Wichita Eagle earns Emmy award for Father Kapaun documentary ‘Once Was Lost’

The Wichita Eagle won its first Emmy on Saturday at the Heartland Emmy awards ceremony in Oklahoma City.

The Eagle’s 2021 documentary, “Once Was Lost: The 70-Year Search for Father Kapaun,” won in the category of Documentary Program: Topical. The film, which recounts the recovery of the remains of Korean War chaplain and Pilsen native Father Emil Kapaun, was produced, written and directed by Eagle multimedia journalist Travis Heying. Eagle visuals editor Jaime Green and Eagle executive editor Michael Roehrman also earned awards for their roles as producers of the film, as did freelance writer Roy Wenzl for his role as writer/director. Carter Green composed the film’s score.

The film was published on The Eagle’s website, Kansas.com, in November. Heying and Wenzl traveled to Honolulu; Houston; Washington, D.C.; and Dover, Delaware, while making the film and researching an accompanying story — a process that took more than five months.

“I’m elated that the Emmys honored The Eagle’s work,” Roehrman said. “Father Kapaun was an extraordinary man, and I’m thrilled his story — as well as the story of those who found him — have touched so many people.”

The Heartland Emmys award outstanding work in television and broadcast content from Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma. Ceremonies took place simultaneously on Saturday in Denver and Oklahoma City.

The Eagle’s film was in competition against documentaries produced by Oklahoma City television station KOKH, by The Denver Broncos, and by the PBS series Roadtrip Nation.

The Eagle’s Emmy-winning documentary can be viewed at kansas.com/kapaun.