(All federal, state, local and municipal laws and regulations apply.  Void where prohibited.)

1. Eligibility:  The 2017 Delano Herald Journal Cutest Baby Contest is open to residents of the United States born on or after January 1, 2012 (under the age of five).  Entries may be submitted by a parent or legal guardian; or a grandparent with permission from the custodial parent. Delano Herald Journal reserves the right to verify proof of age.  Employees of the Delano Herald Journal/Herald Journal Publishing and their immediate family members are not eligible to enter or win.

2. How to Enter:   The cost to enter is $10.00 per child, which also covers publication in the Cutest Baby Contest Special Edition.   Entry forms can be found in editions of Delano Herald Journal and are available at Delano Herald Journal office.  To enter, return a completed form along with a photo of the child and entry fee to Delano Herald Journal, 701 Babcock Blvd., Suite 110, PO Box 498, Delano MN 55328.  Entries must be received by 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017.  Make checks payable to “Delano Herald Journal.”  Entries can also be submitted online through the Cutest Baby Contest registration page at www.delanoheraldjournal.com.  Complete the entry form, upload a photo, and complete the credit card payment information.  Finish by clicking the “SUBMIT” button.  The entry fee will appear on your credit card statement as “Online Contest-APT” from Advanced Prepress Technologies, Inc., Burbank, CA.

Limit one child per photo for contest entry. Photos of children age 5 and older and group photos of more than one child will not be entered in the contest, but will be accepted for publication in the Cutest Baby Contest Special Edition.  Photos with more than two children should be submitted at Delano Herald Journal office to determine space requirements and charges.

All photos should be of reproducible quality.  Images should be in focus and not grainy. Kiosk and color printer copies cannot be accepted. Please write the baby’s name along with the name and phone number of the person submitting the entry on the back of the photo.  Printed photos can be picked up at Delano Herald Journal after the contest, or will be returned if a self-addressed stamped envelope is provided.  Digital photos submitted online or emailed to Delano Herald Journal should be in JPG format and 240 dpi or higher.

All entries will be posted on the contest website as they are received.  Entries with incomplete or incorrect information will not be accepted.  

3. Copyrights: Entering the contest authorizes the Delano Herald Journal to place the baby’s name and photo, along with the parents’ names, on the contest web site and in the Special Edition.  Photos taken by professional photographers must have a release form.  The contest entrant will assume all copyright infringement charges and legal consequences incurred from unauthorized use of a restricted photo.

4. Voting:  Voting is open to the general public, limited to persons 18 years of age or older.  Each vote costs 50 cents.  There is no limit to the number of votes a person can make.  Voting totals will be posted online as they are received.

Voting will be done in three rounds. The first round of voting will begin at 12:01 a.m. (CST) Fri., Jan. 27, 2017 and conclude at 11:59 p.m. Wed., Feb. 1, 2017.  Votes may be submitted in-person or by mail at Delano Herald Journal office, or online.  Mailed and in-person votes must be received by 4:00 p.m. on Feb. 1.  The top 50% of entries receiving votes during Round One will move on to the second round of voting.   VOTES FROM ROUND ONE DO NOT CARRY OVER TO ROUND TWO.

The second round of voting will begin 12:01 a.m. on Fri., Feb. 3, 2017 and end at 11:59 p.m  Wed., Feb. 8, 2017.  Mailed and in-person votes must be received by 4:00 p.m. on Feb. 8.   The top 50% of entries receiving votes during Round Two will move on to the third and final round of voting.   VOTES FROM ROUND TWO DO NOT CARRY OVER TO ROUND THREE.

The final round of voting will begin 12:01 a.m. on Fri., Feb. 10, 2017  and end at 11:59  p.m  Wed., Feb. 15, 2017.  Mailed and in-person votes must be received by 4:00 p.m. on Feb. 15. 

Online votes may be cast at www.delanoheraldjournal.com using a valid credit card including MasterCard, Visa, American Express, and Discover.  The minimum amount of votes purchased online with a credit card is $5.00.  Credit card transactions are non-cancelable and non-refundable. If your credit card is declined for any reason, no vote will be submitted on your behalf.  Charges for voting online will appear on your credit card statement as “Online Contest-APT” from Advanced Prepress Technologies, Inc., Burbank, CA.  Your computer must accept cookies, which may be used for the purpose of entry tracking.  Ad blocking software on your computer needs to be disabled so it does not interfere with processing your entry.

A portion of proceeds from voting will be donated to Delano Public Schools’ Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) program.

5. Refund/Cancellation Policy:  All entry and voting fees are non-cancelable and non-refundable.

6. Prizes:  One Grand Prize winner will receive $500.00, and will have his/her photo published in color on the front cover of the DHJ Cutest Baby Contest Special Edition.  The second place winner will be awarded $250.00.  The third place winner will be awarded $100.00.  Photos of the second and third place winners will also be featured in the special edition. The entrant receiving the most votes in Round One will receive $25, and the entrant receiving the most votes in Round Two will receive $50; their photos will also be published with prize acknowledgement.
 
7. Winner Determination, Notification and Acceptance:  The grand prize, second-, and third-place winners will be the entries receiving the greatest number of votes IN THE FINAL ROUND of voting.  In the event of a tie, the prizes will be combined and divided equally among the tied entries.  Odds of winning depend on the number of entries and eligible votes received.  Winners will be notified on or about Feb. 17, 2017, at the telephone number provided on the winner’s entry form.  Results are not final until all voting transactions by check or credit card have been approved.  Acceptance of any prize constitutes winner’s consent to the publication of his or her name, biographical information, and likeness in any media for promotional purposes without further compensation.  A valid photo identification of the parent or legal guardian may be required.  Winners are solely responsible for reporting and paying of any taxes due on prizes.

8. Participation:  The 2017 Cutest Baby Contest is sponsored by Delano Herald Journal.   Entrants agree that all decisions of Delano Herald Journal regarding the selection of winners and all other aspects of the contest shall be final and binding. The Delano Herald Journal reserves the right to disqualify persons found tampering with or otherwise abusing any aspect of this contest.

9. Indemnification:  Delano Herald Journal will not be responsible for incomplete, lost, late, postage-due, misdirected, or illegible entries or votes due to failure to receive entries due to transmission failures or technical failures of any kind, including, without limitation, malfunctioning of any network, hardware or software, whether originating with sender or Delano Herald Journal.   In the event the contest is compromised by a virus, tampering, or other causes which corrupts or impairs the administration, security, fairness or proper operation of the contest, Delano Herald Journal reserves the right to suspend, modify or terminate the 2017 Cutest Baby Contest.   Delano Herald Journal will not be responsible for typographical, printing, or other inadvertent errors in these official rules or any other material regarding the contest.

If you have any questions regarding this contest, please telephone (763) 972-1028 or email delano@heraldjournal.com.