Sower editors host conference panels, staff wins six awards
Sower staffers attend the Northern Plains Collegiate Media Association conference and the Golden Leaf Awards in March.
Photo credit: Sower Staff
By Mi-Ree Zwick
This article is featured in the May print edition of the Sower newspaper.
The Sower and the Concordia journalism program hosted the 2026 Northern Plains Collegiate Media Association conference and Golden Leaf Awards ceremony this spring, bringing together students from regional colleges and universities for discussions on podcasting, being a student newspaper managing editor and how to cover big stories and news beats.
The podcast panel featured Lola Hoffmann from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Elijah Moser from the University of Nebraska at Kearney, and Aaron Spivey and Kai Olbrich. Photo: Dylan Buechler.
The event included a luncheon and an address from keynote speaker Madison Pitsch, an anchor at KOLN-TV in Lincoln and former Sower managing editor. The Sower took home six journalism awards during the Golden Leaf Awards ceremony.
The podcast panel was hosted by Sower Sports Editor Kai Olbrich and Aaron Spivey, who co-host Concordia’s award-winning Talkin’ Dawgs sports podcast.
Panelist Lola Hofmann, a student at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln who created her own podcast, said she enjoyed hearing about other schools’ perspectives on journalism as a whole, especially noting the differences among podcasters on the panel. Hofmann’s podcast is about movie reviews; the others were about sports. UNL is not a member of the NPCMA.
The panel on managing editors was hosted by Sower Managing Editor Nora Betts. Ava Broxterman, a co-managing editor for the Bethel Collegiate at Bethel College in Kansas, said it was beneficial to hear about how other editors are managing their newsrooms.
Broxterman said that she appreciated being able to take her staff to experience other environments for journalists.
“The possibilities are really endless in the field of journalism,” she said.
Ellen Beck, the Sower adviser, and her husband, Assistant Professor of Journalism and Political Science and Chair of the English, Communication, and Theatre Arts Department Tobin Beck, spoke about their own experiences within the journalism industry. Both have decades of experience as journalists in multiple cities, including Miami and Washington, D.C. Ellen Beck talked about what it takes to develop a journalism beat, and Tobin Beck discussed covering major news events, focusing on the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
The managing editor panel featured Jenna Heinz from the University of Nebraska at Kearney; Kat Hutchinson from Wayne State College; Mason Bolen from Bethel College; Ava Broxterman from Bethel College, and Nora Betts. Photo: Dylan Buechler.
Journalism major Jenna Heinz, who is with the Antelope newspaper at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, said she enjoyed hearing from the Becks because their experiences could possibly be in her own future as a journalist.
“True journalism is being the person that goes out and covers important, sometimes devastating events to get the word out to people,” said Heinz.
Freshman Elizabeth Dermont, a staff writer for the Wayne Stater at Wayne State College in Nebraska, said that she enjoyed learning more about other forms of media within the field of journalism, such as photography and podcasts. Dermont said that she valued hearing the Becks’ experiences and would keep them in mind while continuing her path in journalism.
1st Place Best General News Story: Nora Betts
1st Place Best Sports Game Story: Kai Olbrich
2nd Place Best Overall Design: Sower Staff
2nd Place Best Podcast: Kai Olbrich & Cohen Carpenter
3rd Place Best Podcast: Kai Olbrich & Aaron Spivey
3rd Place Best General News Story: Natalie Guske
