Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Blooming Prairie Steele County Times Entry Title: Hot Pursuit Entry Credit: Rick Bussler Judge Comment: Rick Bussler has a light humorous touch when writing about how his mom got a black eye. In a separate column he discussions a cornucopia of County Fair food created at home after COVID-19 force cancellation of the real thing. He also details woes of delivering the newspaper when the U.S. Postal Service drags its feet and doesn't offer any help or answers. Any publisher can identify with this.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Tower/Ely/Cook-Orr - The Timberjay Entry Title: Marshall Helmberger Columns Entry Credit: Marshall Helmberger Judge Comment: Marshall Helmberger demonstrates versatility in columns on struggles with a home rehab project, his personal war with a woodchuck and how he introduced a relatively new colleague to "ricing." The woodchuck column was a particularly fun read!
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Forest Lake Times Entry Title: Just a girl and her paddleboard; Stupid Hannah Moments; When Words Aren't Enough Entry Credit: Hannah Davis Judge Comment: No boat. No time. No problem. I enjoyed Hannah Davis' account of what she'll do to get on the waters via her inflatable paddleboard plus her exploits in another column with an ATV that goes awry. She also offers a serious take and a plea to avoid knee jerk reactions following the fatal shooting by a police officer 20-year-old Daunte Wright.
Competition Comment: Many columnists are happy to offer their takes on national topics like former President Trump and COVID-19 restrictions, but some of the best writing emerges from humble personal experiences. Winners in this category wrote about his elderly mom got a black eye, another highlighted his personal war with a woodchuck while a third writer finally gets on Minnesota waters using an inflatable paddleboard.
