A big day for Art&Seek and the rest of the KERA news team. The station won a station-record 15 awards from the Texas Associated Press Broadcasters, which were announced Thursday.

The Art&Seek Artist Spotlight series was recognized with two first place awards. Jerome Weeks and Hady Mawajdeh won first place, Special Series. And Jerome won first place, Feature (light) for his Spotlight profile on The Rev. KM Williams.

KERA is also the sole finalist in the Newscast category for large radio stations.

That and the contest’s Overall Excellence awards will be announced at the upcoming TAPB awards banquet.

KERA won four first-place awards, eight seconds and three honorable mentions.

It was part of a dominant performance for the members of public radio’s Texas Station Collaborative:

• Texas Standard won five awards; the statewide public radio newsmagazine originates from KUT in Austin and is co-produced by KERA in North Texas, Houston Public Media and Texas Public Radio in San Antonio.
• KUT also won 13 other awards, including six first places.
• And Houston Public Media’s KUHF earned five honors, including two first places.

The KERA winners:

• Special Series: Jerome Weeks and Hady Mawajdeh  (1st place) “Artist Spotlight“; Courtney Collins (honorable mention) “One Crisis Away: Rebuilding A Life.”
• Feature (Light):  Jerome Weeks (1st place) “The Rev. KM Williams Preaches Old-School Texas Gospel, Blues and Boogie – With a Wicked Sound“; Stephanie Kuo (2nd place) “Finger-Licking Good: The Science Behind Frying Chicken“
• Commentary-Editorial: Bill Holston and Sam Baker (1st place) “Confronting Bigotry in Others and Ourselves“
• Online/Special Content: KERA staff (1st place) “One Crisis Away: Rebuilding A Life
• Specialty or Beat Reporting:  Lauren Silverman (2nd place); Courtney Collins (honorable mention)
• Best Local Talk Show: Think staff (2nd place) “The Refugee Question“
• Feature (Serious): Lauren Silverman (2nd place), “Kratom Advocates Speak Out Against Proposed Government Ban“
• Use of Actuality-Production: Stephanie Kuo (2nd place) “Traffic Changes In Mixmaster and Dallas North Tollway Closure May Mess Up Your Weekend”
• General Assignment: Stephanie Kuo (2nd place) “As Vickery Meadow Changes, Refugees and Immigrants Worry They’ll Be Pushed Out“
• Sports Story or Sports Series: Courtney Collins (2nd place) Ice In Her Veins and Gold On The Brain: North Texas Taekwondo Olympian Fights To Win“
• Continuing Coverage: KERA staff (2nd place) “Tent City“
• Digital: KERA staff (2nd place) KERA.org
• Newscast: Sam Baker and Krystina Martinez (finalist), “The Texas Impact of SCOTUS Decisions on Affirmative Action, Immigration“

You can find the full list of winners here.