The Northern Star received second place for general excellence among daily college newspapers for the third year in a row at an Illinois College Press Association conference over the weekend.

The Daily Illini of U of I took first place in the general excellence category and the Daily Northwestern of Northwestern University took third. The Star was judged on newspapers published in the spring and fall 2014 semesters.

Northern Star staff members also received nine individual awards.

Mike Dean, who produced the daily comic The Punchline is Corn, received first place for the strip. The Punchline is Corn ran in the Star from fall 2012 to fall 2014.

Managing Editor Keith Hernandez and News Editor Jackie Nevarez received second and third place awards, respectively, in the feature story category.

Editor in Chief Kelly Bauer received second place awards in the feature page design and front page design categories.

Hernandez received second place for general news photo. Photographer Brandon Semel received third place for photo essay.

Bauer received an honorable mention for news story and Sports Editor Frank Gogola received an honorable mention for a sports feature story.