The Northerner took home second place overall for student media General Excellence at the 2025 Kentucky Press Association (KPA) Winter Convention in Lexington, Kentucky.

The Northerner staff earned 16 individual and staff awards, from Best Feature Story to Best Front Page and more. See below for a full list of winners.

Compiling work from October 2023 through September 2024, The Northerner submitted some of our best articles, photos and videos , including stories like “The hidden world of St. Anne” and “Campus reflects on controversial demonstration, free speech” and our series on immigration in Northern Kentucky.

Last year, our student media publication brought home 13 awards and earned third place in General Excellence. At the time, Editor-in-Chief Braden White commended the dedication of the tight-knit staff.

This year, as editor-in-chief, I am immensely proud of our growth and tenacity to produce award-winning journalism. We faced challenges in the last year: the retirement of our previous faculty adviser Michele Day, the graduation of eight key contributing staff members who helped catapult the publication to success and more.

While we are exceptionally grateful for the support and resources provided by the College of Informatics and the university as a whole, The Northerner is not privileged with million-dollar facilities and endless resources like some Kentucky student media publications. Nevertheless, the grit and determination of our student journalists have proven to be our most valuable assets.

We want to say thank you to our readers; thank you for your support and trust in The Northerner. We ask for your continued support as we strive to keep producing award-winning quality journalism.

The Northerner’s 2025 Kentucky Press Association awards:

Best Breaking News Coverage — Killian Baarlaer, second place

Best General News Story — Emily Sisk and Wyatt Kain, second place

Best Feature Story — Mildred Nguyen, first and second place

Best Enterprise or Analytical Story — Mildred Nguyen, second place

Best Investigative Story or Series — Killian Baarlaer, Emily Sisk and Braden White, second place

Best On-going/Extended Coverage Story — Shae Meade, Isabella Huecker and Elita St. Clair, first place

Best On-going/Extended Coverage Story — Staff, third place

Best Lede — Mildred Nguyen, first place

Best Lede — Killian Baarlaer, third place

Best Video — Staff, first place

Best Website — Staff, second place

Best Feature Picture — Emory Davis, first place

Best Front Page — Hailey Roden, first and second place

Best Headline — Emily Sisk, third place