Cold Lake editor Jeff Gaye named to ISWNE’s Golden Dozen

Jeff Gaye, editor of the Cold Lake-based Respect newspaper, was awarded a Golden Dozen award for outstanding editorial writing by the International Society for Weekly Newspaper Editors (ISWNE).

ISWNE holds an annual competition for editorials and opinion columns, with the top entry receiving its prestigious Golden Quill award. ISWNE members and non-members are eligible to submit their work.

In addition to the Golden Quill, the contest judge selects 11 other deserving entries for recognition in the Golden Dozen.

Gaye’s winning column, titled “What are our standards?”, shed light on the failure of some continuing care facilities to provide an appropriate level of care. In the column, Gaye wrote that though such failures are exceptions, they are not rare. 

He said they constitute neglect and abuse of older people.

Golden Quill judge Dana Hess, a veteran South Dakota editor and journalist, said that in the column Gaye, “walks a fine line between pointing out the fact that substandard care exists while also noting that many facilities do a fine job of caring for their residents.

“He pulls off this balancing act with ease, leaving readers with elderly parents more likely to check into the standard of care that their loved ones are receiving,” Hess said.

Gaye said he’s thrilled with the international recognition. 

“It’s a big deal,” he said. “There were 93 entries, and everyone submits their very best work, so it’s a great feeling to be recognized.”

He said he is also grateful that the award gave him an opportunity to share the long-term care standards issue with other community news editors.

Gaye’s winning column can be read at shorturl.at/tuUQr. 

Joey Asher, a reporter with The Highlands Current in Cold Springs, New York, won the 2025 Golden Quill for his column “Learning Too Late.” In the piece Asher describes his evolving attitude toward disability as he coped with his brother-in-law’s mental illness.

The awards were presented July 12 at ISWNE’s annual conference in Brookings, South Dakota.