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INDIANAPOLIS—Outgoing Editor in Chief Danielle Ferguson accepted top honors on behalf of the Iowa State Daily and incoming Editor in Chief Emily Barske took top honors for feature writing at the recent Region 7 “Mark of Excellence” competition by the Society of Professional Journalists.

Region 7 includes schools in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. First-place winners will move on to the national MOE competition among category winners from the 12 SPJ regions.

National winners will be notified in the late spring and will be recognized at [Excellence in Journalism 2016]() Sept. 18-20 in New Orleans. The awards are judged by professionals with at least three years of journalism experience.

Former Editor Stephen Koenigsfeld’s March 6 issue and Ferguson’s Oct. 9 and Dec. 4 editions of the Iowa State Daily won “Best All-Around Daily Student Newspaper.” Barske’s “Our Way of Life” won the top prize for feature writing.

The Daily has won the overall award every year since 2007. In 2007, the newspaper also was judged best in the nation.

Ferguson will graduate next month and begin working for the Sioux Falls Argus Leader. Barske takes over the helm at the Daily in August.

In March, the Iowa State Daily earned a Silver Crown award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, one of the oldest national associations that honor college media. Only nine college news organizations won either a Gold Crown (three news organizations) or a Silver Crown (six news organizations) in 2016.