Celebrations surrounding the birthday of the state topped this year's favorite stories, as voted on by News Tribune reporters.
Construction of the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument and the Bicentennial Bridge, landmarks that should last forever, climbed into this year's top 10 stories.
Polishing up the Capitol and community, putting on Jefferson City's best look, also scored highly in reporters' ballots.
Two favorite stories came from Lincoln University. And two came from Jefferson City hospitals.
Annually, News Tribune staffers look back at the year, vote on which stories they believe to be the most important and then offer an update on the story.
Here's a look back at 2021.
No. 1: Bicentennial Bridge
Jefferson City's "island" is now connected to the "mainland."
Construction on the 765-foot Bicentennial Bridge began in February.
The structure opened to the public Monday.
The westernmost end of the bridge stands between the Senate garage and the Missouri Veterans Memorial on the Capitol grounds and spans Union Pacific railroad tracks to Adrian's Island. The bridge cost about $4.9 million.
The majority of funding came from private donations, including a $3.2 million donation from B.J. DeLong -- a longtime supporter of the project, who with her husband founded DeLong's Inc., steel fabrication in 1944 in Jefferson City.
Although the bridge is open, there's still some work to do.
The section of bridge that crosses the tracks is contained in a safety cage. Workers installed the top section of the cage temporarily, while the permanent section is made. Artwork panels intended for the sides of the cage haven't been installed yet.
Work also continues on the island, where the Jefferson City Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department is building a park.
Crews have installed concrete walking paths. Some sitting walls overlooking the Missouri River are completed. However, the department is still working on a pavilion, hammock area, giant chess board and structure for restrooms, and will create dirt trails through a wooded area.
Officials expect the work to be finished in the spring.
No. 2: Missouri's bicentennial
Missouri's Bicentennial celebration was billed as a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Several months of planning came to fruition Sept. 19 as Jefferson City played host to one of the bigger parties the Show-Me State has ever hosted, marking Missouri's 200th birthday. The day featured a statewide ice cream social.
Thousands of Capital City visitors spent the day perusing multiple exhibits in the Capitol Rotunda, the most popular of which was a display of championship trophies from the state's various professional sports teams.
A Bicentennial parade through downtown Jefferson City featured 100 entries, including the Budweiser Clydesdales. Cole County's entry featured a team of Missouri Mules pulling a wagon. JC Penney's 1947 Cadillac was also a popular entry.
Edith Harrington, a 98-year-old nurse and veteran of World War II, served as the grand marshal of the parade.
First lady Teresa Parson and Gov. Mike Parson hosted a formal ball outside the Capitol to complete the day's celebrations. It was the first-ever ball held outside the Capitol on the Capitol grounds. The ball celebrated the inauguration of state officials.
Officials had to delay celebrating their inauguration in January because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
No. 3: Vaccination mandates
Before President Joe Biden announced a mandate that all health care workers for organizations that get Medicaid and Medicare funding receive COVID-19 vaccinations, some Missouri health organizations had already moved to require them for their employees.
The move came early in the summer as the highly contagious Delta variant spurred another wave of infections throughout the United States.
SSM Health, the St. Louis- based owner of St. Mary's Hospital (with 40,000 employees), announced its group would require vaccinations for employees. The organization made the announcement June 28, following the lead of BJC Health, which set the mandate for its employees about two weeks earlier, and St. Luke's Hospital, in Kansas City, which did so a week after BJC.
SSM Health Chief Medical Officer Todd Shuman said in a news release that neither the nation, state nor communities served by the hospital system had reached a level of vaccination that provided herd immunity, which was why there had been a series of dangerous surges in coronavirus.
"The majority of our team members are fully vaccinated and welcomed the vaccine," Jessica Royston, SSM Health regional manager of marketing and communications, said last week. "We have a responsibility to protect the health and safety of our teams, patients, their loved ones and the most vulnerable among us in the communities we serve."
MU Health Care, with which Capital Region Medical Center (CRMC) has a longstanding relationship, announced Aug. 5 that it would require all staff to receive vaccinations. CRMC announced three weeks later (shortly after the federal government gave full approval of the Pfizer vaccination) that it too would require vaccinations for all employees by Nov. 15.
Royston said the St. Mary's Hospital's mandate resulted in fewer employees missing work because of the virus than missed work before being vaccinated.
No. 4: Search for LU president
For John Moseley, interim president of Lincoln University, the past year has been an enjoyable learning experience.
And he's ready for more.
"I'm reading three books on higher education, and I never would've imagined doing this two years ago or a year ago, really," Moseley said. "I am looking forward to a little bit of a break, but it won't be much because there's so much to be done. And I'm thankful. My heart is full of gratitude this holiday season for this opportunity and the trust the board has given me to serve in this capacity. There's so much room for growth and opportunity here."
The Lincoln University Board of Curators chose Moseley to serve as interim president after former President Jerald Jones Woolfolk stepped away from the university in May. Moseley had been the university's head basketball coach and athletic director for the past seven years.
A history with Lincoln has provided Moseley with a wealth of knowledge, he said, but he's spent the past seven months developing a better understanding of how a university operates, learning about the various departments on campus and cultivating passion around the university's mission.
He is also a candidate for the permanent university president position, which the Board of Curators is utilizing a national search and outside search firm to fill.
"I simply want Lincoln to hire the person that they believe is the best person to move this university forward," Moseley said. "That's where my focus is. Obviously I'm a candidate and hopefully it's me, but if it's not, my love and passion for this institution supersedes whether or not I earn this opportunity or not."
A search committee began reviewing applications for the position last month and has started interviewing around 26 candidates.
The Board of Curators hopes to have a president identified and approved in February.
No. 5: Capitol renovations
As 2021 began, the Missouri Office of Administration (OA) was turning the page on a five-year, $49.3 million renovation project.
The first major construction project on the Missouri Capitol since it was rebuilt in 1917, a wide-ranging renovation restored the historic building's gleam, state officials said upon its completion.
In an effort to preserve the building and improve its appearance, structural stability and water resistance, contractors and state workers cut open 20 catacombs to repair the concrete structure, repaired more than 1,100 square feet of structural steel, used more than 4.5 million pounds of stone for repairs and replacements, cleaned more than 340,000 square feet of stone and waterproofed areas that hadn't been done in 100 years.
The project was split into two phases, the first of which began in 2015 and was done by December 2017. The second phase began shortly after and was completed Jan. 29, 2021.
Still, the historic building has to be continually maintained.
The second half of a project to improve air distribution throughout the Capitol began earlier this year and is now complete, OA Communications Director Chris Moreland said.
OA most recently replaced the Capitol south lawn, taking out gravel and a hard clay pan to improve its growth and appearance. Contracted crews have laid new sod, but a fence remains around the lawn.
Additional planned improvement projects include plumbing and bathroom renovations, restoration of the Capitol bronze door, south fountains and Legislative Library, and renovating the Joint Committee Hearing Room, all of which are expected to be completed in one to two years.
A more long-range project is to assess, repair and replace the Capitol skylights. Moreland said that could take four to five years to complete.
No. 6: St. Mary's no longer for sale
SSM Health ended more than three years of speculation in October when it announced St. Mary's Hospital in Jefferson City was no longer for sale.
The August 2018 news of the potential sale of the hospital shocked the community, after all, SSM Health had just poured $218 million into a new campus and facility, which broke ground in 2012 and opened in November 2014. The announcement that SSM Health Care and MU Health Care were in exclusive negotiations for the sale drew praise from some and ire from others, who pointed out CRMC already had a relationship with MU, and selling St. Mary's to the provider would create a health care monopoly in the city.
Some critics of the sale said they were concerned the local hospital would lose its Catholic affiliation, and MU Health Care would not provide conscience protection (protections for people or organizations who object to performing or assisting in the performance of abortions or sterilizations).
That sale eventually fell through, but other suitors soon came knocking on the door.
In November 2020, SSM Health announced it was in negotiations with another potential buyer -- Tennessee-based Quorum Health, which was just emerging from bankruptcy. Leaders for Quorum Health, which operates hospitals in 13 states, said the group was entering a period of "thoughtful and intentional growth."
St. Mary's would have represented its first foray into Missouri.
The parties mutually agreed to end discussions, according to a letter SSM Health COO Steve Smoot sent to board members in October.
After discussions ended, SSM Health said it planned to invest in the hospital.
"Our intention is to expand clinical services that will help keep this a healthy, vibrant community," Royston said last week. "Although these things can take time to put in place, we hope to communicate those developments soon. Rest assured, we are working toward solutions that will benefit the people who live in and around Jefferson City."
No. 7: LU Police Academy created
In January, Lincoln University made history as the school's first police academy class began. The university was the first historically Black college or university in the country to have a police academy.
LU's proposal for a police academy was praised by many law enforcement officials -- locally and nationally -- as they look for help to expand the pool of applicants to their profession. Government leaders hoped this would lead to recruiting more minorities to policing which would create agencies that look more like the communities they serve.
There were nine students who graduated from the first academy class in June made up of two Black females, four Black males and three white males. Five more students graduated in December in the second class of the academy.
No. 8: JC School District athletic facility projects
Voters passed Jefferson City School District's bond issue for the construction of Capital City High School in 2017, but at the time, the district did not have the money for competition fields. As a temporary solution, the district built practice facilities and planned to build equal competition fields at both high schools down the road.
The facilities on the Jefferson City High School campus are now under construction on land bought from homeowners whose property was damaged in the May 2019 tornado. The process has taken longer than expected; the fields were supposed to be ready for use this fall after construction over the summer. Capital City High School's facilities will be built on vacant land on the campus.
During the November board meeting, Superintendent Larry Linthacum said the original cost of $21.4 million for the projects had risen to $28 million with increasing construction costs. This resulted in the deletion of several items from the construction plan.
The construction will now be limited mostly to the shells of buildings -- leaving off the finishing touches such as cabinetry. Interim Chief Operating Officer Dawn Berhorst said this will enable the district to construct buildings so all sports have a facility to begin with that can be finished later on.
Berhorst shared in a December interview that at CCHS the road off of Mission Drive had been completed, utilities had been disconnected, and crews were working on storm drains and pipes. After that, crews will dig and pour foundational footings. Crews will install underground utilities and begin working on the structure.
At Jefferson City High School, crews have finished blasting rock, which they'll move to other areas to get the right grade. Berhorst said the district was waiting on approval from the city for the stacked-block retaining wall. After the wall, the next step will be utilities. Crews will continue working over the coming weeks, and Berhorst said the district was hoping for a mild winter.
No. 9: Gold Star Families Monument
When folks in Central Missouri set their minds to it, they can get a lot done in a hurry. Particularly if they intend to honor veterans or fallen soldiers.
About four years ago, Missouri placed a Gold Star Families Memorial plaque in the median on Capitol Avenue near the Capitol. Community members appreciated it, but dreamed of constructing a Gold Star Families Memorial Monument on Capitol grounds.
However, there never seemed to be a fitting time to undertake the effort.
A Gold Star Family has a family member who served in the military and died in the line of duty.
In 2020, as the groundbreaking for the Bicentennial Bridge neared, Tom and Sharon Naught donated $75,000 to the bridge, and as a stipulation for the donation asked the entrance to the bridge be dedicated to veterans and military families.
Rep. Dave Griffith, R-Jefferson City, approached the Naughts and discussed thoughts about a potential gold Star Families Memorial at the bridge entrance.
Before long, committees formed and fundraising began.
By December, memorial organizers had enough money for the memorial, but continued fundraising because it wished to have enough money in reserves to maintain a memorial in perpetuity, Griffith said.
On Aug. 7, this year, only about a year after discussions about the monument began, it was unveiled for the public.
Standing on Capitol grounds at the entrance to the bridge, alongside the Missouri Veterans Memorial, the monument is 7 feet tall and 12 feet long.
It features a cutout shaped like a saluting soldier. The back of the monument shows four scenes: soldiers raising the American flag on Iwo Jima in 1945; the flag as the background for the Capitol and corn fields; a mother and child in the shadow of their lost loved one; and a soldier placing a folded flag in the hands of Gold Star Mother Sandy Deraps.
Deraps' son, 19-year-old U.S. Marine Lance Corp. Leon Deraps, was killed in action in 2006 in Iraq.
Griffith said young students coming to visit the Capitol will take the bridge to Adrian's Island, where they'll gather for lunches. On the way, they'll pass the monument and -- hopefully -- pick up something about service and sacrifice.
"It exceeded my expectations," Griffith said. "For me, it is a learning experience for the next generation -- and for generations to come."
No. 10: Capitol Avenue Urban Renewal
As the Jefferson City Housing Authority (JCHA) prepares to potentially sell its remaining historic home on East Capitol Avenue, it's also looking to acquire more.
The East Capitol Avenue Urban Renewal Area includes 116 pieces of property in downtown Jefferson City. Up to 40 of them could be condemned as part of an effort to fight blight in the area.
The JCHA has purchased nine properties since 2017 with financial help from the city since 2019. The intent is to re-sell them to local developers.
Many of the homes were vacant for years, allowing them to fall into disrepair or get vandalized. Wild animals found homes in some.
Developers demolished two of the nine properties. One of the properties is for sale. One home has new residents, who purchased and renovated it. Developers continue work on the remaining five.
The house still on the market is 101 Jackson St., which the local faith-based nonprofit Transformational Housing recently filed a bid for. Transformational Housing focuses on creating affordable rental housing.
The organization plans to renovate the building into five affordable low-rent apartments.
As the Jackson Street home potentially leaves the market, four more could be added.
Cole County Circuit Judge Dan Green recently ruled in favor of the Housing Authority in an eminent domain lawsuit for four properties along East Capitol Avenue.
Green appointed three people to appraise the properties and set a value for them. Once the Housing Authority pays the assessed values for the properties, it can take possession and start looking for new owners for redevelopment.