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N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Local Musician Joe Schmidt and Music Teacher Ken Aune received awards during the North Dakota Music Awards held in Bismarck.

Joe Schmidt is a musician from Medina and was nominated in three categories, winning Favorite Christian Band/Group. He was also nominated for Favorite Male vocalist and Favorite Music Video.

Music Teacher Ken Aune won the favorite Music Educator category. He has taught music and band at the Jamestown Middle School for 17 years. Nearly 11,000 nominations weer submitted and 9,000 votes were cast for the finalist in each of the 25 categories.

According to the website, the awards are created to celebrate the diversity of musical talent in the state by helping to show popular bands and lesser-known performers in smaller towns as well as emerging talent.