SAM finishes second weekly contest, staff receives 31 awards

The Advocate-Messenger earned 31 awards in the 2025 Better Newspaper Competition and ended in second place for the Allen & Linda Beerman Community Newspaper Sweepstakes Award, which includes weekly newspapers from all classes.

The Stanton Register took top honors and the Aurora News-Register ended in third.

SAM finished second in Division A, based on circulation and, in the digital sweepstakes division, SAM placed third.

The paper picked nine first-place awards in categories, including building circulation, reader interaction/contest, single ad - black and white; creative ad writing; use of co...