Minot State University alumnae Alexus Arthur, students Leif Bakken, Kayle Borner, and Nolan Axten, and professor Neil Roberts all earned Eric Sevareid Awards at the Midwest Broadcast Journalist Association Conference March 31-April 1 in Bloomington, Minn., according to a press release from the university.

Arthur, who graduated in December and currently works for KX News, captured a first-place award in Spot News award for her entry Bomb Threat – Central Campus.

Roberts, Bakken, and Borner teamed to earn a first-place award for the series Purple Pillage Radio Series on KZZJ in the Series category. Bakken and Roberts worked on the series, while Borner produced the open. Roberts also won a first-place award in Best Use of Audio in the Series category for ND Pheasants Down but not Out. He also won Award of Merit with ND Pheasants Down but not Out in Soft Feature and Sports Reporting. He earned an additional Award of Merit for the series Spring Fever Baseball – Season Opener!”

Bakken, a senior broadcast major, earned an Award of Merit for Sports Play-by-Play Student Market TV for his coverage of Minot State Men’s Basketball vs. USF NSIC First Round Playoff Game from 2016. Axten, a senior broadcasting major who currently works for KX News, earned an award of Merit for Sports/Program with his entry KX Sports 12-29-2017.

The Eric Sevareid Awards are named for the Velva, N.D.-born journalist best known for his work as a correspondent for CBS Radio and Television. Each year, the Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association presents awards to the best work done by broadcast news operations and journalists working in small, medium and large markets in a six-state region on radio, television and online.

Minot State is judged in a region consisting of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. The student awards are open to all universities in those six states.