NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER — News Chronicle Editor Robert Maharry and Correspondent Michael D. Davis show off some of the first place plaques they won at the recent Iowa Newspaper Association awards banquet.

DES MOINES — Newspapers across Iowa celebrated another successful year during the annual INA Convention and awards banquet at the downtown Marriott in Des Moines last Thursday, and staff at both the Times-Republican and Tama-Grundy weekly publications came home with several accolades.

“The Iowa Newspaper Association’s annual Better Newspaper Contest is an opportunity for Iowa newspapers throughout the state to showcase their work. I’m extremely proud of the Times-Republican and Tama-Grundy weekly publications. The awards they received were because of their dedication and passion for the communities we serve,” Publisher Terry Christensen said.

It was a banner year for the Tama-Toledo News Chronicle as the paper picked up five first place trophies in Weekly Class II, including a Harrison “Skip” Weber Investigative Reporting Award for correspondent Michael Davis’s coverage of the March 30 traffic stop that ultimately resulted in the resignation of former Toledo Police Officer Kyle Howe and four subsequent federal lawsuits against Howe, the police department and the city.

“Reporting in a small town about alleged abusive behavior by police officers is a challenging exercise in civic journalism. This newspaper didn’t shrink or back down in the face of this challenge, nor did it just rely on the official statements of public or police officials,” the judge’s comments read. “It listened to others in the community who spoke out and told of similar abuses by the same officer and made sure they had a chance to have their say. Tough story to report on, but well done. And it kept digging when it could otherwise have shrunk back and done only the basics.”

The News Chronicle team also won first place in the Coverage of Education and Coverage of Courts and Crime categories, and Davis was recognized as the Master Columnist in his class for his humorous and whimsical tales of life in Toledo. Maharry’s feature story on South Tama County and Iowa Hawkeye football legend Jon Lazar’s induction into the IHSAA Hall of Fame rounded out the first place winners for the paper, which also took second place for Best Headline Writing, Best Continuing Coverage and Best Newspaper Website and third place for Coverage of Government and Politics.