Independent Newsmedia staff in the Valley racked up several recognitions this week in the annual Arizona Newspaper Association Better Newspaper Contest awards.

The awards were announced Aug. 31 for four categories featuring newspapers from around the state.

The Daily Independent staff pulled in the most awards in both overall newspaper and individual categories. Awards were also won by the Scottsdale Independent, the Peoria Independent, the Glendale Independent, and the Fountain Hills Times Independent.

Here are the overall awards:

• The Daily Independent staff won first place in reporting and newswriting excellence, first place for best website for YourValley.net and a third place in page design excellence in the under 3,500 circulation category.

• Daily Independent reporter Brent Ruffner and Associate Editors Mark Carlisle and Jason Brooks won first place in the best sustained coverage or series category for their stories focusing on Arizona’s water shortage in the under 3,500 circulation category.

• Peoria Independent News Editor Philip Haldiman won first place in investigative reporting for “Candidate record requests cost Peoria Unified $300,000” and a third place for best sustained coverage or series for his coverage of partisanship in the Peoria Unified School District in the 10,000 to 25,000 circulation category.

• Arianna Grainey won first place for best sports photograph for her “Wheelchair Champs” photo in the 10,000 to 25,000 circulation category. Grainey also won a first place in best feature photograph for “Native American Dancers” in the under 3,500 category.

• Ruffner and former reporter Madeline Ackley Salazar won second place for investigative reporting for their coverage of Phoenix Police riot gear in the under 3,500 circulation category.

• Reporter MacKenzie Brower won third place in enterprise reporting for “Ancient Archeology” in the under 3,500 circulation category.

• The Fountain Hills Times Independent staff won third place in reporting and newswriting excellence and best use of photography categories in the under 3,500 circulation category.

• Fountain Hills Times Independent reporter Cyrus Guccione won third place for his series on the suicide epidemic’s impact on underserved groups in the under 3,500 circulation category.

• Former Managing Editor Melissa Rosequist won a third place for enterprise reporting for her story “Childhood cancer, illness is costly and heartbreaking fight” in the above 25,000 circulation and up category.