The Daily Herald has won two awards, including one first-place prize, in the Inland Press Association's Local News Writing Competition.

Staff writer Kerry Lester took first place in the Personality/Individual Profile Stories category for "Five minutes that changed everything," an in-depth look at the physical and emotional journey taken by Fox Valley teacher Carolyn Gilberts after being attacked by a student.

Staff writers Joseph Ryan and Marni Pyke, along with Ginny Lee, assistant managing editor for Sundays and planning, earned a third-place award in the Investigative Reporting category for "Seeing Red," a series of stories that examined the role that red-light traffic cameras play in the suburbs.

"We're pleased with this national recognition of our staff's efforts to develop stories that reflect and improve life in the suburbs," Daily Herald Editor John Lampinen said.

Inland is a nationwide association of more than 1,200 weekly and daily newspapers from across the U.S., Canada and Bermuda. Awards will be presented on Monday, Oct. 26, at the Renaissance Chicago Hotel.

The Inland awards are the latest in a series of honors the Herald has received during the past couple months. The paper earned 11 awards in the recent Illinois Associated Press contest, and two from the Chicago Journalists Association.