Left Hand Valley Courier takes home three Colorado Press Association awards

Left Hand Valley Courier writers Jack Carlough, Kristin Alger and the now-retired Mary Wolbach Lopert were each honored at the 145th annual Colorado Press Association Better News Awards Dinner in Denver on Sept. 23.

Lopert, one of the seven founders of the Courier who retired in 2022 after 25 years with the paper, took second place in the Class 5 Editorial's Best Humorous Column Writing category for her piece, "It's A Laughing Matter: 21 Ways You Know You Live in a Small Town." The column was published in the Jan. 12, 2022 edition of the Courier, about four months prior to Lopert's retirement.

Alger's story "Niwotian Completes Ultra Marathon" earned first place in the Class 5 Editorial's Best Sports Column Writing category. The piece, published on Sept. 28, 2022, highlighted Niwot resident Pete Brandes' participation in the 2022 100-mile Run Rabbit Run ultramarathon in Steamboat Springs. Alger joined the Courier in early 2022.

In that same award category, Carlough took second place for "Student Athlete of the Week: Vithal Arya," published on Dec. 14, 2022. Arya was in the midst of his senior season with the Niwot High boys wrestling team when the profile was published.

Carlough, a 2018 graduate of Silver Creek High School, joined the Courier in 2019 as a sophomore at the University of Colorado Boulder. He received his bachelor's degree in journalism in 2022, and continues to cover sports stories for the Courier.

The awards ceremony was held at the Curtis Hotel in downtown Denver.