A feature story about helping Niagara-on-the-Lake’s volunteer firefighters deal with the trauma they witness on the job.

Creative snapshots of the life and times of a growing small town.

An editorial reflecting on Mark Carney’s 2025 electoral win and Canadians’ rejection of Pierre Poilievre’s divisive rhetoric.

And Christmas wrap featuring the artwork of more than 200 Crossroad Public School students.

Those were just a few of the items published by The Lake Report in 2025 that once again earned NOTL’s wee community newspaper more awards than any publication in the country.

When the Canadian Community Newsmedia Award winners were unveiled Monday, The Lake Report garnered 22 more national awards, bringing its provincial and national total to 192 since 2020, when the paper started entering industry award competitions. The Lake Report was launched in 2018.

The national awards attracted entries from dozens of community newspapers and online publications from coast to coast to coast.

“It is really humbling to be recognized nationally and provincially for the work we do,” said Richard Harley, the editor-in-chief and founder of the paper and its news website niagaranow.com.

“We have a tiny staff, a small army of community volunteers who contribute regularly and a commitment to producing high-quality journalism week in and week out.”

“Without our dedicated staff, all our contributors from the community, and the advertisers and donors who support our work, none of this would be possible,” Harley said. “And NOTL would be a news desert.”

“Despite our small staff, we compete for awards against many much larger, often chain-owned publications that have resources far beyond what we enjoy. So, that makes the accolades all the more special.”

Notably, one of the major awards, for Best Spot News Photo, was won by one of our community contributors, NOTL resident Doug Munkley.

His image of the fire that destroyed the historic Glencairn Hall on the Niagara Parkway showed firefighters battling the blaze and some key telltale evidence — an abandoned red gas can in the foreground.

Authorities have ruled the fire was arson and are still investigating. No arrests have been made.

Managing editor Zahraa Hmood’s in-depth story, “Helping those who help,” about how NOTL volunteer firefighters deal with trauma on the job, especially in the wake of a fiery crash that killed three young people on Queenston Road in July of 2025, was judged Best Feature Story.

The judges noted the story was a “compelling look at the little-known mental stresses endured by part-time first responders, and a proper way to deal with them.”

It’s an “important topic, well-researched and well-presented,” they said.

An editorial in the wake of the April 2025 federal election won the prize for Best National Editorial.

Written by editor emeritus Kevin MacLean, the editorial examined Carney’s electoral win, the political setback for the Conservative Party and how Canadians can move forward after such a divisive and negative campaign.

Reporter Paige Seburn won four awards, including top prize for Excellence in Rural Reporting.

That award was for a series of three stories: one on how Ferox Winery wasn’t following town bylaws and the municipality in turn wasn’t enforcing the rules; another that highlighted the concerns of agricultural workers who said they faced hot and mouldy conditions as well as verbal abuse from bosses; and the third instalment featured farmers denying the abuse claims and saying that most workers are treated well and live in clean conditions.

Seburn also swept all three prizes in the Best Business Writing category, winning first place for her piece on Ferox’s “Bylaw bypass,” second for  a look at small businesses worried about the effects of U.S. tariffs and third for a feature about the owners of the Grist restaurant in St. Davids retiring and selling the business to new operators.

Harley’s idea to use Christmas-themed art by students at Crossroads as part of a special holiday wrap around our final edition of 2025 won the prize for Best Reader Engagement.

MacLean’s analysis piece, “NOTL beach unsafe most days,” which compiled Niagara Region water quality test results showing E. coli pollution closed Queen’s Royal Beach most days last summer, won second in the Best Multimedia Feature category.

In the overall General Excellence category, The Lake Report placed second behind the Elmira-Woolwich Observer in three areas: Best All-round Newspaper, Best Front Page and Best Editorial Page.

Harley’s story about a judge refusing to throw out a defamation suit filed by developer Benny Marotta against NOTL resident Stewart Hall for comments made online won third in the Best News Story competition.

Harley and the late Luke Archibald were honoured for Best Ad Design for a stunning Maple Leaf Fudge advertisement that appears in our twice-annual tourism-focused magazine, “NOTL: A Guide for Distinguished Explorers.”

The Lake Report’s photographer, Dave Van de Laar, was honoured with a total of five awards for his work.

In the Best Feature Photo category, he took first and second prizes: for “Fun in the snow,” a photo of Kade Van Berkel catching some air while tubing at NOTL’s “Killer Hill” and an image of a cannon being fired at Fort George.

He also earned first- and third-place in the Best Photo Essay category for his series of images of the “blood moon” in March 2025 and for several action shots of kids tubing at “Killer Hill” in February 2025.

As well, Van de Laar’s front-page image of a cut tulip lying forlornly in the mud after thousands of people descended on the TASC tulip farm amid heavy rains in May 2025 won second in the Best News Feature Photo category.

The Lake Report also took third place for Best Sports coverage, behind the Prince George Citizen and St. Albert Gazette.

Our website, niagaranow.com, earned third place for Best Community Newspaper Website. The Delta, B.C., Optimist and Elmira-Woolwich Observer placed first and second.

And our summer 2025 edition of “NOTL: A Guide for Distinguished Explorers” again won the Best Special Section prize.

The judges commented that “this publication represents the gold standard for special sections. Every element, from the sophisticated design and outstanding photography to the compelling editorial content and seamless advertising integration, has been executed at an exceptionally high level.”