The Kirkland Reporter received several awards at the Society of Professional Journalists’ annual Northwest Excellence in Journalism contest. Winners were announced at the SPJ’s awards banquet at Safeco Field in Seattle on Saturday.

The Reporter competed in the category of non-daily newspapers in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

Kirkland Reporter Editor Carrie Wood and Staff Writer Matt Phelps both won first place for General News Coverage of the quadruple murder trial of Conner Schierman, who was sentenced to death last May, and the rebuilding of Leonid Milkin’s Kirkland home that was burned after his wife, two children and sister-in-law were stabbed to death in 2006. In addition, former freelancer Kevin Opsahl was also recognized for this honor.

Wood and Phelps also won first place for Spot News Reporting for their story “Medical Marijuana Lobbyist Protects Life from Home Invasion Robbers.”

Phelps also received a third-place award for Lifestyles Reporting for his story “The King of Kong Takes his Place Amongst the Greats.”

In addition, Wood won a third-place Education Reporting award for “Bullying Incidents on the Rise in the Lake Washington School District.”

The event is held by SPJ’s Region 10 to honor exceptional journalism in Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana.

This year’s contest honors work produced or published in 2010. More than 2,500 entries from dozens of media organizations throughout the region were reviewed and rated by out-of-state judges.