The Lawrence Journal-World was honored as one of the top newspapers in the state Saturday at the Kansas Press Association’s 2014 Awards of Excellence ceremony in Manhattan.

The Journal-World was recognized with the Sweepstakes Award, which signifies the top newspaper in its division based on circulation totals for daily and weekly newspapers and the number of first, second and third-place awards won in individual categories. The Journal-World and LJWorld.com took home 35 awards, including 19 first-place honors, 11 second-place honors, and five for third-place.

“Our staff works hard every day to give our readers the best, most compelling report on Lawrence and Kansas,” said Managing Editor Julie Wright. “The Sweepstakes Award is an honor that reflects the quality of that effort, and I could not be more proud of our group.”

KPA, a group of 230 newspapers formed to promote and improve newspapers, sponsors the annual contest to recognize outstanding work by Kansas newspapers. The 35 contest categories focus on writing, photography, design, special sections, websites, ad concepts, ad design and revenue ideas. In 2014, 69 Kansas newspapers submitted more than 3,000 contest entries.