Utah News Dispatch
Utah News Dispatch reporters win 11 Top of the Rockies awards
The Utah News Dispatch team poses for a photo at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
Reporters with Utah News Dispatch claimed 11 awards in the regional Top of the Rockies contest, put on by the Colorado Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
The chapter’s 2026 journalism contest included more than 2,000 entries from 100 news outlets and 25 freelancers from Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming and Utah. It was the contest’s largest-ever pool of entries.
“We are pleased to honor so many journalists and media outlets for their tireless journalistic efforts,” said Deb Hurley-Brobst, SPJ Colorado Pro Chapter president, at an awards reception at the Slate Hotel in Denver. “We are seeing top-notch work from journalists throughout the region, no matter what the staff size.”
Utah News Dispatch, a team of four full-time journalists, launched in 2024 as part of the States Newsroom nonprofit journalism network. Dispatch reporters competed in the contest’s small newsroom division.
The Utah team’s awards include first-place wins for coverage of the federal government shutdown’s impact on national parks, how a tribe’s efforts to restore a sacred site could help the Great Salt Lake, and the intersection of religious freedom and flavored vapes.
First Place
Ag and Environment: News
As Utah’s national parks stay open, so do questions about the shutdown’s impact
Annie Knox
Great federal policy/local impact story. Good reporting, good writing about a community taking action.
First Place
Ag and Environment: Feature
Rebirth after massacre: How this tribe’s river restoration could also help the Great Salt Lake
Katie McKellar
A beautiful tribute to the history of the first caretakers of what is now U.S. soil and a look at how they continue to fight for the right to carry on the work of their ancestors.
First Place
Legal News
Utah sanctuaries using vapes, psychedelic mushrooms and cannabis sue over raids
Alixel Cabrera
Excellent content, well written, and allowed the reader to form an opinion on the boundaries of religion and recreational activities.
First Place
Mental Health News
To better prosecute domestic violence, Salt Lake County is training police to respond to trauma
Annie Knox
A thoughtful news story on domestic violence with good use of quotes that engage the reader. The writing was clear, with a good mix of facts and interest woven throughout the article.
First Place
Mental Health Feature
It feels great to come back to life’: Utah prison running club hosts first half marathon
Alixel Cabrera
Second Place
Education News
With tight deadline, Utah universities scramble to cut 10% of budget for courses
Alixel Cabrera
Second Place
Politics Feature
What Utah lawmakers did – and didn’t – do for housing in 2025
Katie McKellar
Third Place
Beat Reporting
Annie Knox – Utah environmental issues
Third Place
Business
Coal production and presence in Utah’s energy portfolio is at its lowest levels
Alixel Cabrera
Third Place
Legal News
Stuck between a rock and a hard place’: Lawyers warn of arrests at Salt Lake immigration office
Annie Knox, Katie McKellar
Third Place
Mental Health News
Audit: ‘Inmates are often abandoned’ by mental health care system in the Utah State Prison
Annie Knox
