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900 CKBI nominated for two awards

Apr 8, 2015 | 5:19 PM

The finalists for the Radio Television Digital News Association’s (RTDNA) prairie region awards were announced Wednesday morning, and 900 CKBI is a finalist in two categories.

The first RTDNA nomination is for the Ron Laidlaw continuing cover for radio award – for coverage of the river rescue last May, involving well-known volunteer Carol Soles.

Soles was involved in an ATV accident near MacDowall, and was swept down by the river. Thanks to the heroic efforts of her nephews, Soles was pulled to safety.

Last November, brothers Kyle and Tye, were recognized with medals for bravery.

900 CKBI is also a finalist for the Dave Rogers award for best long radio feature in a small or medium market.

That radio piece was based on paNOW’s coverage of an inquest into a man’s death while in police custody.

In 2012, Billy Ballantyne was taken to hospital by ambulance. The inquest jury heard that Ballantyne was in serious pain and showing signs of dementia when he was taken from a Little Red River home.

The jury learned the 44-year-old died of an accidental Tylenol overdose.

The jury made several recommendations to prevent future incidents from happening.

The prairie region awards will be handed out in Saskatoon on April 25.

The winners from the individual categories move on to become finalists at the national awards ceremony.

nmaxwell@panow.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell