The Nome Nugget wins Best Weekly Newspaper and five awards at Alaska Press Club Awards

Nome Nugget reporters won several awards at last week’s Alaska Press Club conference.  The annual gathering of the state's journalists in Anchorage provides reporters continued education on journalism and recognizes outstanding work of Alaska’s reporters.

Here is our award winning work:

Best Alaska Weekly newspaper

Here is what Judge Justin Hinkley had to say: “Chock full of fantastic local news and features that tell the story of their communities from front to back. Excellent reporting and solid presentation.”

Best Public Safety Reporting- First place

“Help didn’t come in time to rescue overdue boater”

By Diana Haecker

Judge Christina Myer commented: “Careful handling of this family’s heartbreak with a fair look at how/whether it could have been avoided made this one stand out.”

Best Public Safety Reporting - Third place

Anguish prevails over gold mining after historic storm

By Megan Gannon

Best Reporting on Health - Second place

Dentists fear state's medicaid policy changes may delay kids' care

By Megan Gannon

Judges comments: “Dental health is often ignored, but some say all health depends on our teeth. This article highlighted the difficulties of getting good dental care off the road system and the bumbling bureaucracy that manages it."

Best Reporting on Science - Second place

“Beaver colonization around Nome is harbinger of Arctic changes”

By Megan Gannon

Judges comments:  "Nuanced reporting, with a variety of perspectives (scientific, subsistence, regulatory). I love the inclusion of the fieldwork effort in consultation with local communities, the existential questions around beaver mitigation, and the detail that beaver meat tastes “faintly of willows.” Way to highlight the science being done in Western Alaska."

Best Short Feature - Third place

“Builders of Nome celebrates 50-year anniversary”

By Megan Gannon

Judges comments: "A humorous profile of unusual local characters. It makes readers feel as if they know the brothers who run the unusual hardware store."