The Colorado Sun won 18 awards in the annual Colorado Press Association journalism contest on Saturday, including first-place honors in politics and social justice reporting.
In addition to individual awards for reporting and visual journalism, The Sun won the excellence in photo and design award for its class.
Sun reporter Sandra Fish, who retired in July, won the trade group’s First Amendment Award, which honors an individual for protecting or advancing freedom of information. In April, Fish was removed from the state GOP convention because of reporting that Chairman Dave Williams found to be “very unfair.”
Her work examined Williams’ leadership of the state party, including use of state party resources to aid his run for Congress, his struggle to raise money for party work and his use of his leadership position to benefit or defend himself and his allies. As the awards were being given out on Saturday, members of the state GOP’s central committee voted to remove Williams and two of his lieutenants from their posts.
Sun photographer Hugh Carey won two firsts, for best news photograph and best photography portfolio. Reporter Jennifer Brown won first place for best health enterprise reporting, and shared first-place honors with fellow Sun reporter John Ingold for best informational graphic. Parker Yamasaki won first place for best business news/feature story.
Sun stories, graphics, photos and audio projects recognized with first-place awards:
- As some Colorado drive-ins fade out, others keep the dream alive. Parker Yamasaki
- The park ranger, the mental health worker and the endless hurdles they face to help people on Denver’s streets Jennifer Brown
- Colorado Democrats are turning 2023 into the year of housing. But should the state wade into local land decisions? Elliott Wenzler
- Colorado mothers speak out against OB-GYN racism to try to reverse decades-long trend of dangerous care. Tatiana Flowers.
- “Fat, Black and Gettin It”: The unexpected influence of Colorado’s outdoor TikTok star Nelson Holland. Dan England.
- ‘Welcome to Denver’: Meet the 17 mayoral candidates through their airport train greeting. Jesse Paul, Sandra Fish, Elliott Wenzler, Danika Worthington.
- Denver bought one-way bus tickets for 1,900 migrants. Here’s where they were going. Jennifer Brown and John Ingold
- Joe Biden tells Air Force Academy graduates in Colorado Springs ‘the world is going to get more confusing‘. Hugh Carey
Sun stories and photos recognized with second-place awards:
- Colorado’s long battle over raw milk is reenergized by the “food freedom” movement. Jennifer Brown
- A Navajo teacher is among the first Colorado educators to revive Indigenous language in the classroom. Erica Breunlin.
- Volunteers are on the hunt for one of Colorado’s most adorable animals before climate change erases them. Olivia Prentzel.
- New condos are hard to find in Colorado. Getting developers to build more will roil the Capitol next year. Elliott Wenzler.
- HOA-foreclosed homes in Colorado are auctioned off for a fraction of their market value, erasing years of equity. Jesse Paul.
- The cost of 5 common grocery items has gone up 35% in Colorado in 5 years. Here’s the breakdown. Jennifer Brown.
- Lightning-sparked Lowline fire burning near Crested Butte grows to 680 acres. Don Emmert.
The Sun competed in the Class 3 category against its larger print newspaper colleagues, including The Denver Post and the Colorado Springs Gazette. The Post was recognized with 19 awards, including 12 first place. The Gazette won 16 awards, including nine firsts.