The Daily Gate City received six awards in this year’s Iowa Newspaper Association’s Better Newspaper Contests.

Nearly 4,000 entries in dozens of categories were judged by class, based on circulation. The Daily Gate City competed in Daily Class 1, which includes dailies with circulations of 9,999 and less.

The newspaper and staff writer Cindy Iutzi placed first in the best spot news story category with a story about a group of teenagers who floated down the Des Moines River and were stranded on an island overnight.

The Daily Gate City and Iutzi and staff writer Diane Vance finished second in the best news story category with a story about sexting, a practice in which sexually-suggestive and explicit photos are sent over cell phones.

The newspaper finished third with its coverage of education during the contest period. Most of the articles were written by Vance, who has left the paper and is pursuing a master’s degree at Maharishi University in Fairfield now.

The Daily Gate City and Iutzi received a third-place award in the best news photo category with a photo of the Parkersburg tornado taken at a storm spotters’ seminar in Keokuk.

Amanda Grotts of the DGC’s composing department placed third in the best ad designer category with a group of different ads.

In addition, the newspaper was judged third in the best newspaper Web site category.

The awards were presented Friday during the INA 2010 Convention and Trade Show in Des Moines.

The Des Moines Register was named the INA’s Newspaper of the Year for 2010. The Muscatine Journal placed first in general excellence among the Class 1 dailies.

Copyright © 2010 – Daily Gate City

Diane Vance graduated from Maharishi University of Management with a graduate degree in education, left to teach at a school, then returned to Fairfield to write, very well, for the Fairfield Ledger. Here is a personal article about her journey to Finding peace in Fairfield.