The Lake Report has been singled out for another 13 national awards for its high-quality journalism, commentary and advertising.

In the Canadian Community News Media Awards announced Monday, The Lake Report and its website niagaranow.com received recognition in several categories, winning two honours for its editorials and several awards for contributors’ stories and opinion pieces.

For the first time, the awards, formerly known as the Canadian Community Newspaper Awards, included entries by publications that are online-only entities.

The competition was for stories published in 2024.

Since it began entering provincial and national competitions in 2020, The Lake Report has won a total of 144 awards, more than any other community news publication in the country.

In the latest national contest, The Lake Report, an independent company owned by three Niagara-on-the-Lake residents, competed in the largest circulation category (10,000 and up), facing off against several large chain-owned papers with much larger staffs and far more resources.

Editor-in-chief Richard Harley won five awards, including first place for Best National Editorial, for his piece on Aug. 15, 2024, “Poilievre is truly great — at pandering,” about lies and misleading statements made by Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre during a campaign-style pre-election visit to NOTL.

Harley also won third place for Best Local Editorial for his commentary on council meeting in secret to decide to appoint Andrew Niven to fill a vacant seat instead of following the past practice of choosing the next person in line on the election ballot.

In all, The Lake Report won six first-place honours, three seconds and four thirds.

The paper’s opinion writers dominated the Outstanding Columnist category, with Ross Robinson earning first place and Garth Turner taking third.

The judge commented that Robinson “has an engaging writing style that he uses to challenge conventional thinking on medical tourism, to espouse his love of travel and to skewer the NHL all-star game. Clever word play – he’d rather be a proctologist than a dentist — add some snap to his easy-flowing style.”

Entries had to consist of three consecutive columns and we entered Robinson’s pieces: “Why this Niagara-on-the-Lake lad loves to travel,” Feb. 1, 2024; “I tried to watch the all-star hockey weirdness,” Feb. 8; and “Going to Mexico to avoid Canada’s overpriced dental cartels,” Feb. 15.

The judge noted Turner brings “his wealth of knowledge on markets and real estate to The Lake Report. Despite decades of experience analyzing markets and the economy, he does a nice job of making it local for his Niagara audience.”

Turner’s column entries included his debut piece, “What now? Where does NOTL housing market go from here?” (June 20, 2024); “America, Trump and the price of NOTL real estate,” (June 27); and “Old is cool in NOTL and a prized flag rises again,” (July 4).

The Lake Report’s annual pre-Christmas edition, the final paper each year, was chosen for Best Reader Engagement.

Conceived by Harley and the newspaper’s staff, the edition featured an innovative four-page wrap that doubled as gift wrap and included 294 colourful images drawn by students at Crossroads Public School in Virgil.

The illustrations featured the Grinch, Frosty the Snowman, NOTL Wolves hockey teams, a family watching “Home Alone” by the fireplace, Christmas bulbs, Diwali lights, a menorah and more.

Nearly every child in the school participated and the judge labelled the effort a “home run” and “the clear winner in the category, combining a unique and highly creative idea, engaging young (future) readers and their families and presenting it in a way that puts your logo under Christmas trees all over town.”

In taking first place nationally for Best Sports Coverage, the judge commended The Lake Report for the content and design of its coverage.

Entries included a front-page story by Kevin MacLean on boxer Mckenzie Wright losing by a single point in a bid to qualify for the Paris Olympics, Julia Sacco’s feature on up-and-coming swimmers Peyton and Georgia Leigh, and stories by Kevan Dowd, with compelling action photos by Dave Van de Laar, about the Jr. A Niagara Predators hockey team’s struggles on the ice.

Harley, managing editor Zahraa Hmood and the entire staff of The Lake Report won Best Multimedia Feature for “an innovative” and “creative” preview of the April 2024 total eclipse of the sun.

The two-page spread included safety tips, facts about the eclipse, a large map of the Path of Totality and planned viewing parties.

Jill Troyer and Don Reynolds produced the Best Rural Reporting entry, the six-part series, “Heartbeat of the Harvest.”

The judge called it an “excellent series, very well-written and presented. The opening paragraphs of the series were masterfully penned, drawing the reader in begging for more.”

The stories ran from last Sept. 11 through the end of October and looked at new and old methods employed at Niagara-on-the-Lake’s wineries, how Niagara College prepares future generations of winemakers and vineyard managers, and the farm workers from Mexico and the Caribbean who are the lifeblood of the industry.

Former staff reporter Richard Wright’s “Summer of the Flood” series last year was runner-up in the Outstanding Reporter Initiative category.

Also a six-part series, it documented the severe water problems caused by two major summer storms, the aftermath and cleanup, as well as some possible solutions.

Harley’s design of an ad for Dr. Hopkins & Associates Optometry promoting safe viewing of the impending total eclipse earned second place for Best Ad Design.

“Anything you can do …,” former staff reporter Richard Hutton’s front-page feature on the rising number of women making their mark in agriculture, took second prize for Best Agricultural Story.

The Lake Report’s arts reporting was recognized with a third-place national prize in the Best Coverage of the Arts category.

The  paper’s “commitment to showcasing local artistic talent and cultural events is truly commendable,” the judge said.

“Through comprehensive and engaging reporting, they continue to celebrate and elevate the vibrant arts community they serve.”

The submission included a front-page Evan Loree story about the Shaw Festival struggling with a $5.7-million deficit in 2023, a review of “My Fair Lady” by Penny-Lynn Cookson, a story about Music Niagara kicking off its 26th season, Wright’s piece on the inaugural NOTL Studio Tour, and a Paige Seburn story about artist Rick Cullis’ exhibition openingat the Niagara Pumphouse Arts Centre.

The paper’s 12-page celebration of International Women’s Day, which featured contributions by five staff members, design by Rose Ellen Campbell and Harley, photography by Van de Laar and overall editing by MacLean earned third place for Best Special Section.