Wichita ? The Lawrence Journal-World on Saturday won seven first-place awards in the Kansas Press Assn.’s 2002 Awards of Excellence contest.

The awards were among 29 the newspaper received at the 110th annual KPA Convention and Trade Show in Wichita.

Receiving first-place awards were Dave Ranney, Jan Biles, Melissa Lacey and the Journal-World staff.

Ranney won first in government coverage for a story about loopholes in the state’s drunken driving law. According to judges, “The story exposes a real problem with the system and uses thorough investigative reporting to delve deeply into the issue.”

Biles, Lacey and news editor John Taylor won first place in the feature package category for “Holding on to Hope,” a series of stories and photographs about a young woman’s battle with epilepsy. Said the judges: “Great photos and story. I admire the commitment the staff put forth.”

The Journal-World also was awarded first place in editorial pages (“impactful editorials, packaged with good cartoons and nice design touches”), sports pages (“a sports section I would anxiously await to be at my front door each day”), photo illustration, and general excellence, a category assessing all aspects of the newspaper.

In a special category for coverage of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, the Journal-World placed first for use of photos.

Second-place winners:

 Ranney, investigative writing.

 Dave Toplikar, personal column writing.

 Andrew Hartsock, sports writing.

 Chuck Woodling, sports column writing.

 Richard Gwin, news photography.

 Journal-World, series writing for Lawrence is Growing.

 Journal-World, sports photography.

 Journal-World, design and layout.

 Journal-World, Sept. 11 local coverage.

 Journal-World, news and writing excellence.

 Journal-World, best newspaper Web site.

Third-place winners:

 Ranney, investigative writing.

 Joel Mathis, government coverage.

 Hartsock, sports feature writing.

 Journal-World, special section.

 Journal-World, best front page.

Honorable mention:

 Scott Rothschild, investigative writing

 Mathis, government coverage.

 Hartsock, sports writing.

 Thad Allender, news photography.

 Lacey, photo package.

 Journal-World, special section.

The Journal-World was judged against all daily Kansas newspapers with a circulation of more than 10,000.