SPRINGFIELD — The Maries County Advocate, Gasconade County Republican, and The Unterrified Democrat staff took home more than 20 awards during the 2024 Missouri Press Better Newspaper Contest awards ceremony in Springfield last weekend. The contest recognized top news stories published throughout the state in 2023.

The Gasconade County Republican received seven awards during Saturday’s ceremony, including three first-place wins:

• Jacob Warden, Best News Photograph for “Inside a Fireball;”

• Jacob Warden, Best Sports Feature Photograph for “Pregame Hype;”

• Roxie Murphy, Best Story About Education for “GCR-2 board memorial policy for suicide deaths.”

“Inside a Fireball” also received the overall Best Photo of the Year award.

Three second-place awards went to Republican staff:

• Dave Marner, Best News Photograph for “Flag-Draped;”

• Will Johnson, Best Sports Columnist for “‘Will’ful Thinking;”

• Will Johnson, Best Sports Story or Package for “Wrestling History.”

The Republican also took one third-place award for Best Breaking News Story for Buck Collier and Dave Marner’s article “Judge rejects motion to step aside.”

The Maries County Advocate earned 10 awards with the entire staff earning recognition with a first-place award in the Best Overall Design category.

Two other first-place awards went to the Advocate: staff writer Colin Willard won Best Military Story with his article “Vienna WWII veteran celebrates 100th birthday” and sports editor Will Johnson won Best News Photograph with his photo “Escaping car fire.”

The Advocate placed second in one category: assistant editor Roxie Murphy received a Best Health Story award for her article “Walmart Heart brings joy to 4-year-old.”

Six third-place awards went to The Advocate:

• Colin Willard, Best Business Story for “Brewer science completes expansion;”

• Jacob Warden, Best Photo Package for “FFA, 4-H Auction;”

• Will Johnson, Best Sports Feature Photograph for “All-State Happiness;”

• Will Johnson, Best News Story or Package for “Co. track athletes earn All-State;”

• Roxie Murphy, Best Story About Government for “City of Belle Sunshine law issues;”

• Roxie Murphy, Best Story About Rural Life or Agriculture for “Gerloffs celebrate 106 years.”

The Unterrified Democrat received four awards during the contest.

Neal A. Johnson won first-place for Best Health Story for his article “Fulkerson returns from stem-cell procedure cancer-free.”

The paper also received two second-place awards: Neal A. Johnson and Jacob Warden took Best Photo Package for “Osage County Fair” and Neal A. Johnson received honors for Best Story About Religion for his article “Gehlert has once-in-a-lifetime meeting with Dalai Lama.”

Neal A. Johnson also received a third-place award for Best Sports Feature Story for his article “Fatima 1990-1996 Softball teams inducted to MO Sports Hall of Fame.”

The Missouri Sunshine Coalition also recognized Warden Publishing employees Roxie Murphy, Dave Marner and Jacob Warden for their roles as Sunshine Heroes. The recognition came following Murphy’s reporting on the city of Belle’s Sunshine Law violations that ultimately led to a settlement between the city and the Missouri Attorney General’s Office.