BizTimes Milwaukee took home seven awards in the Milwaukee Press Club’s annual Excellence in Journalism contest, the publication’s best showing ever in the competition. The awards were presented Friday night at the Press Club’s annual Gridiron Awards Dinner at the Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee.

The highlight of the night for BizTimes was a clean sweep in the Writing – Best Business or Consumer Story or Series category, capturing the gold, silver and bronze awards. BizTimes reporter Hunter Turpin won two of those awards, a gold award for his Sept. 7, 2025 story about how the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration has affected Wisconsin’s workforce, and a bronze award for his April 14, 2025 cover story on Jefferson County’s significant economic growth. BizTimes reporter Sonia Spitz won a silver award for her Aug. 18, 2025 cover story about Culver’s and its new CEO.

For the Online – Best Business or Consumer Story or Series category, BizTimes reporters Turpin, Spitz and Samantha Dietel won a bronze award for a series of stories examining how the world had changed five years after the COVID-19 pandemic, including reports about its lasting impact on: the Milwaukee office real estate market, remote work and education.

In the Online – Best Multi-Story Coverage of a Single Feature Topic or Event category, BizTimes reporter Ashley Smart and associate editor Maredithe Meyer were recognized with a bronze award for their coverage of DEI and discrimination issues in Wisconsin workplaces including:

BizTimes senior graphic designer Alex Schneider won a pair of design awards. He won a bronze award in the Magazine Design – Best Single Cover Design category for the Feb. 24, 2025 issue of BizTimes Milwaukee, which had a cover story about the new Carmen Schools of Science & Technology high school under construction on Milwaukee’s south side.

Schneider also won a silver award in the Magazine Design – Best Single Story or Feature Design category for the Nov. 17, 2025 cover story about Milwaukee-based real estate developer Cobalt Partners.

See the layout for the Nov. 17, 2025 BizTimes Milwaukee cover story on Cobalt Partners: