Awards

Minnesota’s Young Journalist of the Year, 2024

Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists

Judge’s comments: “Mara Klecker’s reporting is marked by clarity, empathy and a remarkable range — from thoughtful stories about student life, to hard-hitting investigations into Minnesota’s charter schools. The judges commended her leadership on the Minnesota Star Tribune’s yearlong charter school project, as she held her own among veteran journalists and shaped a powerful series of stories that resulted in action at the Capitol. The judges were impressed with her ability not only to handle complex stories, but also Klecker’s thoughtful and simple approach to everyday stories on the education beat. The judges thought Klecker’s work over the last year was thorough, honest and deeply human.”

Winner, 2024 Investigative & Public Service (Large Newsroom)

Education Writers Association National Awards for Education Reporting for the investigative project, Failed Grades.
Judge’s comments: “This is a great package with the video, deep writing, visual storytelling and data visualizations. It is also heavily sourced, and makes a compelling case about the failures of charter schools in Minnesota. I found the video particularly compelling. It added a true human element to a policy story that I’ve read many times. Seeing the human toll of school closures/moves, as well as the technicalities that come with it, made the issue tangible. I especially dig how a reporter from Minneapolis reported on the ground in Providence.”

Hearst Journalism Award

2014 - 2nd place, Personality Profile

For "At Home in America," a narrative piece about a young girl's harrowing journey to the U.S. from the slums of El Salvador. After nearly dying of dehydration in the desert, she found the life she had dreamed of in a suburb outside of Omaha, Nebraska.

Society of Professional Journalists Award

Mark of Excellence, Feature Writing, Large School Division

Jim Denney Feature Writing Scholarship

2015 - Feature writing

The scholarship, presented in memory of longtime Omaha World-Herald reporter Jim Denney, is given to students who show an aptitude for feature writing based on three submitted examples of their work.

Hearst Journalism Award

2015 - 7th place, Team Multimedia

For "La Cienega," a partner-produced multimedia documentary about 13 elderly villagers who've chosen to die where they lived—in the Ecuadorian countryside.

Hearst Journalism Award

2016 - Ninth place, Team Multimedia

For "Divers' Plague," a partner-produced multimedia documentary about paralyzed lobster divers in Nicaragua.