The Ely Timberjay again took top honors in the Minnesota Newspaper Convention's annual Better Newspaper Contest, taking first place awards in the under 1,500 circulation category for General Excellence, Typography and Design, General Reporting, Editorial Page as a Whole, Best Use of Photograhpy, and Advertising Excellence.

"This is a great newspaper!," declared the contest judges, made up of newspaper editors and publisher from the state of Maryland. "There is strong news content with lots of local hard news. Good commentary, excellent photos, strong design, good ad flow, sections, sports, printing and photo reproduction. First rate. This is the total package," stated the judges.

While the Timberjay typically enters its Ely edition in the contest, Publisher Marshall Helmberger noted that the strengths highlighted by the judges are shared by the Tower-Soudan and Cook-Orr editions as well.

The Timberjay's website also won major awards, including a second place nod for Best Website for newspapers under 2,500 circulation. The Timberjay also took second place among all newspapers in the state for Best Community Interactive Website.

The Timberjay also won the state's most prestigious award for weekly newspapers, details of which will be announced on our website and in our print editions later this week.