MARSHALL — The Marshall Independent was among the Minnesota newspapers recognized in the Minnesota Newspaper Association’s Better Newspaper Contest.

The Independent received three awards, which were presented Jan. 30 at the MNA’s annual convention.

Among multi-day newspapers with a circulation of up to 5,000, the Independent was recognized for typography and design, its use of photography as a whole, and its sports reporting.

“The recognitions that we received at the Minnesota Newspaper Association convention represent the hard work and dedication all the staff put in” in putting out the newspaper, said Marshall Independent publisher Grant Gibbons.

“I applaud the staff for their good work, and I’m glad we received this recognition,” Gibbons said.

The typography and design award recognized the overall look and use of type in the Marshall Independent. The photography award looked at the use of photos in the entire newspaper, with the judging based on selected editions of the Independent from the past year.

The sports reporting award looked at the quality of the Independent’s sports section as a whole. Independent sports editor Jake McNeill said judges reviewed a selection of five editions of the Marshall Independent, taken from five different weeks over the past year.

Members of the Minnesota Newspaper Association submitted almost 4,000 examples of their most outstanding work from 2023 and 2024 for the contest, the MNA said. Entries were reviewed by expert judges from Illinois.