Awards and Recognition

2025

Livingston Award—Local Reporting
Wilson Criscione and Kelsey Turner were both Livingston Award finalists for their series investigating an influential Idaho nonprofit accused of exploiting human trafficking victims in a Medicaid fraud scheme.

Report for America Local News Awards—enterprise/investigative (multiple stories)
Daniel Walters placed third for “Recordings reveal Oregon port contractor praising Hitler, using slurs — now officials face a quandary.”

Indigenous Media Awards—Best Health Coverage
Melanie Henshaw won first place for “Tribal citizens face health disparities, improper medical debt.”

Indigenous Media Awards—Best Longform/Magazine Story
Melanie Henshaw placed third for “Oregon makes limited progress on the ‘emergency’ of MMIP.”

Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Feature (Hard News)
Kaylee Tornay won first place for “Suicide exposes gaps in response system.”

Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Health Reporting
Melanie Henshaw placed second for “Debt, disparities face Native Americans in health care.”

Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Government & Politics Reporting
Daniel Walters placed second for “Broken Records.”

Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Poverty & Homelessness Reporting
Kelsey Turner placed second for “Renters see discrimination, retaliation in ‘junk fees.’”

Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Racial Equity Reporting
Rachel Spacek placed second for “Unaccompanied migrant children face legal obstacles in Northwest.”

Idaho Press Club—Agriculture Reporting
Rachel Spacek won first place for her in-depth story, “As bird flu races through the region’s farms, Idaho does little to monitor workers.”

Idaho Press Club—Serious Feature Reporting
Rachel Spacek placed second for “Heat deaths prompt divergent responses from officials in Idaho, Oregon.”

Idaho Press Club—Watchdog Reporting
Whitney Bryen won first place for “Hundreds of mentally ill Idaho kids can’t get the inpatient care their doctors order.”

Idaho Press Club—Data-Driven Journalism
Whitney Bryen won first place for “Idaho jails withheld details about hundreds of detainee deaths.”

Bunting Award
Daniel Walters won the Kenneth F. Bunting Award by the Washington Coalition for Open Government, in recognition for a series of stories examining the responsiveness of local governments to public records requests.

2024

Institute for Nonprofit News Awards—Best Investigative Journalism Award
Wilson Criscione won for his “Cruelest Lie” series, which exposed unchecked allegations of rape, abuse and neglect inside Idaho’s licensed youth residential facilities.

Association of Health Care Journalists Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism—Investigative Reporting
Wilson Criscione's series on the lacking oversight and abuse in Idaho's youth treatment homes took first place.

Best of the West—Social Justice Reporting
Kelsey Turner and Wilson Criscione placed third with “Orders of protection,” examining how a court decision is affecting victims of domestic violence and spawned uncertainty over a law meant to protect domestic violence survivors from gun violence in Washington.

Best of the West—Project Reporting
Wilson Criscione took third place with “Rape, beatings and racial slurs: None of it was enough to shut down this Idaho youth facility.”

Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—crime and law enforcement reporting
Kelsey Turner won first for her project “Evading Justice,” which examined how the victims of sex trafficking are prosecuted for crimes while their traffickers often go unpunished

Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—education reporting
Kelsey Turner won first for a story about a Seattle-area school district that ignored warning signs of a sexual predator.

Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—poverty and homelessness reporting
Kelsey Turner won first for a story revealing how housing restrictions were resulting in more sex offenders living on the streets.

Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—environment and natural disaster reporting
Wilson Criscione placed second for his investigation into the cozy relationship between the Environmental Protection Agency and mining companies in Butte, Montana.

Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—investigative reporting
Wilson Criscione placed second for his work on The Cruelest Lie.

2023

Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Business & Economics Reporting
Zachariah Bryan won first place for his report, “WA battery maker faces accusations it gave U.S.-owned tech to China.”

Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Crime & Law Enforcement Reporting
Kaylee Tornay won second place for her report, “At Least One Juror Refused To Call Them Guilty. But They’re Still In Prison.”

Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Education Reporting
Wilson Criscione won first place for his report, “Why Washington Is Shipping More Disabled Students Out Of State, Splitting Up Families And Costing Taxpayers Millions.”

Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Environment & Natural Disaster Reporting
Samantha Wohlfeil won second place for her report, “From Mountaintops To Ocean Bottoms, Scientists Are Discovering Just How Pervasive Plastic Is.”

Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Government & Politics Reporting
Wilson Criscione won second place for his report, “In Washington, County Auditor Elections Become Battleground For Far-Right Election Deniers.”

Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Investigative Reporting
Wilson Criscione won first place for his report, “Jehovah’s Witnesses Covered Up Child Sexual Abuse In Washington State For Decades, Lawsuit Alleges.”

Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Poverty & Homelessness Reporting
Wilson Criscione won first place for his report, “‘I Kept Reoffending’: Why Unhoused People Are Choosing To Go To Jail.”

Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Poverty & Homelessness Reporting
Kaylee Tornay won second place for her report, “Dozens Of Oregon School Districts Likely Undercounting Homeless Students.”

2022

Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Collaboration
Getting to Zero: Decarbonizing Cascadia, a yearlong investigation of the political and economic barriers to effective, equitable climate action across the Cascadian region, won first place.

Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Environment & Natural Disaster Reporting
Getting to Zero: Decarbonizing Cascadia, a yearlong investigation of the political and economic barriers to effective, equitable climate action across the Cascadian region, won first place.

Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Series
Joy Borkholder won second place for Child Care in Crisis, a project exploring the broken child-care system in Washington state and the U.S. at large.

Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Social Equity Reporting
Reporter Allegra Abramo won second place for her coverage on foster care youth and reform efforts in Washington state.

Best of the West—Social Justice Reporting
Joy Borkholder placed third for her data-driven report, “Latino voters have higher than average ballot signature rejection rates in Washington State.”

2021

Covering Climate Now Journalism Awards- Investigative Journalism
Peter Fairley won first place for this article, “Who Killed the Supergrid? Trump Appointees Short-Circuited Grid Modernization to Help the Coal Industry,” co-published by The Atlantic.

Best of the West—Growth and Environment Reporting
Mara Kardas-Nelson and Levi Pulkkinen placed second, for “As Wildfire Smoke Permeates Even Indoors, Is Government Doing Enough to Respond?”

Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Government & Politics Reporting
Allegra Abramo and Rachel Nielsen won first place for their reporting on “Abused, neglected foster kids housed in motels, state offices.”

Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Health and Science Reporting
Mara Kardas-Nelson and Levi Pulkkinen won first place for their reporting on the “Smoky Skies, Altered Lives” series.

Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Series
Mara Kardas-Nelson and Levi Pulkkinen won first place for their reporting on the “Smoky Skies, Altered Lives” series.

Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Technology, Business & Economics Reporting
Francesca Lyman won second place for her reporting on “Profiting from Thrift: Who’s Getting Rich Off Your Secondhand Stuff?”

Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Environment & Natural Disaster Reporting
Mara Kardas-Nelson and Levi Pulkkinen won second place for their reporting on the “Smoky Skies, Altered Lives” series.

2020

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Crime and Justice Reporting
Jason Buch and Joy Borkholder won first place in the five-state Northwest Excellence in Journalism competition for crime and justice reporting for “Driving While Indian? You’re more likely to be searched by the Washington State Patrol.”

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Politics and Government
Allegra Abramo won first place in the five-state Northwest Excellence in Journalism competition for politics and government reporting for “WA foster kids sent to out-of-state group homes with checkered records.”

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Health and Science Reporting
Sergio Olmos, Emily Harris, Lee van der Voo, InvestigateWest, Pamplin Media Group, and Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting won first place in the five-state Northwest Excellence in Journalism competition for health and science reporting (large newsroom) for the podcast episode “Lasting Impact.”

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Health and Science Reporting
Anna Boiko-Weyrauch, Nicolle Galteland, Alisa Barba, Finding Fixes and InvestigateWest won first place in the five-state Northwest Excellence in Journalism competition for health and science reporting (small newsroom) for the podcast episode “Finding Fixes: Preventing Youth Addiction.”

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Reporting Series
Anna Boiko-Weyrauch, Nicolle Galteland, Alisa Barba, Finding Fixes and InvestigateWest won first place in the five-state Northwest Excellence in Journalism competition for reporting series for the podcast “Finding Fixes: Season Two.”

Best of the West—Audio Storytelling
Reveal from the Center of Public Integrity, InvestigateWest and Pamplin Media Group won first place for audio storytelling with “Lasting Impact,” which tells the story of Jonathan Boland, a talented young football player and charismatic team leader from an underdog high school on the edge of Portland – and the larger story of holes in youth concussion protection laws.

2019

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Social Issues Reporting
InvestigateWest’s Allegra Abramo won first place in the five-state Northwest Excellence in Journalism competition for social issues reporting for “Foster kids kept by state in hotels at record rate.”

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Government and Politics Reporting
InvestigateWest’s Allegra Abramo won second place for government and politics reporting for “Foster kids kept by state in hotels at record rate.”

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Comprehensive Coverage
“Rattled: Oregon’s Concussion Discussion” — a first-of-its-kind statewide examination of high school concussions by Lee van der Voo of InvestigateWest along with John Schrag, Holly Scholz and Shasta Kearns Moore of Pamplin Media Group — placed second for comprehensive coverage.

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Social Issues Reporting
Rebecca Clarren won second place in social issues reporting for “Idle oil, gas wells threaten Indian tribes while energy companies, regulators do little.”

2018

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Social Issues Reporting
Allegra Abramo won first place in the five-state Northwest Excellence in Journalism competition for “The $600-a-night foster care bed.”

Sigma Delta Chi Award from Society of Professional Journalists— Specialized Journalism Site
The Weather Channel Digital, in partnership with InvestigateWest and seven other media outlets, won first place for Specialized Journalism Site for their United States of Climate Change reporting project, which tells one climate change-related story for each state. Reporter Sally Deneen and photographer Adam Bacher in Oregon followed a scientist warning of the Pacific Northwest’s preventable era of megafires. Reporter Lisa Stiffler and photographer Paul Joseph Brown chronicled the effects of increasingly acidic waters on the oysters grown by fifth-generation Taylor Shellfish Farms in Washington. This project was also recognized by The Webby Awards as an official honoree, a distinction given to less than 15% of entries.

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Health and Science Reporting
Lee van der Voo won first place in health and science reporting for her reporting on the trade in illegal seafood, “Turning the Tide.”

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Social Issues Reporting
Rebecca Clarren’s Indian Country reporting for InvestigateWest ran in The Nation, a large newsroom, and won first place for social issues reporting in the large-newsroom category.

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Comprehensive Coverage
Reporter Lee Van der Voo, along with John Schrag and Nick Budinick of the Pamplin Media Group and independent journalist Kate Willson, won first place for comprehensive coverage for “Unequal Justice.”

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Longform Feature News Reporting
Lisa Stiffler won first place for longform feature news reporting for “Climate change turns Puget Sound acidic and region’s signature oysters struggle to survive.”

Bruce Baer Award for Investigative and Public Affairs Journalism, Winner
InvestigateWest’s Lee van der Voo, Pamplin Media’s John Schrag, Portland Tribune’s Nick Budnick, independent reporter Kate Willson, and Portland State University professor Mark Harmon Leymon received a Bruce Baer Award for “Unequal Justice,” an investigation of the racial disparities in Oregon’s criminal justice system.

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Comprehensive Coverage
Adiel Kaplan placed second for comprehensive coverage for “As Buildings Go Up, How Many of Seattle’s Trees Will Come Down?”

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Government and Politics Reporting
Rebecca Clarren won second place in government and politics reporting for “Native American students face punitive discipline, substandard curricula.”

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Crime and Justice Reporting
Lee Van der Voo, John Schrag, Nick Budinick and Kate Willson won second place for crime and justice reporting for “Unequal Justice.”

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Social Issues Reporting
Rebecca Clarren’s Indian Country reporting for InvestigateWest ran in Indian Country Today, and placed second for social issues reporting for Idle oil, gas wells threaten Indian tribes while energy companies, regulators do little.

2017

Northwest Emmy, Informational/Instructional—Feature/Segment
InvestigateWest’s Robert McClure and MacGregor Campbell of Oregon Public Broadcasting won a regional Emmy for their short film, “The Waste That Remains from Arming Nuclear Weapons.”

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Social Issues Reporting
Allegra Abramo and Susanna Ray won first place for their piercing exposé that laid bare the turmoil in Washington’s child-welfare system.

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Comprehensive Coverage
Second place honors for Allegra Abramo and Susanna Ray for their months-long investigation into Washington’s foster-care system.

2016

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Business Reporting
Lee van der Voo and James Gordon won a first place Northwest Excellence in Journalism award in the business reporting category for “How cash sent the Portland home market spinning.”

American Society of Journalists and Authors’ “Arlene Award For Writing That Makes a Difference”
Francesca Lyman won this national award, the only one awarded annually, for her series “Profiting from Thrift.”

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Investigative Reporting
Francesca Lyman won a first place award in the investigative reporting category for “Profiting from Thrift.”

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Column
Lee van der Voo won a first place Northwest Excellence in Journalism award for her column “Redacted: The State of Transparency in Oregon.”

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Business Reporting
Francesca Lyman won a third place Northwest Excellence in Journalism award in the business reporting category for “Profiting from Thrift.”

Best of the West—Business and Financial Reporting
Lee van der Voo and James Gordon won a Best of the West first place award in the business and financial reporting category for the series “Portland Housing: How Cash Sent the Portland Home Market Spinning” and the sidebars “26 Investors Who Have Way More House Than You” and “Methodology for Our Report on Cash Buyers.”

Best of the West—Explanatory Reporting
Lee van der Voo and James Gordon won a Best of the West third place award in the explanatory coverage category for the series “Portland Housing.”

Best of the West—Business and Financial Reporting
Francesca Lyman won third place in the business and financial reporting category for her series “Profiting from Thrift.”

Best of the West—News Slideshow
Paul Joseph Brown received second place for his photographs of the Cedar River watershed, which might not outlast the Seattle area’s water demands as climate change progresses.

2015

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Comprehensive Coverage
InvestigateWest’s Allegra Abramo, Lael Henterly and Jason Alcorn won a Northwest Excellence in Journalism first place award in the comprehensive coverage category for the series “Stolen Wages.”

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Environment & Science Reporting
InvestigateWest’s Robert McClure won a Northwest Excellence in Journalism first place award in the environment and science reporting category for the series “Smoke and Numbers: Do Green Claims for Burning Wood Add Up?”

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Investigative Reporting
InvestigateWest’s Allegra Abramo, Lael Henterly and Jason Alcorn won a Northwest Excellence in Journalism second place award in the investigative reporting category for the series “Stolen Wages.”

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Environment & Science Reporting
InvestigateWest’s Robert McClure and Kim Drury won a Northwest Excellence in Journalism third place award in the environment and science reporting category for the series “Politics and Science of Water Quality.”

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Social Issues Reporting
InvestigateWest and EarthFix won a Northwest Excellence in Journalism second place award in the social issues reporting category for the series “Inside the Box.”

Washington Press Association Award—Photography
InvestigateWest’s Paul Joseph Brown won a Washington Press Association first place award in the photography, magazines and other publications category for his photographs of biomass energy production.

Washington Press Association Award—Single-Subject Series
InvestigateWest’s Robert McClure and Kim Drury won a Washington Press Association first place award in the single-subject series, daily news category for their investigation into the science and politics of clean water.

Washington Press Association Award—Investigative/Watchdog
InvestigateWest’s Allegra Abramo won a Washington Press Association second place award in the investigative/watchdog, magazines and other publications category for her investigation of millions of dollars of wages stolen from Washington workers.

Washington Press Association Award—General News
Jason Alcorn won a Washington Press Association first place award in the general news, magazines and other publications category for his reporting on bridge safety.

Washington Press Association Award—Graphic Design/Infographic
InvestigateWest’s Allegra Abramo and Jason Alcorn won a Washington Press Association second place award in the graphic design/infographic, magazines and other publications category for their analysis and presentation of tens of thousands of wage theft complaints in Washington.

Washington Press Association Award—Social Issues
InvestigateWest’s Robert McClure and Kim Drury, with Tony Schick and Cassandra Profita of EarthFix, won a Washington Press Association first place award in the social issues, magazines and other publications category for their reporting on portable classrooms.

Washington Press Association Award—Agriculture/Environment
InvestigateWest’s Robert McClure won a Washington Press Association first place award in the agriculture/environment, magazines and other publications category for his investigation into environmental claims by the biomass energy industry.

2014

Society of Environmental Journalists—Kevin Carmody Award for Outstanding In-depth Reporting, Small Market
InvestigateWest’s Olivia Henry and Kate Martin won a Society of Environmental Journalists third place award for their investigation of traffic pollution near schools and day cares in Washington.

Emmy Award Nomination for News—Environment
InvestigateWest and KING 5 were nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding News in the environment category for a three-part series on traffic pollution near schools and day cares.

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Online Innovation Award
InvestigateWest’s Robert McClure won a Northwest Excellence in Journalism first place award in the online innovation category for the series “Boeing’s Lobbying Campaign.”

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Radio Special Report
InvestigateWest with the staff of KUOW won a Northwest Excellence in Journalism first place award in the radio news special report category for their investigation of law enforcement and missing person cases that involve dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Online Interactive Graphic or Resource
InvestigateWest’s Kate Martin and Jason Alcorn won a Northwest Excellence in Journalism second place award in the online interactive graphic or resource category for their mapping of schools and day cares exposed to toxic road pollution.

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Online Best Site Specialized Subject
InvestigateWest won a Northwest Excellence in Journalism second place award for best site on a specialized subject for overall excellence in investigative journalism.

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Online Gallery/Slideshow
InvestigateWest’s Mike Kane won a Northwest Excellence in Journalism third place award in the online gallery/slideshow category for his photographs of former foster youth profiled in series, “End of the Line.”

Best of the West—Project Reporting
InvestigateWest’s Jason Alcorn with KUOW and KCTS 9 was the second place winner in the Project Reporting category for his investigation of law enforcement and missing person cases that involve dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

Washington Press Association Award—General News
InvestigateWest’s Jason Alcorn won a Washington Press Association first place award in the general news, magazines and other publications category for his investigation of law enforcement and missing person cases that involve dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

Washington Press Association Award—Investigative/Watchdog
InvestigateWest’s Robert McClure, Olivia Henry and Jason Alcorn won a Washington Press Association first place award in the investigative/watchdog, magazines and other publications category for their reporting on Boeing’s lobbying campaign against more stringent water-quality rules.

Washington Press Association Award—Business/Technology
InvestigateWest’s Lee van der Voo won a Washington Press Association first place award in the business/technology, magazines and other publications category for her reporting on inequities in the modern fishing industry.

Washington Press Association Award—Government/Politics
InvestigateWest’s Robert McClure won a Washington Press Association second place award in the government/politics, magazines and other publications category for his reporting on lobbying against more stringent water-quality rules.

Washington Press Association Award—Single-Subject Series
InvestigateWest’s Olivia Henry and Kate Martin won a Washington Press Association first place award in the single-subject series, daily news category for their investigation of traffic pollution near schools and day cares.

Investigative Reporters & Editors, Finalist
InvestigateWest’s Jason Alcorn and Robert McClure along with KUOW and KCTS 9 were named finalists for the IRE Award for multiplatform, medium size category for their investigation of law enforcement and missing person cases that involve dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

2013

Knight-Risser Prize for Western Environmental Journalism, Special Recognition
InvestigateWest’s Robert McClure and Jason Alcorn along with EarthFix received a special recognition citation from the Knight-Risser Prize for Western Environmental Journalism for “Clean Water: The Next Act.”

Emmy Award Nomination for Documentary—Topical
InvestigateWest’s Carol Smith with KCTS 9’s Ethan Morris and David Ko were nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary—Topical for “Prescription for Abuse.”

Emmy Award Nomination—Health/Science (Program/Special)
InvestigateWest’s Carol Smith and KCTS 9’s Ethan Morris and David Ko were nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary—Health/Science – Program/Special for “Lifesaving Drugs, Deadly Consequences.”

North American Agricultural Journalists Writing Contest Winner for Special Projects
InvestigateWest’s Robert McClure and Jason Alcorn joined forces with EarthFix for a special report on how agricultural pollution affects the nation’s streams and rivers. It won the NAAJ writing contest in the special projects category.

Society of Professional Journalists New America Award
InvestigateWest’s Carol Smith and The News Tribune’s Lewis Kamb won SPJ’s New America Award for their investigation into the Northwest Detention Center and federal immigration policy.

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Daily Newspapers Investigative Reporting
The staff of The News Tribune with InvestigateWest won a Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award in the daily newspapers, investigative category for “Center of Detention.”

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Online Special Report/Enterprise, Second Place
InvestigateWest with the staff of EarthFix was second for a Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award in the online special report/enterprise category for the series, “Clean Water: The Next Act.”

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Radio News Series
InvestigateWest with the staff of EarthFix won a Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award in the radio news series category for the series, “Clean Water: The Next Act.”

Best of the West— Explanatory Reporting
InvestigateWest’s Carol Smith and Stephanie Schendel and KCTS 9’s Ethan Morris placed second in the explanatory reporting category for their investigation of prescription drug abuse in Washington.

Washington Press Association Award—General News
InvestigateWest’s Carol Smith won a Washington Press Association first place award in the general news, magazines and other publications category for her investigation of prescription drug abuse in Washington.

Washington Press Association Award—Investigative/Watchdog
InvestigateWest’s Robert McClure and Jason Alcorn and EarthFix’s Bonnie Stewart won a Washington Press Association first place award in the investigative/watchdog, magazines and other publications category for their investigation of Clean Water Act enforcement.

Washington Press Association Award—Agriculture/Environment
InvestigateWest’s Robert McClure with EarthFix won a Washington Press Association first place award in the agriculture/environment, magazines and other publications category for their investigation of water pollution from agriculture.

2012

Northwest Excellence in Journalism—Online Innovation
InvestigateWest’s Carol Smith and KUOW’s Jim Gates won second-place honors in the online innovation category of the Northwest Excellence in Journalism contest for their investigation of farming along Seattle’s Duwamish River.

2011

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Online Video
InvestigateWest’s Carol Smith, Rita Hibbard and Mike Kane won a Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award in the online video category for their reporting on homeless youth in Seattle.

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Online Special Report/Enterprise
The staff of InvestigateWest won a Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award in the online special report/enterprise category for the investigative report, “Generation Homeless.”

Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award—Interactive Graphic, Finalist
InvestigateWest’s Carol Smith and Brian Chin won third place in the Northwest Excellence in Journalism Awards in the online interactive graphic category for a map of homeless students by school district in Washington.

Investigative Reporters & Editors Philip Meyer Award Finalist
InvestigateWest with the Center for Public Integrity and NPR won second place in IRE’s annual Philip Meyer Award for a joint project on sexual assault on campus.

Excellence in Health Care Journalism Award for Community Newspapers, Runner-up
InvestigateWest’s Carol Smith won runner-up in AHCJ’s Excellence in Health Care Journalism Awards in the community newspapers category for her investigation into the lethal dangers of exposure to chemotherapy in the workplace.

Online News Association Gannett Foundation Award for Innovative Investigative Journalism Finalist
InvestigateWest was an ONA Gannett Foundation Award for Innovative Investigative Journalism finalist in the small site category for the series, “Lifesaving Drugs, Deadly Consequences.”

2010

Bruce Baer Award for Investigative and Public Affairs Journalism, Special Recognition
InvestigateWest’s Lee van der Voo and Carol Smith received a Bruce Baer Award special recognition for “Assaulted and Abandoned,” an investigation of sexual assault on campus.