On June 16, 2026, at the Society of Professional Journalists’ annual awards ceremony in St. Paul, Duluth Monitor Publisher John Ramos won awards in three categories for articles published during 2025. One of the awards, the A-Mark Prize for Investigative Journalism, which was launched in 2025, rewards journalists and their newsrooms for their work with a cash prize.
First place, Environment News Reporting (Small Newsroom)
“Duluth Looks to Federal Partnership to Address Park Point Erosion”
Judge’s comments:
Detailed, well-written and well-researched presentation of an environmental issue that likely will worsen if no action or inadequate action is taken to mitigate the issue; also provided a good discussion of the financial cost of mitigation and the need for a workable city and federal partnership for a successful outcome; use of photos and maps was helpful in orienting the reader to the locations discussed in the article; an interesting read.
Second place, Feature Reporting (Small Newsroom)
“Normanna Township Arsonist Harassed Neighbors for Years Prior to Terrifying Rampage”
Third place, A-Mark Prize for Investigative Journalism in Minnesota
$3,000 prize
“Hermantown Officials Deceived Citizens, Manipulated Public Process to Pave Way for Data Center”
“St. Louis County Board Manipulated Public Process to Silence Public Input on NDAs”
“22 County Employees Signed NDAs for Data Center Project”
Judge’s comments:
The Duluth Monitor’s investigation into the Hermantown data center exposed a pattern of secrecy, backroom dealings, and nondisclosure agreements that kept residents in the dark about decisions reshaping their community. The judges praised the reporting as the very definition of independent local journalism — painstaking accountability work that uncovered how officials altered plans, concealed the true nature of the project, and shut down public scrutiny. The reporting combined detailed document analysis with strong multimedia storytelling. The judges also emphasized the investigation’s extraordinary local impact, noting that without the Duluth Monitor, residents may never have known the extent to which public decisions were being made behind closed doors.
The first and second place A-Mark prizes were won by news teams from KARE-11, the Minnesota Star Tribune, and ProPublica.
It is a tremendous honor for us here at the Monitor to compete on an equal footing with such well-regarded news outlets. Our self-taught publisher could not have imagined this was possible a few years ago.
