Northwestern communications grads awarded

Three Northwestern College graduates received awards for their work in newspaper writing during the Iowa Newspaper Association’s 2015 Convention and Trade Show on Feb. 6 in Des Moines.

More than 4,000 entries in dozens of categories were judged by class, based on circulation.

Dan Breen ’05 was awarded first place for Best Series, Weekly 3. Currently serving as the communications director for the Luke Society, Breen worked as a staff writer for the Northwest Iowa Review for eight years. He was also an adjunct communications instructor for Northwestern, in addition to serving as Beacon adviser.

LeAnn (Johnson ’10) Hjelmeland took both first and third place for Best Sports Feature Story, Weekly 1. She works as a staff writer for the Sully Hometown Press.

Rynee (Nyhof ’10) Wielenga writes for the Sioux Center News and serves as the part-time Beacon adviser. Her design won first place for Best Feature Page, Weekly 2, and she was awarded second place for Best News Story in that class. Sioux Center News also took the award for General Excellence, Weekly 2.