(Johnston) The KSOM-KS95 News and Sports team earned top honors at the 2025 Iowa Broadcast News Association’s Annual Awards Banquet, held Saturday night at the Stoney Creek Inn in Johnston, Iowa. Competing in the small market radio division, the team brought home eight first-place awards, two second-place finishes, and one third-place award.
The Iowa Broadcast News Association (IBNA) is a nonprofit organization made up of radio and television news directors, reporters, producers, public relations professionals, and others from Iowa and neighboring states, all working to strengthen the quality of electronic media news for stations and their audiences.
KSOM-KS95’s first-place awards came in the categories of Farm and Agribusiness, General Reporting, Spot News Coverage, Public Affairs, Disaster Coverage, Best Newscast, and Best Sportscast. The highlight of the evening was receiving the first place for small market radio with the prestigious “Overall Excellence” Award, which recognizes a station’s high journalistic standards, commitment to community, and ability to cover a wide range of important stories. We are proud to announce that Tom Robinson, Mandy Billings, and Chris Varney were honored with this award.
A detailed breakdown of awards is as follows:
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Mandy Billings: First Place – Best Newscast; Third Place – Feature Category
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Chris Varney: First Place – Best Sportscast
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Tom Robinson: First Place – Farm and Agribusiness, General Reporting, and Public Affairs; Second Place – Farm and Agribusiness, and Public Affairs
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Kevin Ferguson (Storm Reporter), Tom Robinson, and Mandy Billings: First Place – Spot News Coverage for their live reporting of the Minden Tornado, including Kevin Ferguson’s live updates as the tornado approached.
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Mandy Billings and Tom Robinson: First Place – Disaster Coverage for their comprehensive reporting on the Greenfield and Minden tornado events.
(Top Photo: Left to Right – Chris Varney, Mandy Billings, Tom Robinson, Kevin Ferguson)
In other news, the IBNA honored Jim Mertens with the prestigious Jack Shelley Award, the highest honor given by the organization. Mertens currently co-anchors the 4, 6, and 10 p.m. newscasts at KCRG-TV in Cedar Rapids. He joined KCRG in 2022 after a distinguished 27-year career at WQAD-TV in the Quad Cities, where he earned numerous awards from broadcasting associations in Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Mertens was also part of the WQAD team that won a national Edward R. Murrow Award in 1996 for tornado outbreak coverage.
Additionally, Jon Jacobsen of KXCB Radio in Council Bluffs concluded his term as IBNA Board President, passing the gavel to Mike Petersen of KMA Radio, who begins his second term in the role. Mandy Billings of KSOM Radio, who currently serves as the IBNA Southwest District Director, was elected President-Elect.
