Colorado Community Media reporters and staff received 19  awards in the Colorado Press Association's annual Better Newspaper Contest, which honored the state's best journalism work for 2021.

Leading the honorees named during a  Sept. 17 ceremony at  Coors Field was west metro reporter Rylee Dunn. Dunn, who primarily covers Arvada, received two first-place honors. Dunn received the top prize in the Best Series or Sustained Coverage in the Class 4 division for the work on the Olde Town Arvada shooting and aftermath, and a first-place award in the Best Business/News Feature category for her work on Namiko’s 30-year history spanning two generations.

Dunn also took second place for Best News Story for her investigative work on a former political candidate being charged with felony identity theft.

Douglas County reporter Elliott Wenzler also took home several awards,  including first place for Best Health/Enterprise Story for an interview with Dr. John Douglas, the head of Tri-County Health Department, after one year of the COVID pandemic.

Wenzler received two second-place honors for feature (H2O'Brien Pool) and news photography (Homeless issues in Douglas County); in addition, she and former reporter Jessica Gibbs were honored in the breaking news category for their coverage of the STEM school shooting trial.

Gibbs took second place for Best Education Story on school districts addressing racial equity issues.

West metro reporter Olivia Jewell Love was excited to receive her first professional award, taking home second-place honors in the health category for an article on  Evergreen-area RNs tackling nurse burnout through healing groups, resources.

South Metro Editor Thelma Grimes took first and second place in the Best Sustained Coverage or Series In the Class  6 division. She won first place a series on the Douglas County mental health program that has set standards at the state and national levels. She took second place for a series on delayed medical care due to COVID.

Senior reporter Ellis Arnold took home a second-place honor in the news writring category for his coverage of Xcel Energy’s concerns for health, property values in south metro Denver.

Former reporter David Gilbert won two first-place honors for his in-depth investigation on the Colorado Center for the Blind’s handling of sexual assault allegations.

In another first-place honor, former Jeffco Transcript reporter Bob Wooley won for his feature story on the aftermath in the decades since the 1999 Columbine High School shootings. 

Washington Park Profile Editor Christy Steadman won second place for Best Health Enterprise story for her work on Denver Hospice.

In advertising and design, the CCM team took home four separate awards, with designer Tina Meltzer winning first- and second-place awards for print ad design in the Class 4 division. In the Class 6 division, designer Tom Fildey placed second for best print ad.  

Designer Ben Wiebesiek won second place in the Lone Tree Voice for Best Page Design.