If our readers will bear with me for this instance of personal privilege, I would like to congratulate The Statesman staff for once again winning the Editorial Sweepstakes Award in this year’s Colorado Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest. Our newspaper captured a record 24 awards this year, and received the top sweepstakes award for editorial coverage for the second year in a row.

The Colorado Statesman also received two of the top three awards for Public Service in 2012, making it three years in a row that our paper has won two of the prestigious Public Service commendations. Reporters Ernest Luning and Peter Marcus also took home top honors in several other important reporting categories, and the newspaper also received top awards in advertising and layout and design.

And congratulations, once again, to longtime Statesman columnist (and senior policy director for Governor John Hickenlooper) Doug Young, who walked away with first place in the serious column category for his insightful critiques of film and commentary on current events. Doug is a repeat winner, having won first places in both the serious and humorous categories in the past.

And to Matt Milner, we extend congratulations again for his prize-wining political cartoons, the second consecutive year in which he’s been singled out for his outstanding work. Milner’s caricatures of the 2012 presidential and Colorado congressional candidates earned him the second and third place awards among all weekly newspapers in the state. We’re supremely proud of Matt and also think he deserves an award for his stand-up attitude when under fire from a sore loser who was a subject of a recent front page cover.

— Jody@coloradostatesman.com