The Idaho State Journal won the award for being the best newspaper in the state and the Journal’s sister publications in Driggs and Idaho Falls also earned honors in the Idaho Press Club’s Best of 2021 contest.

The Journal won first place in the General Excellence category, an award given to the newspaper deemed to be best in the state by the Press Club’s judges.

Two publications that are produced by the Journal’s staff also won General Excellence honors: East Idaho Business Journal edited by Danae Lenz and Farm & Ranch edited by John O’Connell.

The awards were announced at the Press Club’s annual meeting and banquet on Saturday night in Boise.

Idaho State Journal Sports Editor Greg Woods took home three awards for his sports journalism, while O’Connell and Lenz won a total of four awards each for their agriculture and business coverage, respectively.

The Journal’s sister publication in Idaho Falls, the Post Register, won eight Press Club awards in categories ranging from investigative journalism and breaking news to editorial writing, pandemic reporting and sports coverage.

Connor Shea, a reporter at the Journal’s sister publication in Driggs, the Teton Valley News, won the Press Club’s Rookie of the Year award while his editor, Julia Tellman, won a first place award for her business reporting.

The Journal, Post Register and Teton Valley News are all owned by Adams Publishing.