The final batch of California Newspaper Publishers Association 2022 California Journalism Awards were handed out last week, with the Courier coming away with nine trophies.

Courier Editor Mick Rhodes won three first-place awards: for his columns, overall writing, and the Courier’s twice-weekly newsletter. He also picked up second place trophies for columns, in-depth reporting, and podcasts. This is the second year running the CNPA has recognized Rhodes with the top two awards for his column writing.

Rhodes’ column writing was also recognized with a second place award in the overall open statewide contest, which included competition from all the large daily newspapers in California. The San Francisco Chronicle’s Heather Knight finished first, with Yousef Baig from the Sacramento Bee coming in third.

The city of Tain-l’hermitage is the center for dozens of large and small wineries that surround the Rhone River as it snakes through the hillsides in southeastern France. This statue of St. Mary stands like a beacon marking the vineyard Terres de Syrah. The California Newspaper Publishers Association named this photo the second best of 2022 in the artistic photo category. Courier photo/Peter Weinberger

Rhodes came in third in the same category last year, behind the Los Angeles Times’ Gustavo Arellano and Kerry Benefield from the Press Democrat.

Skylar Anderson, the Courier’s editorial designer and web producer, also won a first place award in the newsletter category. It was Anderson’s first CNPA award.

Rhodes won the top award in the broad and competitive writing category for his story, “Cash Whiteley is a man.” The judges commented, “Very well written, and provides an interesting perspective on the topic of homelessness.”

Rhodes was a second-place finisher in the in-depth reporting category for his three-part series, “Changing lives, odds be damned.”

Steven Felschundneff’s “Celebrating the new camp director” won the photographer and reporter a second-place feature photo trophy. The judges said, “The nice moment of joy and love in the faces of the subjects is really conveyed in the image. The tight crop also brings the subjects to the front of the image and cleans up what could have been a distracting background.”

Finally, Courier Publisher Peter Weinberger won a second-place award for his photograph, “St. Mary over Terres de Syrah,” in the artistic photo category.

In 2021 the Courier set a company record when it won 19 CNPA awards.