Registration Ends:
Sun, March 14, 11:59 PM CT
Voting Starts:
Mon, March 15, 12:00 PM CT
Voting Ends:
Wed, March 31, 11:59 PM CT

 
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SouthernMinn.com's 2021 Bark Madness Contest Official Rules

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

1. Eligibility:  The 2021 Bark Madness Contest is open to residents of the United States born on or after January 1, 2003 (Over the age of 18). APG Southern Minnesota reserves the right to approve each entry.  Employees of the APG Southern Minnesota and their immediate family members are not eligible to enter or win.

2. How to Enter: The cost to enter is $5.00 per pet which also includes publication in the 2021 Bark Madness supplement.   Entry forms can be found in editions of  Faribault Daily News, Owatonna People’s Press, Norhtfield News and Waseca County News as well as St. Peter Herald and Le Sueur County News.  To enter, return a completed form along with a photo of the pet and entry fee to APG Southern Minnesota, 135 W Pearl St, Owatonna, MN 55060.  Pet Photo Registration will be from Wednesday, February 24, 2021 through Sunday,  March  14, 2021. Entries must be received in the office by 3:00 p.m. Friday, March 12, 2021.  Make checks payable to “Southern Minnesota”.  Entries can also be submitted online until midnight Sunday, March 14, 2021 through the Bark Madness Contest registration page at www.faribault.comwww.owatonna.com, www.northfieldnews.com and  www.wasecacountynews.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 Publishing Technologies, Inc., Burbank, CA.

Limit one pet per photo for contest entry.

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 pet’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 Owatonna People’s Press after the contest or will be returned if a self-addressed stamped envelope is provided.  Digital photos submitted online or emailed to Owatonna People’s Press 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 the APG Southern Minnesota to place the pet’s name and photo, along with the entrants’ names, on the contest web site and in the Bark Madness 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. A minimum of $5.00 is required. 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 begin at 12:00 p.m. (CST) Monday, March 15, 2021 and conclude at midnight Wednesday, March 31, 2021.

Votes may be submitted in-person or by mail at Owatonna People’s Press office, or online.  Mailed and in-person votes must be received by 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 30, 2021.  Votes submitted through the contest website will be accepted until midnight on Wednesday, March 31, 2021.

On-line votes may be cast at www.faribault.comwww.owatonna.com, www.northfieldnews.com and  www.wasecacountynews.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 Publishing 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 a local area pet society/humane center.

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

6. Prizes: One Grand Prize winner will receive $200.00 gift card to a local retailer and will have his/her photo published in color on the front cover of the 2021 Bark Madness supplement.  The second place and third place winners will have their photos large and in color inside the Bark Madness supplement. All other entrants will also be published smaller in the supplement.

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 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 April 7, 2021, at the email and/or 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 entrant may be required.  Winners are solely responsible for reporting and paying of any taxes due on prizes.

8. Participation:  The 2021 Bark Madness Contest is sponsored by APG Southern Minnesota.   Entrants agree that all decisions of APG Southern Minnesota regarding the selection of winners and all other aspects of the contest shall be final and binding. APG Southern Minnesota reserves the right to disqualify persons found tampering with or otherwise abusing any aspect of this contest.

9. Indemnification:  APG Southern Minnesota 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 APG Southern Minnesota. 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, APG Southern Minnesota reserves the right to suspend, modify or terminate the 2021 Bark Madness Contest. APG Southern Minnesota 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 kate.mcgillen@apgsomn.com


Questions? Please read the official rules or send an email to our contest coordinator.