Stonebraker receives Iowa High School Athletic Association’s Media Award

Tipton Conservative Sports Editor Ryan Stonebraker was honored last Thursday in Cedar Falls by the Iowa High School Athletic Association.  Stonebraker was awarded the Iowa Media award by the IHSAA during the halftime of the Class 3A state championship game.  The IHSAA has honored journalists with their highest honor to bestow to journalists that promote student-athletes and dedicate their lives to the contribution of high school athletics.  Pictured here with Stonebraker are his family, l-r: Lea Stonebraker, Melinda Stonebraker, Ryan Stonebraker, and Zoe Stonebraker.  Photo by Jim Slosiarek.

CEDAR FALLS — Tipton Conservative sports editor Ryan Stonebraker was honored last Thursday as one of three Iowa Media Award winners for 2019 by the Iowa High School Athletic Association. Since 1970, the IHSAA has honored journalists that promote student-athletes and dedicate their lives to the contribution of high school athletics. Stonebraker was honored at halftime of the Class 3A state championship game last Thursday at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. Two others were also honored, Scott Byers from the NW Iowa Review, and Jon Swisher from KMCH Radio in Manchester.

Stonebraker grew up in Brooklyn, Iowa graduating from BGM in 1994. He is a 1999 graduate of William Penn earning his degree with a double major in American History and American Government. He was the sports editor at the Pella Chronicle and Knoxville Journal-Express from 2003-2005 after working as a freelance sportswriter for the Ottumwa Courier and Oskaloosa Herald in his spare time. He and his family moved to Tipton where he has been the sports editor since July of 2005. He is in his 15th year at the Conservative covering Tipton, North Cedar, Wilton and Durant athletics. He also is one of the voices on the Tigercast, a live stream internet broadcast for Sportscastmedia out of Mediapolis, Iowa, calling volleyball, basketball, baseball, and softball games.

Stonebraker has won over a dozen awards in the Better Newspaper Contests put on by the Iowa Newspaper Association for his blog - Tipton Conservative Sports, and podcast - The Coaches Corner Podcast. He was also the 2011 Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association Media award in 2011.

Stonebraker is the second Tipton Conservative Sports Editor to be honored with the award. Former TC Sports Editor Darren Miller was honored with the award in 2005, giving the paper two honorees in the award's history. Since the beginning of the award, only two other weekly newspapers in the state had multiple winners of the award. The others are New Hampton and Waverly newspapers, and now the Conservative.

He lives in Tipton with his wife Melinda, and daughters Zoe and Lea.