member Dave Pyle who worked to establish the award, under a different name, during his time as the AP Bureau Chief covering Minnesota and as a member of the MNA Journalism Education Committee.

Pyle suffered from diabetes and had a kidney transplant in 1999, but never allowed that to become an obstacle to his coverage of news throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin. He died in 2015 and the award that recognized excellence by young journalists was renamed in his honor. The trio of APG journalists were recognized for their “diverse skill sets, relationship building, use of quotes and great ledes.” Ryder works for the Forest Lake Times. Hallman is based out of the County News Review office in Cambridge, while Cierzan works for the Sun Newspaper group in Osseo.

All three were at the annual convention in Brooklyn Park to accept their awards.