Our opinion: A look at 2025 — not the best year but not the worst, either

In one way, we hope we’re always a little thankful for 2020.

Hear us out: As long as we can point to that mess of a year as being the worst overall 12-month period of our lifetime, we know that we’ve not somehow come across one that can beat it.

And so, while 2025 wasn’t a banner annum in our neck of the woods, it wasn’t pandemic-level bad, either.

Let’s review, and we’ll end on a high note.

Severe weather, punctuated by tornado after tornado after deadly tornado, pummeled the region. Like dark waves pummeling a beach, the storm systems began the evening of March 14 — when tornadoes struck Poplar Bluff and killed seven people in Southeat Missouri — and continued with regularity through May 16 — when a twister killed two people in Scott County. A tornado took direct aim at Delta on April 2, damaging many structures and killing one person. Virtually no locale in the region escaped unscathed. Sikeston, Perryville, Cape Girardeau and elsewhere sustained damage of varying degrees.

Rebuilding efforts are ongoing and will be for some time, likely to be incomplete by the spring, when another severe weather season will roll around.

As we reflect on that awful period, we note the vital work of those forecasting weather. From the National Weather Service to our local meteorologists at KFVS-12, those folks provide incredibly important and accurate information ahead of and during stormy weather.

We also think of first responders and the army of volunteers who showed up while lightning still streaked across the sky to help their friends and neighbors. They cleared debris. They cooked food. They lent a consoling shoulder. They were, and are, indispensable.

On a smaller geographic scale, but no less tragic, were a number of horrific incidents that tore at our societal fabric. A fire — alleged by federal authorites to have been deliberately set — destroyed the heart of Puxico. A personal dispute ended with three people — including a Scott County farmer and Sikeston police officer — dead. Violence continued to rock Charleston, with a recent killing reportedly being retaliatory for previous incidents.

And as we noted in a story this past weekend, a number of business leaders, standout coaches and public servants shuffled off this mortal coil in 2025. Their passing leaves a void to fill but also an example to follow.

But as night turns into day, 2025 provided its share of successes, too.

One of our own, Mollie Buckler of Sikeston, assumed the presidency of one of the nation’s leading agricultural advocacy groups, USA Rice Producers.

West Park Mall’s rebirth continued with new stores opening, including Missouri’s first Sierra department store.

Southeast Missouri State University marked a milestone as president Carlos Vargas stepped down after a decade at the helm and officials inaugurated Brad Hodson as the 19th president in October.

Cape Girardeau Regional Airport soared to new heights, as well, with the federal Department of Transportation extending an Essential Air Service contract for Contour Airlines. The arrangement includes expanded traveling options, with flights to Chicago and Dallas-Fort Worth and seasonal flights to Pensacola, Florida, set for the spring.

Perhaps the most important long-term positive outcome in our region came at the Cape Girardeau ballot box, where voters agreed to pay higher water rates to fund badly needed investments in the municipal system. The city has been at a crossroads for some time — with water mains failing and demand outstripping capacity during high-use periods — and there was no path forward without more money dedicated to beefing up the treatment plant and replacing pipes (some more than a century old). After a couple failed attempts to raise money for the system, voters finally agreed to fund the improvements.

As we prepare to welcome 2026, we admit 2025 won’t ever be our favorite year. Best we can do is acknowledge it was no 2020.