The text from my former Columbian colleague and fellow University of Montana alum came as I was driving to Ashland, Wis., on Wednesday.

“Oil Town took top prize in SPJ’s comprehensive coverage category.”

It came as quite a pleasant surprise, given the fierce competition among similar-sized outlets in the Pacific Northwest, that Dameon Pesanti and I would top the category. I’m grateful, honored and humbled. Thank you, and here’s to everyone else who placed and continues to fight the good fight.

Back on this side of the Cascades (and the Rockies (and the Mississippi)), there’s plenty of fights to cover, whether it’s the multimillion-dollar (and shrinking) Paulucci estate or the next new pipeline proposed by Enbridge that will cross Minnesota. And then there’s the fight that finally fizzled out: Sunday liquor sales.

Of course there’s the sunnier stuff, like this new solar farm or the cutting-edge work of a biotech company in Two Harbors.

Some of my favorite — and most-lauded — pieces of late were analyses on NAFTA’s impact on Minnesota and the health care economy in Duluth, a short series I worked on with health care reporter John Lundy. I also enjoyed writing this profile on Duluth’s homegrown, billion-dollar company, Allete.

And though I was fighting a cold, who could pass up the opportunity to cover the biggest dogsled race in the Lower 48?

Looking back on the Oil Town series, it’s crazy to think where I was not even a year ago. But I”m still sitting through long port meetings, so not everything has changed.