The Battlefords will once again be well-represented at the Saskatchewan Weekly Newspaper Association awards.
The Battlefords News-Optimist and Regional Optimist together earned 11 nominations, including a Class E Best All Around nomination for Battlefords Regional Optimist.
The Regional Optimist also scored nominations for Class E Best Editorial and Best Front Page.
Graphic artist Jackie Young also scored a nomination for the Battlefords News-Optimist in the Best Ad category.
In the Columnist of the Year category, the News-Optimist finds itself in the envious position of competing against itself, as both Alex McPhail and Brian Zinchuk are nominated in the category of Columnist of the Year.
Other nominees include Danica Lorer for Best Saskatchewan Cultural Story, Tara Scaglione for Best Saskatchewan Recreation Story or Series of Stories, Scaglione and Jayne Foster for Best Overall Coverage K-12 Education, Tara Scaglione for Best First Nations Coverage, and Heather Young of the for Best Black and White Photo.
Last year the papers received eight nominations and won three awards at the SWNA awards banquet in Saskatoon. The success of the local papers at the SWNA awards last year not only earned the papers provincial recognition from their peers, but also the congratulations of local political representatives including MLA Len Taylor and MP Gerry Ritz.
This year's awards will be handed out in Regina on April 21.
