After winning access to this public information at the state Supreme Court, we are still fighting. We are in court for the underlying police affidavits that sparked the investigations, as well as to find out if this investigation is even still ongoing, and what this case means for a region and city who sees this man’s namesake everywhere, from our dominant health care system, Sanford Health to Sioux Falls’ main concert and athletics venue, the T. Denny Sanford Events Center.

The Argus Leader regularly, annually, fights these kinds of battles, though this was unprecedented.

Public Service award:

First place – Staff

Story: Secret votes on Attorney General Impeachment

When lawmakers hold a special legislative session in the state of South Dakota, the votes that trigger it are allowed to be kept secret.

Or at least they were until the Argus Leader got involved.

More than two-thirds of members of both the House and Senate last fall submitted petitions to chamber leadership calling for a special session to conduct hearings related to the impeachment of Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg, who killed a pedestrian with his car in September 2020. But when asked to make copies of the signed petitions public, both House Speaker Spencer Gosch and the Legislative Research Council denied the request.

Gosch said individual lawmakers are free to share with their constituents, the press and general public if they signed a petition in support of a special session, but nothing in law, he argued, requires a comprehensive list of petition signers or the petitions themselves be made publicly available.

That explanation ignored the reality that the petitions are an act of the state legislature prompting Legislative action. And it would require any interested party in the future to contact 105 lawmakers individually to find out who supported a special session and who didn’t.

That prompted litigation to force the petitions to be turned over. But before the matter was resolved in court, the Legislature’s executive board put in policy that special session petitions – whether related to the impeachment of Ravnsborg or any other subject – are part of public record.

So whether today, tomorrow or 20 years from now, and regardless of lawmakers’ ability (if deceased) or willingness to share publicly how they voted on holding special sessions, there will be a public record thanks to the Argus Leader and the good sense of legislative leaders who bucked their own House Speaker. We are also still pursuing getting actual statute changed in addition. 

Outstanding Young Journalist:

Erin Woodiel.

From the nomination letter:

“As with any ‘of the year’ discussion, Erin’s nomination comes with far more than skill at her craft. She is thoughtful, eager and kind. The sort of colleague and friend that energizes a team and makes the difficult work of being a journalist just a little bit easier knowing she’s on your side.

At this point in my tenure at the Argus Leader, I’ve worked with dozens of young journalists (and plenty of them photographers), and it’s a rare few that could hold a candle to Erin Woodiel.” – Cory Myers, news director. 

Spot News Photo:

First place – Erin Woodiel 

Government Reporting:

First place – Morgan Matzen

Story: ‘Left to rumors and nothing’: South Dakota’s privacy laws keep families in the lurch about teacher discipline

Third place – Makenzie Molnar

Story: South Dakota lacks consumer protection laws for used car sales. Here’s what to know before you buy.

News Series:

First place – Makenzie Molnar and Alfonzo Galvan

Story: Smithfield spent millions on COVID-19 precautions. A year later, workers say it’s not enough.

Second place – Morgan Matzen

Story: South Dakota DOE removed Indigenous topics from social studies standards before final draft

Sports Columns:

First place – Michael McCleary for a collection of columns, including: De Smet’s Kalen Garry scores 87 points, hits game-winner and creates national headlines in whirlwind week

Second place – Matt Zimmer for columns including this ode to John Madden after his passing. 

Sports Photo:

First place – Erin Woodiel for O’Gorman track exhaustion 

Sports Reporting:

First place – Michael McCleary for how Tea Area became a football powerhouse

Sports Series:

First place – Brian Haenchen for ‘Season of Sacrifices’: The unseen toll of COVID-19 for high school athletes on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

Second place – Matt Zimmer for amateur baseball project.

Third place – Alfonzo Galvan for his Little League World Series coverage.

Best Use of Social Media:

First place – Staff

Best Website:

First place – Staff

Best Special Issue:

First place – Staff

Best Typography/Design:

First place – Staff

Digital Advertising:

First place – Staff

General Excellence:

Second place – Staff

Feature Profile Story:

Second place – Erin Woodiel –  ‘We are your neighbors’: How does it feel to be transgender or nonbinary in South Dakota?

Local Column:

Second place – Perspectives writing group, an ongoing series of columns from South Dakota’s African American, Latinx, Indigenous, South Asian, immigrant and refugee communities.

Third place – Jonathan Ellis for a series of columns, including: Kristi Noem’s aggression at ousting Ravnsborg may have backfired

Spot News Story:

Third place – Annie Todd and Alfonzo Galvan for Police shoot and kill man after domestic violence incident.

Feature Series:

Third place – Staff for Food Taste Tests

Burritos: Best express burrito in Sioux Falls? It’s not Chipotle. And it’s not Giliberto’s.

Pizza: What’s the best pizza in Sioux Falls? You’ll have to go off the main roads for this neighborhood slice

Chislic: The best chislic in Sioux Falls? It’s from a bar that apparently not enough of you know about

Sioux Falls’ best burrito? Here you go.

Argus Leader employees participate in a blind taste test to find the best Sioux Falls burritos. The results may surprise you.

Erin Bormett, Sioux Falls Argus Leader

Feature (Non-profile):

Third place – Makenzie Molnar for ‘It kind of breaks my heart’: As Sioux Falls swallows up urban farmsteads, these are the last holdouts

Photo Series:

Third place – Erin Woodiel for Tribes welcome remains of Rosebud children back to South Dakota.