The Diocese of St. Cloud received eight awards from the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada for work published in 2018 in The Visitor (now The Central Minnesota Catholic magazine). The awards were announced June 21 at the 2019 Catholic Media Conference in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The awards are:
• First place, best feature writing, for “Local families reflect the many faces of foster care,” by Kristi Anderson.
• First place, best sports journalism, for Kristi Anderson’s story “St. John’s Gagliardi had more victories off the field than on it.” about the legacy of the late St. John’s University football coach John Gagliardi.
• First place, best blog by a news organization, for “From the Heart: A Catholic Blog for Central Minnesota,” coordinated by Kristi Anderson.
• First place, best editorial on a national or international issue, for “Pursuing a journalism of truth, peace around the world,” by Joe Towalski.
• Third place, best regular column by a bishop or archbishop, for Bishop Donald Kettler’s column “Faith, Hope and Love.”
• Third place, best use of graphics, for “Pastoral Planning 101,” a graphic providing context to the diocese’s efforts to create a new pastoral plan for parishes (design by Barbara Simon-Johnson; information compiled by Kristi Anderson).
• Third place best scenic photograph, for Dianne Towalski’s photo “Pacem Owl,” a photo of a barred owl perched in a tree near Pacem in Terris Retreat Center in Isanti.
• Honorable mention, best reporting on the celebration of a sacrament for “School community welcomes students to waters of baptism” (story by Kristi Anderson; photos by Dianne Towalski).
Congratulations! What a huge honor, over and over and over again! Your leadership of Theological grounded staff and understanding the interests of our Diocese make all the difference in the world. Thank you so much! Love the new magazine look too.