Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Aitkin Independent Age Entry Title: Typography and Design, Aitkin Independent Age Entry Credit: Jennifer Eisenbart, Kathy Robb, Jeanne Schram, Mike Armstrong Judge Comment: Classic approach to design separated this from the other entries in this category. Teaser font choices, use of colored fonts and beautiful nameplate made this a winner. Keep those hairlines and white space between stories -- not always consistent in the entries.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Anoka County Union Herald Entry Title: Anoka County UnionHerald Typography & Design Entry Credit: Jonathan Young, Connor Cummiskey, Patrick Slack Judge Comment: Nice headline fonts that were sometimes used too small. Show those off! I like the bolder feature head rather than the italicized choice. Liberal use of teasers on the front makes for more work, but it's worth it as the front page pops.
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Isle - Mille Lacs Messenger Entry Title: Mille Lacs Messenger - Typography & Design Entry Credit: Traci LeBrun, Linda Goldsmith Judge Comment: Clean, good color reproduction and quality newsprint make those photos snap. The Messenger also uses a broadsheet approach on a tab format, but white space, hairlines and photo treatments make this one work. Nice little paper.