Photos of the Year, Vol. 1 of 3

Donna Sinclair smiles while dancing with her husband, Rick, during the final day of Homecomers Saturday, July 27, 2019, in Uptown Jackson. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

Actors from left, Kaitlyn Mulcahy, Molly Jacobs, Makenna Wessel, Carlie Jacobs and Eva Kilburn get tangled up while practicing dance moves before a USO-themed performance put on by Between the Scenes studio during Homecomers Tuesday, July 23, 2019, in Uptown Jackson. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

St. Vincent's Megan Lipe (10) screams after scoring a goal during a game against Maplewood High School Wednesday, May 22, 2019, at Bank of Missouri field in Perryville. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

A racer runs his lawnmower across the finish line during a heat race on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2019, at the Patton Saddle Club in Patton, Missouri. Many racers in the top tier swear that with about $10,000 in aftermarket modifications and a competent driver, a lawnmower can do highway speeds on the track. Wayne Goodwin, septuagenarian member of the Old Farts Racing Team, said that even though the only prize is a $7 plaque, racers pour money and time into their vehicles and risk serious bodily harm to win. "Because there's just nothin' like it," Goodwin said. "I'll never quit." (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

Caretaker Josh Hepler is seen in the kitchen near an air-conditioning unit, dehumidifier and antique wood stove Thursday, June 13, 2019, at the Glenn House in Cape Girardeau. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

It's 2 a.m. To make it to his 4 a.m. shift at Hardee's, Nathan Stearns starts early, stepping quietly from his parents' porch onto the sidewalk to begin his morning routine: a 3.1-mile run across the border into Illinois and back. He cues up a YouTube video of a fighter he admires, one from Missouri, who talks about discipline and victory as Stearns shadowboxes under the streetlight to limber up in the quiet October chill. Just a few more weeks to go before his professional debut. Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

Dawson Jackson,15, center, backflips over his friend, Matthew Sturm, 16, as another friend, Christopher Mellon, 13, waches on the courthouse lawn during Homecomers Tuesday, July 23, 2019, in Uptown Jackson. The boys said they taught themselves how to do backflips, back handsprings and other acrobatics in their backyards over the past 5 years as a hobby. "It just looked cool," Jackson said. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

Cape Central's Anthony Robinson takes a quiet moment in the locker room during halftime of a game against Farmington Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, at the Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

Scott City players wait on the sideline as an airplane flies overhead during football practice Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019, at Scott City High School in Scott City. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

A temporary tattoo depicting the Chaffee Red Devil (the local high school mascot) is seen on the forehead of Jazmine Sadler during Chaffee German Days Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019, at Frisco Park in Chaffee. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

Sikeston resident Mike McReynolds carries his 18-month-old granddaughter Rebekah Deane near the calf-roping chutes during the Sikeston Jaycees Bootheel Rodeo Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019, in Sikeston. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

Children play underneath a section of bleachers before the start of the the Sikeston Jaycees Bootheel Rodeo Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019, in Sikeston. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

Karter Casasola, 5, left, tries to fish from a rock while Ian Smollen, 9, kisses his bicep while playing with family on Saturday, Aug. 17, 2019, at Amidon Memorial Conservation Area near Fredericktown. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

Jimini Smoot, center, laughs while fishing with Jeremiah Twiggs, left, Malachi Smoot, background, and Warren Eanes, far right, on a lake near the Castor River in Bollinger County Thursday, June 27, 2019. The boys are members of the Honorable Young Men Club, a mentorship program started by former Southeast Missouri State University football players that partners with the Cape Girardeau school district to provide at-risk students with guidance and positive role models. The club camping trip was in part intended to help foster an appreciation for nature in the boys, some of whom hadn't been camping before. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

Southeast freshman Aidan Gremminger, a leader of the Redhawks' new "Rowdy Crowd," is reprimanded by campus security for leading a cheer from too high on a railing during the Redhawks' home opener against rivals SIU. Southeast handily defeated the Salukis to retain bragging rights in the annual "War of the Wheel." (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

The music of Kirby Ray's band, Emaciation, he admitted, can at times be polarizing, considering its harshness, loudness and elaborate showmanship, but they try to incorporate riffs that might appeal to fans of more mainstream rock. I don't care about limits or boundaries on what people say our genre is," he said. "We create what we want." Local rock radio DJ Kirby Ray, left, performs with his metal band Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019, at a shed owned by Ray's friend, Kev Steger in Cape Girardeau. Also pictured is drummer Dustin Farrar. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

Willow Rieger, 6, yells "children don't belong in cages!" to a passing vehicle while demonstrating with dozens of other protesters Friday, July 12, 2019, at Capaha Park's Freedom Corner in Cape Girardeau. The demonstration was held to denounce controversial U.S. immigration policy as well as subpar conditions in migrant detention centers which have become a cultural flashpoint in recent weeks. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

TJ Merriman, 3, gets a fist-bump from St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Alex Reyes during the Cardinals Caravan event at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau Monday, Jan. 21, 2019. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

A student leaps into a hug with Jefferson Elementary principal Leigh Ragsdale in the hallway between classes Friday, Jan 18. 2019. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)