The Star Tribune's Business section received first place for general excellence in the Society of American Business Editors and Writers' annual "Best in Business" competition.

Adam Belz, a staff writer who covers economics, won first place for feature writing for "Left Behind," a series of stories about Minnesotans who missed out on the economic recovery. The four-part series, which appeared in early 2014, included portraits of older workers, single mothers and couples who traded down to jobs with lower salaries.

The recognition for general excellence, announced Saturday, was the third in the past four years for the Star Tribune. The newspaper received the top recognition among newspapers with circulation of 150,000 to 300,000; the Wall Street Journal won the top award for the largest newspapers.

"The Star Tribune covered an impressive range of stories with a thoroughness that stood out among the entrants," the judges wrote. "The quality of the work was consistently high and would be impressive for a paper of any size."

STAFF REPORT