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

1. Eligibility:  The 2017 Cutest Baby Contest is open to residents of the United States born on or after January 1, 2015 (under the age of three). The 2018 Cutest Kiddo Contest is open to residents of the United States born between January 1, 2012-December 31, 2014 (ages 3-under the age of 6). Entries may be submitted by a parent or legal guardian; or a grandparent with permission from the custodial parent. Southern Minn Media reserves the right to verify proof of age.  Employees of Southern Minn Media and their immediate family members are not eligible to enter or win.

2. How to Enter: The cost to enter is $20.00 per child (for both contests) which also covers publication in the 2017 Smiling Faces supplement.   Entry forms can be found in editions of Faribault Daily News, Owatonna People’s Press and Northfield News and are available at each participating newspaper’s office.  To enter, return a completed form along with a photo of the child and entry fee to Faribault Daily News, 514 Central Ave., Faribault, MN 55021 or to Owatonna People’s Press, 135 W. Pearl St., Owatonna, MN 55060 or to Northfield News, 115 W. Fifth St., Northfield, MN 55057.  Entries must be received by 4:00 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8, 2017.  Make checks payable to “Southern Minn Media”.  Entries can also be submitted online through the Cutest Baby and Cutest Kiddo Contest registration page at www.faribault.com, www.owatonna.com and www.northfieldnews.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 6 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 Smiling Faces supplement.  Photos with more than two children should be submitted at one of our participating newspaper offices 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 the newspaper offices after the contest or will be returned if a self-addressed stamped envelope is provided.  Digital photos submitted online or emailed to Southern Minn Media should be in JPG format and 240 dpi.

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 Southern Minn Media to place the child’s/baby’s name and photo, along with the parents’ names, on the contest web site and in the Smiling Faces supplement.  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 for both contests will be done in three rounds. The first round of voting will begin at 12:01 a.m. (CST) Monday, Dec. 11, 2017 and conclude at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2017.  Votes may be submitted in-person or by mail at one of our participating newspaper offices, or online.  Mailed and in-person votes must be received by 4:00 p.m. on Dec. 27.  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 Friday, Dec. 29, 2017 and end at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018.  Mailed and in-person votes must be received by 4:00 p.m. on Jan. 9.   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 Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018 and end at 11:59 p.m. Monday, Jan. 22, 2018.  Mailed and in-person votes must be received by 4:00 p.m. on Jan. 22. 

On-line votes may be cast at www.faribault.com, www.owatonna.com or www.northfieldnews.com  using a valid credit card including MasterCard, Visa 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.

Proceeds from voting will help support Southern Minn Media’s’ Newspaper In Education Program in area schools.

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

6. Prizes: Both Grand Prize winners will receive $500.00 and will have his/her photos published in color on the front cover of the 2018 Smiling Faces Edition.  The second place winners will be awarded $250.00.  The third place winners will be awarded $100.00.  Photos of the second and third place winners will be featured on the inside of the front cover. The entrants for both contests who receive the most votes in Round One will receive $50 each. The entrants for both contests who receive the most votes in Round Two will receive $100.
 
7. Winner Determination, Notification and Acceptance:  The grand prizes, second and third place winners will be the entries receiving the greatest number of votes IN THE FINAL ROUND of voting for both contests.  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 around January 22, 2018, 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 and 2017 Cutest Kiddo Contest are sponsored by Southern Minn Media.   Entrants agree that all decisions of Southern Minn Media regarding the selection of winners and all other aspects of the contest shall be final and binding. Southern Minn Media reserves the right to disqualify persons found tampering with or otherwise abusing any aspect of this contest.

9. Indemnification:  Southern Minn Media 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 Southern Minn Media.   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, Southern Minn Media reserves the right to suspend, modify or terminate the 2017 Cutest Baby or the 2017 Cutest Kiddo Contest.   Southern Minn Media 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 email nsweeney@southernminn.com