State’s new junior duck stamp overall winner is 9-year veteran of contest

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – North Dakota has a new junior duck stamp winner.

On Saturday afternoon, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service held an awards ceremony for the state contest at the Heritage Center in Bismarck. 900 kids submitted entries.

16-year old, Gabe Coleman, from Baldwin, took first place overall with his entry which is an acrylic painting of a pair of blue-winged teal. Gabe has been entering the contest since he was in kindergarten, but this year is the first time he took best of show.

“For all my nine years, this is what I have been trying to do, and I finally achieved it this year. To win it is actually amazing”, said Coleman, who is a homeschooled sophomore.

Coleman has another reason to celebrate. As the top finisher in the state, his winning artwork advanced to the national competition. He ranked among the top 15 out of 13-thousand entries in the national contest.

Runner-Up Best of Show (Second Place) in the North Dakota contest this year went to first time-entrant Kamryn Nissen from Grand Forks. Kamryn, a sophomore at Thompson Public School, used colored pencils to design her entry of a mallard drake in eclipse plumage.

The Conservation Message winner was Brandi Agnew, a seventh grader from Menoken, with her message: “Protect the prairie; preserve the hunt.”

The call for entries is an educational program that uses science and art to encourage students to explore wildlife, conservation, and recreation.