DEKALB, Illinois – The Quad Cities Regional Business Journal captured a total of 14 awards – including four first place reporting awards and a General Excellence honor – from the Northern Illinois News Association (NINA) at its annual banquet here Thursday night, Oct. 30.
The event, held in the Sky Room of Northern Illinois University’s Holmes Student Center, drew journalists from across northern Illinois to celebrate the annual NINA awards for best reporting, writing, photography and design.
David J. Gunkel, the chair of NIU’s Department of Communication and a distinguished research professor, was the evening’s keynote speaker. His presentation, “LLM 101: Demystifying the Large Language Model,” explored the ethical and communicative implications of emerging AI systems. Mr. Gunkel also is an award-winning educator and author of 18 books on artificial intelligence and the philosophy of technology.
The 2025 Northern Illinois News Association Awards honored a number of news organizations covering northern Illinois. Awards were presented in daily and nondaily categories, as well as a few awards that represented a combined category.
The QCBJ, founded by John and Aspen Lohman and the Corridor Media Group in North Liberty, Iowa, competed in the nondaily category. Located in downtown Bettendorf, the QCBJ is now in its fourth year of publication.
Top NINA winners
The QCBJ staff won these first-place awards in the 2025 NINA Awards:
- Best Business/Financial/Consumer Story, Dave Thompson, for his profile of LandJet, the 2024 QCBJ Fastest Growing Company. Judges said “A fascinating look at an innovative idea, which could be the beginning of a great company with an unlimited future.”
- Best Coverage of Social Issues, Kenda Burrows, for her story “Augustana prison program ‘game-changer’ for ex-inmate,” which explored the Augustana Prison Education Program. Judges comments included: “This story offers an interesting profile of a man trying to overcome difficult circumstances and finding a support system to help him regain a life he lost. The lead pulls you into his narrative, which highlights the Augustana Prison Education Program…”
- Best Technology/Medical Story, Kenda Burrows, for her story “Robot, AI to help Happy Joe’s make modern memories.” Judges said “This story took a timely, relevant topic – artificial intelligence and robotics – and connected it to a local business in a way that was both approachable and compelling…”
- Best Historical Feature, Todd Welvaert, for his story “MercyOne Genesis observes 75th anniversary of the St. Elizabeth Hospital fire.” Judges had this to say “What a great lead! And quotes you can’t make up. A look back at history that doesn’t neglect how important things have changed.”
The QCBJ staff won second place for General Excellence behind the Daily Herald. In the comments, the judges said “Each story is unique, interesting and welcome. Photos are top notch, ads and page design very effective.”
More QCBJ awards
In addition, the QCBJ and its staff won several others awards: Best Editorial, John Lohman, second and third place; Best Education Reporting, Kenda Burrows, second and third place; Best In-Depth News Story, Kenda Burrows, second and third place; Best Sports Story, Dave Thompson, third place; and Best Historical Feature, Kenda Burrows, second place. The QCBJ design team of Becky Lyons and Julia Druckmiller also won third place in the combined category of Best Design (print only), behind the Daily Herald and DuPage Chronicle, respectively.
The contest year was for stories published from May 1, 2024, to April 30, 2025.
The Northern Illinois Newspaper Association was founded more than 60 years ago by the NIU Department of Communication. In 2022, the organization changed its name to Northern Illinois News Association to reflect the changing face of journalism. Its annual gala honors the finest journalism in Northern Illinois, connecting journalists, faculty, and students to celebrate the craft of local news.
