A year in review: Our favorite stories of 2025
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The lights are going down on 2025. Photo: Fernando Leon/Getty Images for NAMM
2025 was a year of rapid changes in politics, technology and the local KC landscape.
- And that's only since we launched in June.
The big picture: Here are our top story picks from the past seven months of showing up daily in your inbox with the Kansas City news that matters most.
Abbey's top picks
💪 What happens when you invest in women's sports
- KC stopped being a quiet contender and started showing up for women's sports — with sold-out Current games, record crowds at CPKC Stadium for women's rugby, and pro and youth softball events. What we found covering this: Spend time and effort on women's sports, and people will come.
❤️ Small businesses carried the city's heartbeat
- I spent time covering shops and bars where the city's personality lives, from Flagship Books to Swordfish Tom's, and the pattern felt the same. All of these shops prioritized hands-on craft, customers and an abundance of optimism.
🐈 Animal shelters turned compassion into action
- We reported on shelters cutting wait times from months to days, cafés doubling as adoption hubs and alpaca farms inviting people closer to the animals they care for.
- I especially loved covering Whiskers Cat Café, where I ended up adopting my second cat, Edward R. Purrrow.
Travis' top picks
🏆 The World Cup is coming
- The event may be in 2026, but organizers and civic leaders kicked off preparations in earnest this year with hometown posters, shuttle routes, special short-term rental permits and much more.
- And I enjoyed digging into KC's food scene to match visiting countries' cuisine with local restaurants.
⚡️ The local data center footprint is expanding
- We detailed more than one multibillion-dollar deal, explained what data centers mean for your electric bills and the power grid, and even took a look behind the biometrically sealed doors.
🗳️ Local and state politics made history
- Voters recalled former Jackson County Executive Frank White. Missouri lawmakers voted to redistrict the state's congressional map. The Kansas City Council approved building the city's first jail in 16 years.
What's next: The news cycle shows no sign of slowing in the new year. We can't wait to cut through the noise and deliver useful, high-quality journalism for all our KC readers.