The Lake Report and its news website, niagaranow.com, have again been honoured by peers in the news industry, winning 16 Canadian Community Newspaper Association awards.

The awards, announced Monday, are for work published in 2023 and the competition included more than 750 entries from publications from coast to coast to coast.

The Lake Report and niagaranow.com again were singled out for more awards than any other publication. In national and provincial competitions since 2020, the paper has now earned a total of 112 awards for its journalism, advertising excellence and community involvement.

Richard Harley, the editor-in-chief and founder of The Lake Report, said he felt humbled that the newspaper was again honoured for its work.

“The hard work and dedication of our small staff and many community contributors means that Niagara-on-the-Lake has one of the best community newspapers and news websites in the country,” he said.

“We are proud of that and readers often tell us that they are proud of the fact we have been so successful. But we’re also very thankful for the way the people in the community allow us into their lives to tell their stories week in and week out,” Harley said.

“I think our success also shows our advertisers and the people who donate to us that we’re putting their investments to good use. Our supporters are such an important part of what we do. Without them, we simply would not be a viable operation,” he said.

With a circulation of more than 10,000 copies each week, the paper was competing for awards in the top circulation categories against many much-larger and chain-owned operations.

In the overall General Excellence category (circulation 6,500 to 17,499), this year the paper finished third, behind the Okotoks, Alta., Western Wheel and the Squamish Chief from Squamish, B.C.

The editorial and opinion pages were ranked second and the paper was judged to have the second-best front page in the country.

Harley’s editorial “It’s not rocket science — yes, it’s a hate crime,” about damages to the town’s rainbow crosswalk, was chosen the Best Local Editorial.

“The Lake Report pulls no punches as it identifies as vandalism and a hate crime the messages that someone wrote on the community’s rainbow crosswalk,” the judges said.

“The writer identifies the issue, clearly points out that the actions of the offender is wrong and states a clear call to action. This likely was not a popular editorial with all of the readership, but it was necessary.”

As well, former reporter Somer Slobodian’s page 1 photo of people protesting the damage to the crosswalk was the winner in the Best Spot News Photo category.

Slobodian also took top honours for Best  Agricultural Story for “New homes away from home,” a feature about how NOTL farmers spent millions of dollars to provide new living quarters for seasonal workers.

Harley’s series of investigative stories about developer Benny Marotta giving Coun. Gary Burroughs an envelope containing $10,000 in cash and the subsequent police investigation won second place for Outstanding Reporter Initiative.

The judges said it was “a dogged example of follow the money, with a tip of the hat for landing interviews with both the councillor who accepted the envelope of money, the developer who gave it to him and some of the official response.”

The niagaranow.com website was judges the second-best Community News Website in Canada, behind the Hill Times, a political site based in Ottawa.

The judges noted, “The Lake Report is a hyperlocal news outlet that provides excellent coverage for residents and visitors to the Niagara-on-the-Lake region of southern Ontario. The website has an appealing design and is relatively easy to navigate.”

“It has a good use of headers and tabs for readers to use as well as strong photography with each story. It also does a good job of not being overwhelming for readers, simply keeping to relevant news coverage.”

The work of four people earned The Lake Report second place for Best Sports Coverage: Slobodian’s feature on boxer Mckenzie Wright, Evan Loree’s story about wrestler Zubin Gatta being injured in a bout and Kevin MacLean’s piece about the NOTL U11 Wolves rep hockey team winning the Niagara district championship in an shootout, with photos by Dave Van de Laar.

In the prestigious Outstanding Community Service category, The Lake Report’s special project, “Celebrating the women of NOTL” was second.

The March 9, 2023, celebration of International Women’s Day, a team project that involved more than a dozen contributors was “an outstanding example of how a local newspaper can engage with its community. It showed the power of the paper in getting such great turnout by women in the community and celebrated their achievements so well,” the judges said.

“It is great to see a newspaper go beyond its pages to really engage the community.”

In the Best News Feature Photo class, Harley’s picture of the empty Ferris wheel at the rained-soaked Virgil Stampede took second place.

In Best Local Civic Journalism, our coverage of the $10,000 cash exchange along with a detailed series of questions put to all members of council, won a third-place award for Harley and MacLean.

“The envelope of cash is a common trope in novels, but rarely happens in real life,” the judges said.

“Good comprehensive sourcing from all the relevant players with background research on relevant rules. The questionnaire to all councillors and the accompanying explainer to the reader are also welcome.”

“The Lake Report takes this stranger-than-fiction story and does it justice. Good work. If this isn’t relevant to the community, then nothing is.”

MacLean also won third for Best National Editorial for “Compensation for injured migrant workers,” about how poorly injured seasonal workers often have been treated by the Canadian system.

Work by Niagara high school student Alperen Albayrak, who spent a semester as an intern at The Lake Report, won two awards in the Best Local Cartoon category.

His artwork satirizing concerns about speed cameras and a rendering for Remembrance Day took second- and third-place.

Van de Laar, named photographer of the year among Ontario community newspapers earlier this year, took third place with his Oct. 12, 2023 photo “Happy 254th birthday, Brock.” It depicted Jack Hill, 6, wearing a red-coat soldier’s uniform and relaxing during a celebration at Queenston Heights.