Sahan Journal education reporter Becky Dernbach and data reporter Cynthia Tu have received a top Minnesota journalism award for reporting that helped expose a major loophole in the way charter schools award contracts.
Their award for best use of public records was one of six Sahan staff received Thursday night at the 2025 Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists Page One Award ceremony at Nicollet Island Pavilion in Minneapolis.
Sahan staff also took first place for in-depth reporting and best interview; second place for profile and local government reporting; and third place for best social media account.
Dernbach and Tu received a special award for their deep dive into charter school contracts to expose the loophole that allowed charter schools to spend more than $132 million without oversight in a single year.
The judges wrote: “Dernbach and Tu combined old-school reporting with smart use of AI to create a dataset that had never been compiled before.” They praised the project’s nuanced writing, innovative blend of technology and investigative reporting and an important explainer of the reporting methods.
The stories led to the Minnesota Legislature to pass a law closing the loophole.
Sahan also received a first place award for enterprise/in-depth reporting for Sheila Mulrooney Eldred and Tu’s series on the opioid epidemic and its disproportionate effects on immigrants and people of color. The feature started with a data-driven look at opioid deaths, “Overlooked: Who suffers the most from the opioid epidemic in Minnesota?” and went on to document community-driven solutions among Karen youth programs, and women on the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota.
Immigration reporter Katelyn Vue received a first-place award for her interview with Minnesota author Kao Kalia Yang. “This is a powerful in-depth conversation with the author about the inspiration behind her work, her culture and family legacy,” the judges wrote.
Vue also received a second-place award in profile rewriting for her story on the displacement of Mexican families on St. Paul’s West Side Flats.
Dernbach received a second-place award in local government reporting for breaking the story of a budget showdown in the start’s largest school district over racial and gender equity efforts.
And finally, Sahan staff, including multimedia journalist Dymanh Chhoun, digital producer Alberto Villafan and audience growth manager Samatha HoangLong were recognized for Sahan’s TikTok account.
CEO Vanan Murugesan called the SPJ awards “well-deserved recognition” of Sahan’s work.
“I’m proud of what our team delivers every day — not just the work that wins awards, but the work that builds trust and tells hard truths,” he said.
“We know it’s a challenging time for journalism. But wins like these remind us why the work matters. Sahan will keep finding new ways to do the work and keep showing up for the communities we serve.”
Sahan Journal is a digital newsroom founded in 2019, and is dedicated to telling the stories of Minnesota’s immigrants and communities of color.
