Trevor Brown, an Oklahoma Watch investigative reporter whose 2020 work included an examination of Oklahoma hospitals suing patients over unpaid bills amid the pandemic and state politicians who promoted misinformation before the November elections, was named newspaper Writer of the Year in the Great Plains Journalism Awards contest.

The Great Plains Journalism Awards is a regional contest honoring print, web, TV and magazine journalists for outstanding stories, photography and design. The newspaper category is open to entries from organizations in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota. Winners were announced Thursday by the Tulsa Press Club.

Oklahoma Watch also won the Specialty Feature Award for the Coronavirus Storytelling Project, a collaboration with 24 state journalists on how the pandemic is impacting them and their fellow Oklahomans.

Brown, 35, has covered state and local politics for more than a decade.