The Star is nominated for two regional Emmy Awards

Kansas City Star video journalists Jill Toyoshiba and David Eulitt have been nominated for Mid-America Regional Emmy Awards.

Toyoshiba’s video “Giving the gift of life: Teacher donates a kidney to her principal” was nominated in the Feature News Report-Serious Feature category. She followed Natalie Frese, the wife of former Star reporter David Frese, as she donated a kidney to the principal of the school where she teaches second grade.

Toyoshiba captured the entire event, from pre-surgery to post-op. The video accompanied David Frese’s first-person article.

“I’m always amazed that people are willing to let us into their lives to tell their very personal stories. I’m also so grateful for their trust. Thanks also to David Frese,” Toyoshiba said.

Toyoshiba was also part of The Star’s team of reporters, editors and visual journalists who produced the award-winning project “Why so secret Kansas?” which took on the lack of transparency in state government. She has been with The Star since 2002.

Eulitt, who left The Star earlier this year, was nominated in the Short Form Program category for his profile of a burlesque dancer: “I could do burlesque until I’m 80 … and maybe I will.”

“I saw a bulletin board flyer in a coffee shop about an upcoming burlesque festival in Kansas City, and I thought to myself, ‘I’m positive there are interesting stories to be found there,’” Eulitt said. “The story of professional dancer Lindsey Personett finding burlesque as a new outlet for her love of creative dance was something I didn’t expect, and those are my favorite stories to share with readers.”

Eulitt won an Emmy in 2017 for a video on the Kansas City Electric Football League. It was the The Star’s first Emmy.

The winners will be announced Sept. 22 at the Kansas City Convention Center.

This story was originally published August 18, 2018 at 5:30 AM.