Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Sauk Centre Herald Entry Title: Random Reflections - Diane Leukam Entry Credit: Diane Leukam Judge Comment: The writer finds the right note all the way through her entries. Her writing is emotional, evocative, and spellbinding. Her personal manual on dealing with dementia is something everyone should read.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Luverne - Rock County Star Herald Entry Title: "It's all relative," "Secrets" and "True meaning" Entry Credit: Mavis Fodness Judge Comment: These three columns are all well-written with really enjoyable takes on life: She offers us two personal reflections and then tells us the tale of the priest's new car.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Blooming Prairie Steele County Times Entry Title: Columinist Entry Credit: Rick Bussler Judge Comment: The writer's first entry, on siblings’ champion dairy steers, is right between a column and a story. The second one, telling about his encounters with a family, is unforgettable and gripping. The third one, on socks, is funny.
Competition Comment: When judges write a summary of his or her views on the competition at hand, they almost always say something like this: There were a lot of good entries and many deserving writers and yada yada yada and on and on. You've all read them.
However, this time you can take it to the bank. There were 21 entries in this competition and seven or eight of them could have been among the top three or even the overall winner. There was some remarkable stuff in this competition, evidence of the thought that was put into the entries and the skill of the writers.
There are some pretty good writers in the North Star State, and I consider it a privilege to have read some of them.
