Idaho State University Students, Faculty, and Staff Score 18 Idaho Press Club Awards

Bengals made quite the showing in the Idaho Press Club’s Best of 2025 Awards.

Idaho State University students, faculty, and staff took home 18 honors at the group’s annual banquet held in Boise last weekend. The awards highlight the work of journalists and public relations professionals produced in 2025, across categories ranging from investigative reporting and feature writing to sports news, general excellence, and more.

Among the winners from ISU, soon-to-be graduate Hadley Bodell was a standout, earning five awards for her work with The Bengal Newspaper, KISU-FM, and as a multimedia journalist with Local News 8.

“I am so grateful to The Bengal Newspaper and KISU for giving me undergraduate journalism opportunities and starting points in my career,” said Bodell, who will be moving into a full-time role at Local News 8 after commencement. “I went to my internship at Local News 8 with the skills necessary for the job, thanks to my ISU experiences and education, and am so honored to now be part of their team. We submitted all kinds of pieces, and you sort of don’t know what to expect, you hope for the best, and I couldn’t be more proud of my coworkers and I for representing ISU media on the state stage and bringing home some incredible awards. They’re proof of our hard work and dedication to journalism as a craft and as a senior this year, being able to win some awards is like the cherry on top of graduation.”

KISU’s long-running science and nature show The Nature of Idaho, hosted by Dr. Leif Tapanila and Peter Pruett, was recognized with a second-place award in the prestigious General Excellence - Audio category for its seventh season, underscoring the program’s consistency, depth, and engaging approach to exploring Idaho’s wild landscapes. The series, a collaboration between Idaho State University’s Idaho Museum of Natural History and Zoo Idaho, examines how Idaho’s natural environments shape the state’s past, present, and future through interviews and occasional field reporting.

The full list of award winners from Idaho State University is included below.

General Excellence – Student
3rd place: Hadley Bodell, Julia Miller – The Bengal Newspaper – Idaho State University

Column Writing – Student
3rd place: Rachel Marwedel – The Bengal Newspaper, Idaho State University – Mocktail Monday

Watchdog / Investigative – Student
1st place: Madison Long – KISU-FM, Idaho State University – Waste on the Move: Storage, Safety, and Idaho’s Nuclear Waiver

Data-Driven Journalism – Student
1st place: Rachel Marwedel – The Bengal Newspaper, Idaho State University – The Book Bundle Blunder

Serious Feature – Student
3rd place: Austen Hunzeker – The Bengal Newspaper, Idaho State University – Winter Blues

Light Feature – Student
2nd place: Madison Long – The Bengal Newspaper, Idaho State University – How to Find a Guy in 10 Steps!

3rd place: Madison Long – The Bengal Newspaper, Idaho State University – This Cowboy is Your Champion

Sports News Report – Student
3rd place: Braxton Gregory – The Bengal Newspaper, Idaho State University – Students Say: Choose a Quarterback

General News Report – Student – TV or Audio
1st place: Hadley Bodell – KISU-FM, Idaho State University – Camille’s Crepes Wins Big at Eastern Idaho State Fair

2nd place: Hadley Bodell – KIFI, Local News 8 – Hour of AI in Eastern Idaho Classrooms

Public Affairs Program – Student – TV or Audio
1st place: Hadley Bodell – KISU-FM, Idaho State University – AI Integrates into Local Businesses, MOATiT Gives an Inside Look at Agents’ Abilities

2nd place: Madison Long – KISU-FM, Idaho State University – Sustainable Idaho: Bees, Beef, and Better Soil: Inside a Regenerative Idaho Ranch

3rd place: Holly Wilson – KISU-FM, Idaho State University – Sustainable Idaho: Hooves on the Ground – A Pilot Project Tackles Invasive Cheatgrass in Southeast Idaho

Rookie of the Year – TV
2nd place: Hadley Bodell – KIFI Local News 8

General Excellence – Audio
2nd place: Peter Pruett, Leif Tapanila – KISU-FM – Nature of Idaho Season 7

News Releases – Public Relations
1st place: Logan McDougall – Idaho State University College of Science and Engineering – Selection of three

Feature Writing – Public Relations
2nd place: Logan McDougall – Idaho State University College of Science and Engineering – Doing it Right: Navajo Upbringing Key to Veronica Miller’s Success in Chemistry at Idaho State

Newsletter – Public Relations
2nd place: Logan McDougall – Idaho State University College of Science and Engineering – ISU STEM Connections – November 2025