Three Star Tribune visual journalists won awards from the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute 2012 Pictures of the Year International competition.

McKenna Ewen won third place for Multimedia Photographer of the Year for his portfolio featuring four stories http://poyi.org/70/46/third_01.php. McKenna along with reporter Mark Brunswick also earned third place in the Issue Reporting Multimedia category for "Turned Away at the V.A." A story about Iraq war veteran Blake Uddin's near-death experience on Highway 52 after he went to the VA hospital seeking help and was asked to come back five days later. He never made it. http://poyi.org/70/24/03.php

Carlos Gonzalez won an award of excellence as Sports Photographer of the Year for his portfolio http://www.poyi.org/70/45/ae03_01.php. He also won an award of excellence in the Sports picture story category on Jack Jablonski's recovery from a devastating hit during a high school hockey game on December 30, 2011. Jablonski's spinal cord was damaged and he was paralyzed. His life was forever changed, as were the lives of his parents and friends, his coaches and teammates. http://poyi.org/70/22/ae02_01.php

Brian Peterson won an award of excellence in the Olympic action category for his photo of Women's all around gold medal winner in gymnastics Gabby Douglas on the balance beam. http://poyi.org/70/20/ae03.php

POYi began as a photographic contest in the spring of 1944 in Columbia, Mo., when the Missouri School of Journalism sponsored its "First Annual Fifty-Print Exhibition" contest. POYi is administered by the Missouri School of Journalism, with additional financial support from Fujjifilm, MSNBC, National Geographic and by the entrants to the yearly competition.