The Beacon won six Kansas Press Association awards for its work in 2023 covering Wichita and the state, including first place for feature story and for a story originating from a public notice.
Polly Basore Wenzl’s First place feature story profiling Desmond Bryant-White, Defying a “gang list” label to find his voice and lend it to others, was cited by judges for how it “kept the focus on Bryant-White as a person — a person with struggles, a person who learned to improve his situation and a person who is sharing his experiences so others can do the same.”
Judges said a first-place story coming from a public notice by Trace Salzbrenner, Schools get first aid kits to treat gunshots, but teachers have a more immediate safety worry, was “well-written and the topic was well-covered.”
Miranda Moore won second place in the government/political story category fo: These laws could curb fentanyl deaths. Why won’t Kansas lawmakers enact them?
Wenzl won second place in the religion story category for: Muslim in Kansas: Taben Azad’s quest to belong.
Third place in the youth story category went to Joyce Davis. An intern, she was a sophomore at Wichita’s South High School at the time. Her winning piece was: Do metal detectors at Wichita public high schools make students feel safer?
Salzbrenner won third place with KMUW’s Celia Hack for their environment story ‘I’m just so angry’: Wichitans feel state neglected to warn them of danger.
