Michigan Advance wins more than two dozen awards in press association contest, 8 first place nods
Apr 24, 2026 | 1:01 pm ET
Description
The Michigan Advance staff, from left to right: Reporter Katherine Dailey, Editor-in-Chief Jon King, Senior Reporter Ben Solis and Reporter Kyle Davidson. | Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance
Michigan Advance walked away with several first place honors at the Michigan Press Association’s annual awards banquet, including in categories for government and political news, agriculture reporting, best photo, business news and best digital presentation.
The awards were announced Thursday evening at the association’s annual gathering in East Lansing. The theme for the event was “Journalism…Democracy in Action.”
In total, Michigan Advance took home 26 awards spanning 19 categories in the 2025 MPA Better Newspaper Contest,
“Michigan Advance is deeply honored to be recognized with more than two dozen awards by the Michigan Press Association. This extraordinary recognition reflects the breadth and strength of our mission – delivering incisive government and political reporting, deep-dive news coverage and powerful visual storytelling,” Editor-in-Chief Jon King said. “From breaking news and enterprise investigations to award-winning opinion writing and photography, these honors underscore our team’s commitment to public service journalism.”
The annual contest ran from Aug. 1, 2024, through July 31, 2025.
Michigan Advance is a member of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization. The network reports on politics and policy from every capital, with coverage provided free of charge – without pop-ups, paywalls or ads.
Competing against other statewide publications, Michigan Advance won best overall in 2024, and second place in 2021 and 2022 for Newspaper of the Year. Previously, the Advance was named the 2020 Newspaper of the Year for Class D weekly publications. The Advance also took second place for Newspaper of the Year in that category in 2019.
The complete list of awards that Michigan Advance won.
FIRST PLACE
Government/Political News
1st Place – Ben Solis / Michigan Advance
As Ted Nugent rails against Michigan wildlife regulations, Dems call hearing ‘absurd’ and ‘shameful’
Agriculture News
1st Place – Kyle Davidson / Michigan Advance
Enviros cheer Michigan Supreme Court upholding tighter permitting rules for factory farms
Spot News Story
1st Place – Jon King / Michigan Advance
Protesters clash with U of M police during demonstration on anniversary of Oct. 7 Hamas attack
Business News
1st Place – Jon King / Michigan Advance
Michigan braces for fallout as Trump tariffs target state’s top 3 trading partners
Best Opinion
1st Place – Rick Haglund / Michigan Advance
Michigan could pay bigly for Trump’s trade war
News Photo
1st Place Erick Díaz Veliz / Michigan Advance
Confrontation at Detroit’s Clark Park
Best Photo
1st Place – Andrew Roth / Michigan Advance
Harris vows to end war in Gaza during final Michigan rally at MSU
Best Digital Presentation
Michigan Advance
Nelle Dunlap, Goran Butorac, Jon King
2ND PLACE
News Media Publication of the Year
Staff
Feature Photo
2nd Place – Andrew Roth / Michigan Advance
Cast of ‘Scandal’ reunites in Michigan
Best Newspaper/Publication Design
2nd Place Michigan Advance
Nelle Dunlop. Goran Butorac, Jon King
News Photo
2nd Place – Erick Díaz Veliz / Michigan Advance
Protesters gather outside Rep. Barrett’s Lansing office after vote to approve federal budget bill
Crime/Justice News
2nd Place – Kyle Davidson / Michigan Advance
License plate reader searches by Grand Rapids PD point to need for guardrails, legal advocates say
3RD PLACE
Education/School News
3rd Place – Ben Solis / Michigan Advance
Michigan Republicans allude to dismantling Department of Education in fiery hearing
Environmental/Climate Change/Weather News
3rd Place – Kyle Davidson / Michigan Advance
West Michigan lawmakers float plans to protect critical dunes from harmful development
Feature Story
3rd Place – Erick Díaz Veliz / Michigan Advance
Native American Community in Lansing reaffirm union on the traditional Spring Feast
Crime/Justice News
3rd Place – Ben Solis / Michigan Advance
Senate passes sexual assault statute of limitations extension; Hall noncommittal on House action
Best Opinion
3rd Place – Rick Haglund / Michigan Advance
UAW’s embrace of Trump tariffs could lead to disaster for its members
Rookie Writer
3rd Place – Leah Craig / Michigan Advance
Feature Photo
3rd Place – Andrew Roth / Michigan Advance
Obama questions Trump’s ‘competence’ during Detroit rally drawing 12K
Special Section
3rd Place Michigan Advance
Library Wars
Staff
HONORABLE MENTION
Special Section
Honorable Mention Michigan Advance
Decision 2024
Jon King, Nelle Dunlap, Mary-Kate Murphy
News Enterprise Reporting
Honorable Mention – Jon King / Michigan Advance
A Black man says officials in Howell, Michigan, targeted him after he confronted white supremacists
Feature Story
Honorable Mention
Erick Díaz Veliz / Michigan Advance
A cultural bridge between Ecuador and the MSU community: The resilience of Kichwa language
Best Opinion
Honorable Mention – Susan Demas / Michigan Advance
The Resistance decides it’s futile
Reporting on the 2nd Amendment
Honorable Mention – Ben Solis / Michigan Advance
Michigan Senate Democrats advance bump stock ban, ghost gun serialization bills from committee
Lansing, MI
