The Star Tribune won two Pulitzer Prizes on Monday, one for local reporting and one for editorial cartooning.
Brad Schrade, Jeremy Olson and Glenn Howatt won the reporting honor for a series on a spike in infant deaths in poorly regulated home day cares.
Steve Sack won the editorial cartooning award. Judges noted Sack's "diverse collection of cartoons, using an original style and clever ideas to drive home his unmistakable point of view." He's been the Star Tribune's editorial cartoonist since 1981 and was a finalist for the Pulitzer in 2004.
Sack, who has drawn more than 7,800 cartoons for the paper in 32 years, said he had no idea he'd won until his editor, Scott Gillespie, stopped at his desk to break the news.
"I didn't believe him, I thought he was messing with me," Sack said as he clutched a bottle of champagne and greeted well-wishers.
"I've always been so proud of working for this newspaper," he added. "For something like this to happen, I feel like it's for all of us."
Both awards carry a $10,000 prize.
"I'm thrilled," said Nancy Barnes, the newsroom's editor and the paper's senior vice president. "Not just for the individuals who won, but also for the newsroom. We've been through a lot as a newsroom, and I'm just happy to see a few rewards come in, too."
