The Minnesota State High School League held an award ceremony Saturday, March 19, during halftime of the State Class AAA Girls Basketball Championship Game at William’s Arena, on the University of Minnesota campus where KROX President and General Manager Chris Fee received the Outstanding Media Service Award.
The Minnesota State High School League is an organization that provides educational opportunities for students through interscholastic athletics and fine arts programs.
The award was first presented back in 2015, where only one recipient received the award, but was split into two separate divisions in 2017, the Print Division and the Electronic Division, but was canceled in 2021 due to COVID-19. The Print Division award is given to newspaper and magazine writers, while the Electronic Division award is given to radio, website, and broadcast TV providers. Over its eight-year lifespan, there have been no repeat winners in either Division, but Chris and other previous winners are eligible to win the award a second time.
Fee was among multiple nominees requested to be on a ballot for the award by several Activity Administrators in multiple schools. “Chris’s name is a constant when it comes to the nominations, and clearly, he had so much support from the Activities Directors and the community members for the coverage that he provides in all the schools in Northwest Minnesota,” said Leighton. “So it really was no surprise when he became the overwhelming choice this year to be honored in the Electronic Division.” The League and Administrators chose Chris for his commitment to covering the League schools’ sports and other events the schools do outside of sports. “It’s not just covering your traditional mainstream sports like football, basketball, or baseball. He goes above and beyond for coverage of the member schools,” Leighton explained. “You’ll see his coverage involves everything from the fine arts, whether its band or music concerts or a one-act play, fine arts awards, even the Vocal Music contest. It shows the great reach in which Chris is able to cover, not just sporting activities, but also the fine arts activities as well that are so important to the League member’s schools. It’s an honor for the League to honor those outstanding leading members like Chris Fee, as they go above and beyond to deliver and promote the wonderful stories and journeys of these students and their communities.”
Past recipients of the award are below –
2015 — Dave Harris, Alexandria
2016 — Wally Wakefield, Lillie News, Maplewood
2017 — Print Division: Mike Bialka, Brainerd Daily Dispatch; Electronic Division: Craig Olson, Fergus Falls
2018 — Print Division: John Sherman, Sun Newspapers; Electronic Division: Bill Bentson, KFIL Radio, Preston
2019 — Print Division: Tom Elliott, St. Cloud Times; Electronic Division: Jim Bartels, KNUJ Radio, New Ulm
2020 — Print Division: Mitchell Palmer McDonald, Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder; Electronic Division: Dave Lee, WCCO-AM, 45TV
2021 — No winners (Covid)
