GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn — Editor's note: Watch KARE 11 Investigates: The GAP Primetime Special above.
The KARE 11 Investigates team was honored by the 2023 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards Monday, taking home the prize for their reporting on the series, "The GAP: Failure to Treat, Failure to Protect."
KARE 11 was announced as a finalist for the award in November, joining 29 other entries, including local outlets WXIA in Atlanta, WBRZ in Baton Rouge, WTVF in Nashville and KXAS in Dallas.
National organizations being recognized include PBS, ABC News, CNN, The Washington Post and others. CBS Evening News anchor and managing editor Norah O'Donnell presented the awards alongside co-anchor of PBS NewsHour Amna Nawaz.
"This compelling series of reports is the latest example of the quality journalism our community expects from KARE 11 Investigates," said KARE 11 President and General Manager Bill Dallman. "KARE 11 is tremendously proud 'The Gap: Failure to Treat, Failure to Protect' received national recognition and earned this prestigious award."
The year-long investigation, led by KARE 11 reporters A.J. Lagoe and Brandon Stahl, executive producer Steve Eckert, and photojournalists David Peterlinz, Ron Stover and Gary Knox, helped launch state-wide reforms by shining a light on systemic failures to treat people with mental illness and protect the public.
A KARE 11 primetime special showed viewers the investigation from its beginning to end, starting with a deadly mass shooting at a Buffalo, Minnesota Allina Health Clinic and following it all the way to the state capitol. The report detailed fatal gaps in Minnesota’s mental health and legal systems that stretched far beyond Buffalo. KARE 11 explained how suspects charged with serious crimes – but found mentally incompetent to stand trial – too often go untreated and the public goes unprotected.
According to Columbia University's Journalism School, the awards seek to honor "outstanding public service audio and visual reporting."
The KARE 11 Investigates team received the award at the duPont-Columbia Awards ceremony Monday night in New York City, which marked the first time in three years that the event was held in person.
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