The Rapid City Journal earned six national editorial awards from the Suburban Newspapers of America on Friday in its 2007 Editorial Contest, the most ever for the Journal. The Journal competes against papers over 25,000 daily circulation throughout the country.

Among the national awards, the Journal earned two first-place honors.

The Journal's coverage of the Central High School lockdown was voted the best Breaking News Story coverage in the country and was written by staff members Andrea Cook, Mary Garrigan, Heidi Bell Gease, Deb Holland, Lynn Taylor Rick, Todd Williams and Kevin Woster.

The Journal also took first place for best Local Election Coverage in the country, for its series of stories on the issues and candidates in the 2006 election, as well as its live coverage of the election-night results.

Reporter Bill Harlan took third place for Best In-Depth Reporting for his detailed coverage of the Homestake Mine and its competitors vying for the right to host the National Science Foundation's deep underground laboratory. Harlan not only focused on the Lead mine, but traveled to Minnesota, Washington and Colorado to examine the other competing mines in the field.

Reporter Steve Miller took third place in Headline Writing for "Ford Defeats Truman," which appeared on the story about a drunken driver who knocked over the Harry S Truman statue in downtown Rapid City.

Reporter Kevin Woster took honorable mention in Investigative Reporting for his series of stories outlining the conflicts between the governor's office and federal game warden Bob Prieksat.

And the Journal's editorial pages earned honorable mention nationwide in the Best Editorial Page category.