Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Dubuque - Telegraph Herald Entry Title: The Tri-States' Ballrooms & Bands Entry Credit: Mike Day Judge Comment: What a delight and surprise. Community history through dance halls? Yes, please, when it includes Johnny Cash, Louis Armstrong and Jerry Lee Lewis live in small towns, social history and how, it seems, a many of the area’s forebears must have met their mates. Wonderful ‘living history’ tales that must be told now, with evocative photos.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Cedar Rapids - The Gazette Entry Title: Flood Annivesary Section - Resilience Entry Credit: The Gazette Judge Comment: This section presented a thorough and important recounting of a flood and the ensuing infrastructure improvements -- highly relevant in an era of environmental upheaval. Whether things go right or wrong the next time, this careful exploration will establish exactly what was done to recover and prepare, with strong integration of maps, graphics and photos to tell the story and keep a significant issue top of mind.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Dubuque - Telegraph Herald Entry Title: In Their Own Words Entry Credit: Staff Judge Comment: It can be deceptively difficult to turn ‘in their own words’ types of interviews into cogent prose, but when done well, as here, they can be intimate, revealing and highly readable. This was an impressively diverse and visually appealing set of hyperlocal stories that makes you want to read every last one.
