Colorado Sun staff. Morton L. Margolin Distinguished Lecture, featuring Evan Smith, at the Cable Center, University of Denver, in Denver, Colorado, on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020 (Steve Peterson, Special to The Colorado Sun)

The Colorado Sun won 10 first-place awards in the Colorado Press Association journalism contest, including the prestigious Public Service award.

The Sun took first place in Investigative, Education, Business, Agriculture and Health, among other categories in the contest’s large Class 7 division. The Sun’s nine first-places in the Editorial Awards portion of the contest were the most of any large news organization (The Sun’s 10th first-place was for informational graphics in the Photo and Design category). The Sun also was recognized with four second-place awards.

The Sun was awarded top recognition in Public Service for its Capitol Sunlight Project, which provides a citizen’s guide to lawmaking and lobbying in Colorado. It includes the Polis Promise Tracker, which tracks the promises Gov. Jared Polis made in his 2018 campaign and any progress he has made in achieving them.

The Denver Post won eight first-places in Editorial Awards and an additional four first-places in the Photo and Design category. The Colorado Springs Gazette won six first-place Editorial Awards, one first-place online award and four Photo and Design firsts.

The press association awards, announced Tuesday, followed The Sun’s strong showing in the four-state Top of the Rockies competition, in which it picked up 28 awards — including 14 first-places.

First place

  1. Agriculture Story Tamara Chuang Colorado Sun: Why Colorado’s corn farmers are getting hurt by China’s soybean tariff
  2. Business News Tamara Chuang Colorado Sun: A Denver startup asks every potential investor: Have you faced sexual harassment complaints?
  3. Education Story Kevin Simpson Colorado Sun: How does a rural Colorado county with three people per square mile send 30 students to an Ivy League institution?
  4. Headline Writing John Ingold Colorado Sun: Talk QWERTY to me: A vintage typewriter shop in Glenwood Springs gets analog hearts racing
  5. Health Enterprise-Health Feature Story John Ingold Colorado Sun: As Coloradans struggle to pay for health coverage, cheaper alternatives come with their own perils
  6. Investigative Story Package Christopher Osher, Jennifer Brown Colorado Sun: No Colorado school districts meet federal safety standards for behavioral health staffing, investigation shows
  7. Serious Column Writing John Ingold Colorado Sun: Opinion: How the media — including me — unwittingly helped create a Columbine narrative that has inspired murderers ever since
  8. Story-Picture Combination Jason Blevins, Dean Krakel Colorado Sun: The most thrilling commute in Colorado: How Grizzly Reservoir’s caretakers keep water flowing
  9. Public Service John Frank, Brian Eason, Jesse Paul, Sandra Fish, Carrie Osgood Colorado Sun: Capitol Sunlight Project
  10. Informational Graphic John Frank, Carrie Osgood Colorado Sun: Three graphics that explain the 2018 election and Colorado’s political future

This byline is used for articles and guides written collaboratively by The Colorado Sun reporters, editors and producers.