Kansas City Star staff members win top prizes in Heart of America awards

Kansas City Star staff members won top honors in 10 categories, including investigative reporting and deadline reporting, as the Heart of America journalism awards were handed out Saturday.

The contest sponsored by the Kansas City Press Club honors print and broadcast journalists working in western Missouri and eastern Kansas.

Star reporter Laura Bauer won gold twice — in the profile category for a story about finding permanent homes for foster children and in the general reporting category for coverage of a man who drowned while in custody on the Lake of the Ozarks.

Dave Helling, Brian Burnes, Judy Thomas and Bauer won the breaking news category for coverage of three killings outside Jewish centers in April 2014.

Mike Hendricks and Mará Rose Williams won the investigative reporting category for stories on the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s business school ranking problems.

The Star’s other gold winners were Sara Smith for entertainment reporting, Jeneé Osterheldt for news column/blog, Sarah Gish for non-news column/blog, Jill Toyoshiba for sports photography and Cindy Hoedel for magazine story. Gish also won gold in the nondaily category for a magazine story in Ink.

Silver awards went to Sam McDowell for sports writing, Mark Morris and Glenn E. Rice in the public service category, Mary Sanchez for news column, Hoedel for non-news column and for profile, Ed Eveld for magazine story and Thomas for beat reporting. Bronze went to Thomas for sports writing and Williams and Hoedel for public service.

The Star

This story was originally published June 13, 2015 at 3:39 PM with the headline "Kansas City Star staff members win top prizes in Heart of America awards."