Staff earned seven first place plaques and took second in general excellence
By Reader Staff
There are two important events that occur every first Saturday in May. One is the Kentucky Derby, which Sandpoint Reader staff members always celebrate in fine style. The other is the Idaho Press Club Awards Banquet in Boise, which honors the best journalism to come out of the state each year.
Reader staff members cleaned up at both events this year. The Reader took home a total of 20 awards in the Publication-Weekly Division for statewide media, including second place for general excellence (for the third year in a row).
Editor-in-Chief Zach Hagadone earned two first-place plaques; one in the Watchdog Report category for “Sandpoint City Council votes to amend non-discrimination ordinance,” and the other in Editorial for “A profile in cowardice.”
(L-R): Soncirey Mitchell, Ben Olson and Zach Hagadone at the Idaho Press Club awards banquet in Boise
Hagadone took home four second-place awards in Data Journalism, Column, Political Report and Outdoor Feature categories. Finally, he earned two third-place awards for Spot News Coverage and Business Report.
Hagadone also serves on the Idaho Press Club board and was one of the presenters this year — to our knowledge the first time a North Idaho journalist has had this honor.
Senior Writer Soncirey Mitchell earned two first-place awards in the Weekly Division; the first in the Health/Medical Report for “Theory of Unknown Origin: The Fog,” and the other in the Crime Report category for “AG’s office rules that Korn did not violate state criminal law.”
Mitchell also won a third-place award in the Agriculture Report category.
Publisher Ben Olson took home three first-place plaques; one in Light Feature Report for “A dying cause: Local nonprofits and philanthropy clubs sound the alarm over declining membership,” one in the Series category for “Backpacking the Balkans” and one in the Sports Story category for the article “Casting for a cause.”
Olson earned two second-place awards in the Serious Feature Report and Data Driven Journalism categories, and four third-place awards in the Outdoor Feature, Arts/Entertainment Report, Serious Feature Report and Column categories.
“This annual awards banquet is always a reminder that I am lucky to work with two very talented journalists here at the Reader,” Olson said. “I’m proud of what they have accomplished.”
The Reader isn’t the only North Idaho newspaper to earn state awards. The Bonner County Daily Bee also won two first-place awards in the Publication-Daily Division.
Caroline Lobsinger, Chloe Cochran, Max Oswald and Jack Freeman won first place for General Excellence-Printed, and Oswald took first place for Special Purpose Publication-Printed for Fall Sports 2025.
The Idaho Press Club provides training opportunities, lobbies the Legislature on issues of press freedom and access, and assists members with communications related to everything from media law and public records requests to changes within the news and P.R. industries.
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The Sandpoint Reader is our town's local, independent weekly newspaper. "Independent" means that the Reader is locally owned and operated by people who were born and raised in Sandpoint. The Reader is owned by Publisher Ben Olson, Editor-in-Chief Zach Hagadone and Senior Writer Soncirey Mitchell. Sandpoint Reader LLC is a completely independent business unit; no big newspaper group or corporate conglomerate or billionaire owner dictates our editorial policy. And we want the news, opinion and lifestyle stories we report to be freely available to all interested readers - so unlike many other newspapers and media websites, we have NO PAYWALL on our website. The Reader relies wholly on the support of our valued advertisers, as well as readers who voluntarily contribute. Want to ensure that local, independent journalism survives in our town? You can help support the Reader for as little as $1.
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Sandpoint in Pictures
Filmmaker Jimmy Matlosz of the Idaho Film Company has made a series of mini documentaries about influential Sandpoint locals, including the late Dann Hall and Erik Daarstad as well as icons Diane Michaels and Dan Shook. He is currently working on a series of interviews connected to the history of the Panida Theater. Jimmy is a 30-year veteran filmmaker who's work can be seen at dpmatlosz.com.
Meet the Reader
Ever wonder who makes the Reader happen? Here's a behind-the-scenes look pieced together by summer 2017 intern McCalee Cain in which Ben, Cameron and Lyndsie explain what exactly about the Reader keeps them coming back to their shabby (but well-loved) office each week.
