INF Awards Seven Scholarships
Seven Iowa students have been selected as recipients of Iowa Newspaper Foundation scholarships for the 2026-2027 academic year. The scholarships are awarded to students preparing for careers in journalism.
This year’s award recipients include-
Carter Pitts/Le Mars Daily Sentinel Scholarship, $500: Tobias Landmesser is a 2026 Ankeny High School graduate and will attend Iowa State University.
Carter Pitts Scholarship Endowment Award, $500: Aubree Koop is a 2026 Spirit Lake High School graduate and will attend the University of Iowa this fall.
Iowa Journalism Institute Scholarship, $1,000: Lydia Gerety is currently an Ankeny High School senior and, in the fall, will attend the University of Iowa.
David W. Belin Scholarship, $1,000: Henry Annen is currently attending Iowa State University.
Fred W. Woodward Scholarship, $500: Elise Dykstra, 2026 graduate from Mason City High School, will attend Northwestern University this fall.
Morlan Scholarship, $1,000: Julieta Ortiz is a 2026 Clear Creek Amana High School graduate and will attend the University of Iowa this fall.
Jack Hovelson Scholarship, $1,000: Lindsay Beyer is currently attending Iowa State University.
The Iowa Newspaper Foundation received 34 applications for scholarships. These annual scholarships are one way the INF contributes to the education of young Iowans anticipating newspaper careers.
The Iowa Newspaper Foundation is grateful to the Woodward Foundation for its support of the Fred W. Woodward Scholarship. The scholarship honors the late Fred W. Woodward, longtime publisher of the Dubuque Telegraph Herald, and is given to a student at a college or university in Iowa, Illinois, or Wisconsin.
The David W. Belin Scholarship is awarded to a student attending or planning to attend the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University and is in conjunction with the Iowa Journalism Institute awards, which are funded through a gift to the Iowa Newspaper Foundation given by Gary Gerlach and Michael Gartner. The late David W. Belin was a nationally recognized lawyer and longtime business partner of Gerlach and Gartner.
Two scholarships are given in memory of Carter Pitts, longtime publisher of the Le Mars Daily Sentinel and the first president of the Iowa Newspaper Foundation. The Carter Pitts/Le Mars Daily Sentinel Scholarship is funded by an annual gift from the Daily Sentinel. The Carter Pitts Scholarship Endowment Award was set up through a gift established by members of the Pitts family.
The Morlan Scholarship is given in memory of Frank Morlan, a longtime Iowa newspaper owner. The student awarded will be enrolling in a two-year or four-year journalism program at an Iowa institution of higher learning or is currently enrolled at an Iowa institution of higher learning.
The Jack Hovelson Scholarship is funded by friends and family of longtime Iowa newspaper reporter and former Des Moines Register Northeast Iowa Bureau chief, Jack Hovelson, an annual scholarship will be awarded to a sophomore, junior or senior at the University of Northern Iowa or Iowa State University.
The INF will offer scholarships for students again next year. The online application will be available to all public and private high schools in Iowa as well as college and university journalism and mass communication departments. Look for more information on the Iowa Newspaper Association website at www.inanews.com in September 2026.
The mission of the INF, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation, is to champion and improve the quality and future of Iowa’s newspaper enterprises and the communities they serve and to raise funds to fulfill this mission.