Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Hallock - Kittson County Enterprise Entry Title: Oh, that is Sew Tori! Entry Credit: Anna Jauhola Judge Comment: This is a unique business to highlight, and the reporter did a fabulous job of highlighting the owner's personality. I felt like I knew her by the time I was done reading about her business.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Waterville - LifeEnterprise Entry Title: Brat Dogs are BIG time Entry Credit: Lisa Ingebrand Judge Comment: This piece was a great highlight of a growing local business. It had a good combination of information about the business journey as well as great quotes from the owners. (And now I want to eat a brat dog.)
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Forest Lake Times Entry Title: Rise, Inc. looks to community to 'Lyft' residents with disabilities Entry Credit: Natalie Ryder Judge Comment: The lead on this story was great. I thought the reporter's choice to start with a specific person and then branch out to the wider issues the non-profit and the community is facing was a nice way of handling an important issue.
Competition Comment: This was a toughie. I enjoyed reading about the wide variety of interesting businesses around the state.
