At the 158th annual Minnesota Newspaper Association Convention in January 2025, TMC Publications earned 11 awards. Accepting them in person were (left to right) Tesha M. Christensen, Jan Willms and Terbuto Ochothow. Our woman-owned, family-run newspaper group includes the Longfellow Nokomis Messenger, Midway Como Frogtown Monitor and the Southwest Connector.

• Business Profile, 2nd place: Tesha M. Christensen for "South Lyndale Liquor triples size"
• Columnist, 2nd place: Eric Ortiz
• Human Interest Story - Personality, 3rd place: Jan Willms for "The Sign Painter"
• Social Issues Story, 3rd place: Jan Willms for "Helping youth succeed"
• Photography News Photo, 1st place: Tesha M. Christensen for Slice Pizza ribbon cutting
• Photography News Photo, 2nd place; Terbuto Ochothow for "African Fest"
• Photography Portrait and Personality, 2nd place: Terbuto Ochothow for "Brewery owner"
• Typography and Design, 1st Place: Southwest Connector
• Advertising Excellence, 2nd place: Southwest Connector
• Use of Photography as a Whole, 3rd place: Southwest Connector
• Use of Information Graphics and Graphic Illustrations, 3rd place: Intersection of ideas on I-94

The Midwest Free Community Papers (MFCP) announced on April 3, 2025 that TMC Publications CO had earned 5 awards:

• General Excellence: Southwest Connector, 1st Place

• Best Website: Midway Como Frogtown Monitor, 2nd Place

• Best Website: Southwest Connector, 3rd Place

• Best Holiday Ad (other than Christmas): Longfellow Nokomis Messenger, Chocolat Celeste, Honorable Mention

• Best Editorial Photography: Southwest Connector, Lake Harriet Lower Campus Principal, Terry Faust, 2nd Place

The owner and editor of the Monitor, Messenger, and Connector, Tesha M. Christensen, was named the 2025 Midway Chamber Volunteer of the Year. "Tesha does a lot for the Midway Chamber, including taking photographs at many events and promoting our work and programming through the newspaper," said Chamber Executive Director Chad Kulas. "She is also our Ambassador Committee Chair and sits on the board of directors and our communications committee. Her dedication to the Midway Chamber is also a sign of her dedication to the Midway community in general, and has helped her become an expert on what’s happening around the neighborhood."

TMC Publication CO earned 4 awards at the 2024 Midwest Free Community Papers annual contest.

• Best Website: Midway Como Frogtown Monitor, 3rd place

• Best Original News Story: Longfellow Nokomis Messenger, "Residents Speak Up to Say 'No'" by Tesha M. Christensen, 3rd place

• Best Original Editorial: Southwest Connector, "Jumping In" by J.D. Fratzke, 1st place

• Best Original Photography: Southwest Connector, "Lighting Up A Winter Night" by Tesha M. Christensen, 3rd place

TMC Publication's three newspapers earned a total of 20 awards at this year's Better Newspaper Contest through the Minnesota Newspaper Association. They were presented in January 2023. Congrats to the winners!
NEWS
1) First Place, Sports Story - Eric Erickson, “Unforgettable dream come true,” Midway Como Frogtown Monitor, October 2021. Judge’s comment: Great use of photographs put this entry in first place. Great writing and what a day for those athletes! It is like we were there!
2) First Place, Investigative Journalism - Jill Boogren, “Did city mislead, downplay public input on 38th and Chicago survey?” Southwest Connector, Dec. 2, 2021 (also ran in the Longfellow Nokomis Messenger). Judge’s comment: The information from the survey was very enlightening on this issue. Comments from the postcards didn’t match public officials’ comments. Information was displayed attractively which helped with understanding the content.
3) First Place, Hard News - Tesha M. Christensen, “A new Dale Street bridge,” Midway Como Frogtown Monitor, September 2021
4) Second Place, Hard News - Tesha M. Christensen, “It’s Cheatham Avenue now,” Longfellow Nokomis Messenger
5) Third Place, Hard News - Tesha M. Christensen, “Should 3rd Precinct stay in Longfellow?” Longfellow Nokomis Messenger
PHOTOS
6) First Place, Photography Portrait and Personality - Terry Faust, “Affordable housing architect,” Southwest Connector, March 3, 2022. Judge’s comment: Good composition, fill flash, and posing of the subject, each of which is a skill of its own.
7) First Place, Photography News Photo - Tesha M. Christensen, “Art on the Edge,” Southwest Connector, Aug. 4, 2022.
8) Third Place, Photography Feature Photo - Tesha M. Christensen, “Blindfolded clay throw down,” Longfellow Nokomis Messenger, September 2022. Judge’s comment: Liked the composition of the photo and the story line. Good composition with great lines of focus down the potters’ line.
INFOGRAPHIC
9) Second Place, Use of Information Graphics and Graphic Illustrations - Tesha M. Christensen, “Lake Street 2 years later,” Longfellow Nokomis Messenger, July 2022. Judge’s comment: Nice pictures
DESIGN
10) Third Place, Typography and Design - Andoni Aldasoro and Tesha M. Christensen, Southwest Connector. Judge’s comment: Good design. A great entry in a crowded field.
ADS
11) First Place, Advertising Campaign - Tesha M. Christensen, “Henry W. Anderson Mortuary,” Longfellow Nokomis Messenger
12) First Place, Use of Color in Advertising - Sandra Mikulsky and Tesha M. Christensen, “Roadrunner Records,” Southwest Connector. Judge’s comment: I like the orange for an ad for a record company. It harkens back to a time when harvest golds and earthy shades were all the rage but the shade you choose doesn’t scream 70s.
13) First Place, Best Advertisement - Sandra Mikulsky and Tesha M. Christensen, “Village Shores,” Southwest Connector. Judge’s comment: Winner has the best balance, use of white space, accurate photo (doesn’t look like stock image, even if it is) and large text to grab the eye.
14) First Place, Institutional Advertisement - Sandra Mikulsky and Tesha M. Christensen, “Yinghua Academy,” Southwest Connector.
15) Second Place, Use of Color in Advertising - Sandra Mikulsky and Tesha M. Christensen, “United Noodles,” Longfellow Nokomis Messenger. Judge’s comment: You did a good job pulling the red and green from the photo into the words - it ties it together.
16) Second Place, Best Advertisement - Sandra Mikulsky and Tesha M. Christensen, “ReUse Center,” Longfellow Nokomis Messenger.
17) Second Place, Institutional Advertisement - Denis Woulfe and Tesha M. Christensen, “Elmhurst Cemetery,” Midway Como Frogtown Monitor.
18) Third Place, Use of Color in Advertising - Denis Woulfe and Tesha M. Christensen, “Fun City Dogs,” Southwest Connector. Judge’s comment: There was just the right amount of different colors to tie everything together and draw the eye, without overdoing it.
19) Third Place, Best Advertisement - Tesha M. Christensen, “Longfellow Business Association,” Longfellow Nokomis Messenger.
20) Third Place, Self-promotion or House Ad - Tesha M. Christensen, “Looking for carriers,” Southwest Connector.