LINN — The Unterrified Democrat brought home seven awards — including three first-place finishes — in the 2026 Better Newspaper Contest, recognizing the newspaper’s work in photography, health reporting, sports coverage, and feature writing from 2025.

UD Editor Neal Johnson led the newspaper’s showing with five individual awards, including two first-place honors. His photograph, “Hit on the Head,” earned first place in Best Sports Photograph, while his story “Kemna credits early detection, vigilance with surviving breast cancer” took first place in the Best Health Story category.

GCR Sports Editor Will Johnson also earned a top honor, taking first place in Best Sports Feature Photograph for “State Championship.”

Neal Johnson added three third-place finishes to the newspaper’s total. His story, “Robertson notches first career hit in MLB debut on Father’s Day,” earned third place for Best Sports News Story or Package, while his “Volleyball Celebration” photograph earned third place for Best Sports Feature Photograph. Johnson’s “World War II veteran celebrates 100th birthday” story also received third place in the Best Military Story category.

Manager Jacob Warden rounded out the Unterrified Democrat’s award-winning entries, earning third place in Best Photo Package for “Bull Ride.”

Altogether, the newspaper collected three first-place and four third-place awards, with the honors spanning both newswriting and photography and reflecting the range of community, sports and feature coverage produced by the Unterrified Democrat staff.

Additional honors for Warden Publishing staff

The Gasconade County Republican earned seven awards:

First place, Best Breaking News Story: Dave Marner — “Dump Truck Kills One”

First place, Best Newspaper in Education Project: Staff — “Dutchmill”

Second place, General Excellence: Staff

Second place, Best Front Page: Staff

Third place, Best Photo Package: Dave Marner — “‘Gritty Growler’ paddler race”

Third place, Best News or Feature Obituary: Roxie Murphy — “Community continues to grieve”

Third place, Best Business Story: Elise Brochu — “Adam Puchta Winery”

The Maries County Advocate earned four awards:

First place, Best Sports Photograph: Will Johnson — “Play at the Plate”

Second place, Best Photo Package: Jacob Warden — “Belle Livestock Sale”

Second place, Best Story About History: Colin Willard — “HSMC’s ‘This & That’ album gives unidentified photos second chance”

Second place, Best Military Story: Edward Gehlert — “Young mechanic aims high in Army aviation career”