Project Optimist wins 2 Minnesota news awards

Project Optimist won two awards for its 2025 journalism at a ceremony Tuesday, June 16, 2026, hosted by the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists 2026 Page One Awards.

Project Optimist earned second place in the Health/Medical News Reporting category for the story: "Can community-led initiatives bridge Minnesota's Latino mental health gap?"

Isabella Silva-Biotti reported and wrote this story in English and Spanish. Jen Zettel-Vandenhouten edited it. Collaborators at Conexiones in Morris, Minn., helped Project Optimist source this story. Andi Lynn Arnold made illustrations to accompany it.

Project Optimist earned a third place honor in the Photography/Graphics category for the images in the firearms solutions series. Staff worked with artist Chandler Lannes who made illustrations that tied together three stories in the project.

Jen Zettel-Vandenhouten wrote two of the stories. Nora Hertel wrote the third. Project Optimist produced the series in partnership with Minnesota Women's Press.

Project Optimist was also honored by the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists in St. Paul, Minn., for its fifth anniversary, which takes place in November 2026.

Project Optimist competes in the largest entry tier, which includes outlets with 50,000 or more in circulation or outlets that have a statewide focus. The nonprofit news organization produces solutions journalism about greater Minnesota.

The 2026 honors mark Project Optimist's sixth and seventh journalism awards.

Here are previous awards from the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists to Project Optimist:

• 2025 – First place for Best Website.
• 2025 – Third place for Best Newsletter.
• 2025 – Third place in the Enterprise/In-Depth Reporting category for a recycling series by Jen Zettel-Vandenhouten.
• 2024 – First place in Feature Photography for Erica Dischino's photos of artist Desi Murphy.
• 2024 – Second place in the Columns category for Lisa Meyers McClintick's "Drawn by Nature" series.