Courier Journal lands dozens of 2022 Kentucky Press Association awards. Check out the list

The Courier Journal had a productive 2022, and some of the news outlet's best work was recognized over the weekend by the Kentucky Press Association.

Several stories, photos and other coverage from staff members were honored with awards at the organization's annual banquet Friday night in Lexington, including multiple first-place finishers and the 2022 Jon Fleischaker Freedom of Information Award going to reporter Mandy McLaren.

Here's a quick look at some Courier Journal coverage that was recognized at the KPA banquet. The outlet was in the "Daily 2" category, competing against the state's biggest daily newspapers:

For the weekend:'A special kind of magic:' Kentucky's unique barn quilt trails tell stories of communities

First place

• Best Breaking News Coverage — Courier Journal staff; Mayfield tornado response

• Best Use of Social Media or Multi-Media — Bailey Loosemore, Mandy McLaren and Veda Morgan; We are Breonna Taylor

• Best On-Going/Extended Coverage Story — Joe Sonka; Kentucky's 'frivolous' vote recount petitions

• Best Columnist — Maggie Menderski; 'People need to know.' Clean-up begins in Eastern Kentucky after historic flooding

• Best Feature Story — Matt Glowicki; Do Kentucky's historical markers get history right? Group considers edits amid repairs

• Best Business/Agribusiness Story — Lucas Aulbach; Will businesses leveled by Mayfield tornado come back? What owners told us

• Best Feature Picture — Sam Upshaw Jr.; Memorial Day Service at the Cave Hill National Cemetery

Second place

• Best Investigative Story or Series — Mandy McLaren; Louisville is sacrificing poor schools to ensure its elite magnet programs thrive

• Best On-Going/Extended Coverage Story — Morgan Watkins, Joe Sonka and Debby Yetter; Kentucky General Assembly redistricting efforts

• Best Lede — Maggie Menderski; In his footsteps: Louisville attorney works in the same building where his dad shined shoes

• Best Feature Story — Hayes Gardner and Maggie Menderski; 'There's no place to go': Kentucky tornado survivors cling together at park turned refuge

• Best Enterprise or Analytical Story — Dahlia Ghabour; How a single change kickstarted a new kind of Kentucky bourbon tourism

• Best Business/Agribusiness Story — Jason Gonzalez; How this Black-owned distillery is 'breaking the ceiling' in Kentucky's bourbon industry

• Best Columnist — Matt Glowicki; Louisville woman gets thousands back on cruise after contacting Reader's Watchdog

• Best Breaking News Coverage — Rae Johnson; Swim or drown: The story behind the viral photo of a teen and her dog surrounded by water

• Best Sports Feature Story — Pat McDonogh; How this Louisville man brought a little-known horse, Hillsdale, to the brink of greatness

• Best Breaking News Picture — Sam Upshaw Jr.; Dawson Springs tornado cleanup

• Best General News Picture — Sam Upshaw Jr.; Breonna Taylor's family reacts to officers' federal charges

Third place

• Best Sports Picture Essay — Pat McDonogh; Boxing is becoming a hit once again in Louisville

• Best Feature Story — Jason Gonzalez; How this young Latina woman is paying it forward on the backside at Churchill Downs

• Best Business/Agribusiness Story — Kirby Adams; He learned to make bourbon on YouTube. Now this Kentucky distiller is making big moves

• Best General News Story — Matt Glowicki and Maggie Menderski; How long will it take for Kentucky businesses devastated by flooding, tornadoes to return?

• Best Columnist — Joe Gerth; 'It's just disbelief': As Kentucky tornado death toll rises, a funeral director waits

• Best Investigative Story or Series — This Kentucky law destroyed his family. Now a son wants to break the cycle for others.

• Best Breaking News Picture — Jeff Faughender; Eastern Kentucky flooding cleanup

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Courier Journal's full list of 2022 Kentucky Press Association awards