The Star’s David Hudnall wins first place award in national features writing contest
The Star’s David Hudnall, a narrative writer known for his colorful and in-depth articles covering a variety of topics, was awarded first place for features beat writing in an annual journalism competition.
Hudnall, a Star staff member since 2021, won the award Monday with a portfolio of three stories about the rise and fall of an iconic Kansas City area fashion brand, the story of the city’s oldest bar and how a small town in southeastern Kansas became a top tourist destination.
Organized by the Society for Features Journalism, the contest received more than 900 submissions this year from daily newspapers and online-only digital news organizations. The Star’s entries were judged among newspapers with a circulation of more than 90,000 and under 200,000.
The best features beat writing category includes work on specialty topics such as arts and entertainment, fashion, food, health, religion, technology and travel.
Hudnall was praised for his “extraordinary range” in a “collection of sit-down, kick-back, rocking-chair reads.”
“Is it business? Is it travel? Is it investigative? Is it profile? Is it culture? Who cares?!,” a judge for the contest wrote. “Using techniques from first-rate digging to first-person, Hudnall’s portfolio shows why feature writing is a pillar of our community storytelling.”
The three feature stories submitted for the contest were all published in 2022.
The first dove into the rise and the mysterious fall of Kansas City’s iconic Baldwin Denim, which started as a Leawood boutique and gained celebrity status with its line of luxury garments. It abruptly shuttered in 2020 amid conflicting narratives between the small business’ founders and billionaire stakeholder Cliff Illig, owner of Sporting KC and co-founder of Cerner Corp.
Another chronicled the history of Kelly’s Westport Inn, a neighborhood staple that occupies a building constructed in 1851 that is said to be the first in Kansas City. And the third profiled the success of Humboldt, a southeast Kansas community of 2,000 people that transformed its sleepy downtown to one of the top tourist destinations in the country with a music venue, brewery and luxury hotel.
Greg Farmer, The Star’s executive editor, said Friday, “We’re thrilled to see David’s reporting and writing honored in this way.”
“Telling stories from our area that matter to our readers is something David loves doing,” Farmer said. “It’s very gratifying to see it recognized.”
