The Dallas Morning News received nine first-place awards in the 2023 Texas Managing Editors journalism awards, including being named newsroom of the year.
In total, 18 awards and two honorable mentions went to The News.
The results, recognizing the work of news outlets across the state, were announced over the weekend at the Texas Managing Editors’ annual conference in Temple.
The News competes in the 3A class, which includes the state’s largest newsrooms.
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“Every single reporter, photojournalist, designer, digital, multi-platform and front-line editor, researcher and columnist in our newsroom works incredibly hard and believes wholeheartedly that the journalism we pour ourselves into is vital to our community and its future,” The News’ executive editor Katrice Hardy said. “From our coverage of education and health care, from our coverage of the arts and transportation, from our coverage of our public safety institutions to our state and local governments, we aspire daily to publish journalism that informs our readers about people, programs and policies that impact their lives.
“This honor is truly amazing because it underscores that our work has an impact on our community and across North Texas.”
First-place awards
The News’ staff won Newspaper of the Year in the 3A class, the contest’s highest honor. The last time The News won this award was in 2020.
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Rangers beat writer Evan Grant won first place in the Celeste Williams Star sports reporter of the year category. His body of work included covering the Texas Rangers’ becoming World Series champions for the first time; the Rangers acquiring Max Scherzer from the New York Mets; a profile on MLB player brothers Nathaniel and Josh Lowe and their mother’s brain cancer diagnosis; how ex-Rangers general manager Jon Daniels was faring a year after firing; and Bally Sports’ financial woes.
Alex Lee, of Carrollton, takes a photo at ground level in a field of bluebonnets at Bluebonnet Park on April 10, 2023, in Ennis. This photo was part of the winning portfolio from Smiley Pool.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)
Smiley Pool won first place for Star photojournalist of the year with photography covering an array of subjects including the Cowboys, Rangers, an in-demand Nick and Sam’s server, the aftermath of the mass shooting at the Allen outlets, bluebonnets and more. Pool finished in a tie for first place with Austin American-Statesman photographer Ricardo B. Brazziell.
Watchdog columnist Dave Lieber won first place for general column writing, recognizing his work covering a senior caught in the middle as TxDOT faced criticism for lack of empathy; a mayor’s actions that led to a council member’s arrest in Godley; and a Watchdog report on syndicates spending millions of dollars on Texas’ lottery to beat out everyone else.
Architecture critic Mark Lamster won first place for comment and criticism, which included stories about Fountain Place, the rocket-shaped tower that stands out in Dallas’ skyline and a Carrollton church that he deemed “the best new building in Texas.”
Cowboys beat writer Michael Gehlken won first place sports feature for his profile on “the untold legend” of Dallas Cowboys left tackle Tyron Smith’s hands.
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Photographer Tom Fox won the first place in photojournalism for his work on The News’ Deadly Fake project uncovering fentanyl’s many effects on North Texas.
Texas Rangers fan from 1972, Terry Cox, (center) from Tyler, TX, including other, cheer following Texas Rangers’ winning the World Series in five games against the Arizona Diamondbacks, during a watch party at Globe Life Field on, Nov. 1, 2023, in Arlington. Shafkat Anowar won first place in feature photography for this image.(Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer)
Photographer Shafkat Anowar won first place in feature photography for the photo of a Texas Rangers fan’s response to the team’s World Series win at a watch party of Globe Life Field.
Multiplatform editor Sandra Guerra-Cline won first place in headline writing. Her best headlines included: The stars at night are not so bright — Results of study on artificial lighting’s effect stun scientists;History’s resting place — Oakland Cemetery, home to Rusty the dog, lives on despite the odds;Home, home on the stage — Academy of Country Music settles in, might stay awhile; With only words as weapons — At hearing, victims’ loved ones confront Walmart gunman who killed 23 and A cheap car is a nonstarter — There’s only one left under $30,000 for shoppers in the U.S.
Second-place awards
The News staff won a second-place award for Star breaking news report of the year, recognizing its quick and extensive coverage of the mass shooting at the Allen Premium Outlets. The team produced more than 17 stories in the first 24 hours after the tragedy, accounting for stories from its bureaus in Austin and Washington, D.C. and articles translated into Spanish.
The News’ editorial board won second place for editorial writing for a series of political pieces, including one after Attorney General Ken Paxton was acquitted in his impeachment trial and another named the eight Paxton whistleblowers as The Dallas Morning News’ Texans of the Year.
Breaking news reporter Jamie Landers won second place for Star reporter of the year. Her body of work included a narrative on how the Dallas Zoo mystery unraveled, a eulogy for a vulture at the zoo, the reopening of a restaurant at the Allen outlets following a mass shooting and contributions to the newsroom’s Deadly Fake project about how Narcan vending machines could help combat the drug crisis and police investigating fentanyl-related deaths as homicides.
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Sports columnist Kevin Sherrington won second place for sports column writing, which recognized his work covering Texas Rangers’ Adolis García seizing the moment for the team in the World Series, a story of bitter beginnings and the birth of the Rangers-Astros rivalry, Colorado’s Deion Sanders’ reaction to his team’s win over TCU.
Assistant news editor Alma Lozoya also won second place for designer of the year for a series of front-page designs.
Third-place awards
The News’ staff won third place for Star online package of the year with its Deadly Fake project that published at least one story on each day in September.
Lauren Caruba, Smiley Pool and Ari Sen, won a third-place award in Star investigative report of the year for the series Bleeding Out. The project, which The News completed in partnership with the San Antonio Express-News, was an investigation into why tens of thousands of injured Americans die from preventable bleeding each year.
Pool was also awarded third place for sports photography. Multiplatform editor Erik Schutz won third place for headline writing.
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Honorable mention
The News received a staff-wide honorable mention for team effort for its coverage of the mass shooting at the Allen Premium Outlets.
Education Lab reporter Talia Richman was recognized for honorable mention in specialty reporting. Her stories included the story of a Texas student scared of school shootings being punished, a look at Texas’ explosion of uncertified new teachers filling shortages and how Texas plans to make access to advanced math more equitable.
East Texas native Kacey Musgraves on Wednesday announced a May 1 release date for her seventh studio album, Middle of Nowhere. And the country-pop singer released the album’s first single, “Dry Spell,” along with an accompanying video.
The saucy track bemoans a 335-day dry spell since her last romantic encounter, with double entendres aplenty. Musgraves and Hannah Lux Davis co-directed the song’s cheeky video, which is set in a grocery store and is ripe with fruit-touching and wistful stares.
Kacey Musgraves’ new album, “Middle of Nowhere,” is due out May 1.
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Musgraves was born in Sulphur Springs and raised in Golden, about 80 miles east of Dallas. She moved to Nashville in 2008.
The eight-time Grammy Award-winner had some help on Middle of Nowhere, which features guest appearances by Willie Nelson, Miranda Lambert, Billy Strings and Gregory Alan Isakov.
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Musgraves, who wrapped up her global “Deeper Well World Tour” in December, has emerged as one of the biggest stars in country music over the last decade-plus. Her debut album, 2013’s Same Trailer Different Park, won the Grammy for best country album, and she has topped the country charts multiple times since while earning critical acclaim.
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HOUSTON – A North Texas man faced execution on Wednesday for fatally stabbing his girlfriend and her 8-year-old son nearly 13 years ago.
Cedric Ricks was sentenced to death for the May 2013 killings of 30-year-old Roxann Sanchez and her son Anthony Figueroa at their apartment in Bedford, a suburb in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Sanchez’s 12-year-old son, Marcus Figueroa, was injured during the attack.
Ricks, 51, was scheduled to receive a lethal injection after 6 p.m. CDT at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) north of Houston.
His attorneys have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay his execution, arguing that prosecutors violated Ricks’ constitutional rights by eliminating potential jurors on the basis of race. Previous appeals by Ricks that alleged ineffective counsel and called for the suppression of evidence in the case have been denied.
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In a 1986 ruling known as Batson v. Kentucky, the Supreme Court determined that excluding jurors because of their race violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
“At trial, Ricks already suspected that the State had singled out minority jurors to exclude them from his jury,” Ricks’ attorneys said in their petition to the Supreme Court.
Ricks’ lawyers said that notes prosecutors kept during the jury selection process and which were not obtained until 2021 show that prosecutors singled out minority jurors.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office said court records show the prosecution’s decisions in jury selection were “race neutral” and lower courts have already concluded that prosecutors’ actions were not discriminatory.
Ricks “viciously stabbed his girlfriend Roxann and her eight-year-old son Anthony to death,” the attorney general’s office said. “The public has a strong interest in enforcement of Ricks’ sentence.”
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The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Monday denied Ricks’ request for a 90-day reprieve or to commute his death sentence.
Prosecutors said Ricks and Sanchez were arguing in their apartment when Sanchez’ two sons from a previous marriage — Anthony and Marcus Figueroa — tried to break up the fight.
Ricks grabbed a knife from the kitchen and began to stab Sanchez multiple times, according to court records.
Marcus Figueroa ran to his bedroom closet and tried to call police. After killing Anthony Figuerora, Ricks resumed stabbing Marcus Figueroa, who survived the attack by playing dead. Ricks did not injure his then 9-month-old son, Isaiah, according to court records.
Ricks fled and was later arrested in Oklahoma.
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During his trial, Ricks testified that he had anger issues and had been defending himself against the two boys after they had come to their mother’s defense.
“Explaining my rage, I was upset. Things happen. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. I wish I could bring them back, like, right now,” said Ricks, who also apologized for the killings.
A day before the stabbings, Ricks had appeared in court after having been charged with assaulting Sanchez during a previous incident.
If the execution is carried out, Ricks would be the second person put to death this year in Texas and the sixth person in the country. Texas has historically held more executions than any other state.
Charles “Sonny” Burton, a 75-year-old inmate in Alabama, had been scheduled to be executed on Thursday. But Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday commuted his death sentence, reducing it to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Burton had been sentenced to death for a fatal shooting during a 1991 robbery even though he didn’t pull the trigger.
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The deadline for Texas families to apply for Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA), also known as school vouchers, is on March 17.
TEFA is the $1 billion program that provides families with taxpayer money to help pay for private school. A longtime priority of Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas Republicans were able to pass it through the Legislature in a special session in 2025 after years of opposition from a coalition of Democrats and some Republicans worried about it negatively impacting public schools.
In the period from when applications opened on Feb. 4 through March 8, more than 160,000 Texas families have applied for the vouchers. Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock expects the program to reach capacity in its first year.
Texas school voucher application data by income
According to data from the Comptroller’s Office, 79% of the applicants for TEFA are already in private school. Lawmakers who advocated for the program said it was designed to give public school and homeschooled students an opportunity to switch to a private education.
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After applications close, the Comptroller’s Office will allocate funding to eligible families through a lottery that prioritizes students with disabilities first. Eleven percent of all applicants, about 18,000, are students with disabilities from families at or below 500% of the Federal Poverty Level.
Next on the priority list is students from low- and middle-income families. Just 35% of applicants are from households that earn 200% or less of the Federal Poverty Level:
200% or less of the Federal Poverty Level ($66,000 or less for a family of 4): 35%
Between 200% and 500% of the Federal Poverty Level ($66,001-$164,999 for a family of 4): 36%
500% or more of the Federal Poverty Level: ($165,000 or more for a family of 4): 29%
The Comptroller’s Office will report the waitlist to the Texas Legislature to determine funding for future years.
Texas school voucher application data by grade
The highest share of applications are for students who will be entering pre-K in the fall. Nearly 21,000 applications, about 12.8%, are in that cohort. The number of applicants per grade level declines as the students get older:
Pre-K: 20,975
Kindergarten: 15,777
First grade: 13,654
Second grade: 13,035
Third grade: 12,922
Fourth grade: 12,449
Fifth grade: 12,273
Sixth grade: 12,262
Seventh grade: 10,953
Eighth grade: 9,600
Ninth grade: 9,464
Tenth grade: 7.921
Eleventh grade: 6,731
Twelfth grade: 5,347
Texas school voucher applications by school district
The Comptroller’s Office also released a list that broke down the number of applications submitted in each school district across the state.
How much money public school districts will miss out on will depend on how many enrolled or prospective students they lose to private school because of TEFA, since state funds follow the student. But since 79% of applicants are already in private school, the extent of the impact on public school funding may be limited.
Here are the North Texas school districts with the most TEFA applications from within their boundaries:
