NPCMA Golden Leaf Awards recognizes the Sower student newspaper

The group of attendees at the Golden Leaf Awards from the Sower student newspaper.

Photo credit: Elizabeth Salo

By Elizabeth Salo

The staff of Concordia’s independent student newspaper, The Sower, received six awards from the Northern Plains Collegiate Media Association during their annual Golden Leaf Awards Luncheon on Saturday, featuring a keynote conference speech by Concordia alumnus Madison Pitsch.

From left to right: Natalie Guske, Nora Betts, Aaron Spivey, Kai Olbrich. Photo: Elizabeth Salo.

The Sower submitted stories, podcast episodes, and print edition designs from the 2025 calendar year and competed against other student newspapers. Member schools of the NPCMA are Bethel College, Black Hills State University, Chadron State College, Concordia University, Nebraska, Doane University, Peru State College, The University of Nebraska-Kearney, and Wayne State College.

Sower staffers won first place in the categories of Best General News Story and Best Sports Game Story.

Nora Betts, a senior journalism and public relations major and Managing Editor of The Sower, won Best General News Story for her story entitled, “Annual Naked Man Run takes place even as windchills reach the negatives.”

Kai Olbrich’s article, “Bulldog basketball dominates at Cattle Classic tournament,” won first place in the Best Sports Game category.

Olbrich, a junior journalism and public relations major, also won second and third place in the category of Best Podcast for the “Talkin Dawgs” sports podcast, winning second with former Sower reporter Cohen Carpenter who graduated in 2025, and winning third place with Sower reporter Aaron Spivey.

The Sower also won second place for Best Overall Design, and Natalie Guske’s story, “Fall 2025 Assassins game keeps students with their eyes up and spoons in hand,” won third place for Best General News Story.

Guske, a sophomore Elementary Education major, said she was shocked to learn she had won.

Aaron Spivey (left) and Kai Olbrich (right) hold up their award for the Talkin’ Dawgs sports podcast. Photo: Elizabeth Salo.

“I was really surprised because I loved writing this story, but after it was published and everything, I kind of forgot it existed,” said Guske. “So, it was definitely not even on my radar at all for this.”

The event also included a speech from Madison Pitsch, a 2019 graduate of Concordia’s journalism program who is now an evening anchor at 10/11 News in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Pitsch explained what it is like to work in broadcast journalism, both the joyful and the challenging parts, and how her small college journalism degree has helped her pursue her career.

“I believe the individual attention I got at Concordia was really impactful for me,” said Pitsch. “I got immediate help while learning and immediate feedback while learning, and I also believe that the culture of Concordia has led me to look at people that I’m interviewing as valuable people who have a story to tell and deserve to be heard.”