Once again, the news this year led Central Missouri on an emotional roller-coaster ride.
Some news left Central Missouri a little angry, like the confusion over city yard waste.
Other news saddened us, like the passing of local gadfly Leonard Steinman.
Other news thrilled us, such as the announcement the United Way of Central Missouri set another record for fundraising this year.
Annually, News Tribune staff members look back at the year and vote on which stories they believe to be the most important.
Here are the top 10, as voted on by reporters.
No. 1: Housing all over again
For the second consecutive year, housing was an issue locally that got tongues wagging.
This story really got rolling at the end of 2022, so as 2023 began, it was the issue most in the area were discussing.
It starts back in 2019. The May 22, 2019, tornado that struck Jefferson City destroyed hundreds of homes, many of which were rental properties.
After more than three years, the federal government distributed disaster funding, and Cole County fell in line for more than $7 million that planners hoped would go toward three workforce housing projects.
Last year, four affordable housing proposals seeking state tax credits were rejected due to pushback from the Jefferson City Council and the community. This year, one of them -- Stronghold Landing, a 40-unit proposal from Central Missouri Community Action (CMCA) that includes options for low-income renters -- made the cut.
"We spent a lot of time working with the Chamber of Commerce and other groups, doing that work to build support for the project this year," CMCA Executive Director Darin Preis said. "We really did put in the time this year to kind of get everybody rowing in the same direction. And it's awesome that we're going to build 40 units, but we need 140 more in this community -- so we will be putting our support into whoever brings a proposal next year, and we want to continue to work with the City Council and business community and whoever will listen to us to keep that housing coming along."
Stronghold was also given the green light to use disaster recovery funds and received the council and community stakeholders' support.
No. 2: Parking
Earlier this year, Mayor Ron Fitzwater assembled a parking task force consisting of council members, state officials and members of the Downtown Business Association in order to determine a preferable future for parking downtown.
Fitzwater said he wanted the group to come up with recommendations that represent the wishes of the community so the city council could tackle these issues and move on to other matters.
Fitzwater formed the task force a few months after stepping into his new role as mayor in April and after Ward 3 Councilman Scott Spencer proposed a moratorium on enforcement for timed, non-metered parking spaces. Spencer said he proposed the moratorium because the signs downtown were inaccurate. The signs stated the city would provide citations for parking violations Monday through Saturday, though Spencer said the city hardly enforced these rules on Saturdays.
The moratorium ended up lasting two weeks until the council voted to end it and change city code to remove Saturday enforcement from metered and unmetered parking space regulations, keeping enforcement on the table from Monday through Friday.
The Downtown Business Association was one of the entities that opposed the moratorium, citing a decision being made about its part of the community without allowing the association a seat at the table at multiple meetings during the pause. Then-president Natalie Newville (she has since accepted a job in St. Joseph, Missouri) said she and incoming President Cara Stark had been invited to participate in the task force and they met with Fitzwater after the conflict was resolved.
"We're very glad to be included in the conversation; it was important for us to be part of it, and I especially was really glad that Cara is also going to be part of it as incoming leadership of the association," Newville said. "We represent our downtown business community, and it's important for us to be able to represent their needs in situations like this. We're glad that the lines of communication are open and that we're all working well together."
No. 3: Library levy loss
Missouri River Regional Library held a special election Aug. 8 in Cole County to ask for a 15-cent tax levy increase to fund proposed library renovations and expansion.
If the ballot measure passed, residents in the county would have had to pay 35 cents instead of 20 cents per $100 assessed valuation for both personal and real property. The money raised would have gone toward building a third floor on the Jefferson City library, expanding outreach programs, purchasing and upgrading technology equipment and renovating facilities badly in need of repair.
"There's never a great time to ask for more money," said Newville, then the MRRL Assistant Director of Marketing and Development. "The future is only more expensive."
However, voters rejected this levy increase proposal. Of nearly 9,000 registered voters who cast ballots, more than 60 percent voted against the increase.
Opposition to the levy voiced two main concerns -- first that the increase almost doubled the existing levy. And second that the increase was perpetual.
After this defeat, the library held several listening sessions to get feedback from the public. In addition to the first two concerns, respondents said parking near the library had to be addressed and the number of unhoused individuals who use the library concerned them.
No. 4: Jim Jones harassment allegations come to light
In September, the News Tribune received separation and settlement agreement documents through a Sunshine Law request that shed light upon the reasons for the departure of a Blair Oaks School District administrator.
In answer to News Tribune inquiries, former Assistant Superintendent Kimberley Walters said she had left the district in the summer of 2023 after enduring the aftermath of sexual harassment from former Superintendent Jim Jones. A copy of a letter from the school board, which Walters provided in response to the News Tribune's questions, said an independent investigation had determined Jones had violated school policies regarding sexual harassment in his conduct toward her.
"I did have an opportunity to address the complaints brought forward," Jones told the News Tribune. "I addressed all. Although I did not concur with the conclusions, it was important to move the process forward."
Jones had retired from the district in June 2022 following a nearly two-month unexplained leave of absence and signed a separation agreement that included a $66,000 payment from the district to Jones to resolve "an employment dispute" and barred him from attending district events or being on district property for two years, with lessened restrictions for the three years after that.
Walters, who said she needed a fresh start, signed a separation agreement with the district and moved away in the summer of 2023.
Jones was replaced by interim Superintendent Mark Harvey last year, and former Capital City High School Principal Ben Meldrum took the helm at the district this year.
No. 5: New city government
Jefferson City welcomed a new mayor and city administrator this year. Ron Fitzwater was elected to serve as mayor in April after serving four consecutive terms as councilman for Ward 4.
One month later, the City Council voted for Randall Wright to fill Fitzwater's vacant Ward 4 seat. Wright is running again to represent Ward 4 in April's election.
One of Fitzwater's first duties as mayor was to find a replacement city administrator after Steve Crowell retired from the position after nine years in April. Fitzwater put together a hiring committee to review the 39 applications for city administrator.
In the meantime, city attorney Ryan Moehlman and Fire Chief Matt Schofield performed the necessary duties until Fitzwater announced the city hired Brian Crane as a permanent replacement.
In April, Jefferson City will hold its annual election for the city council. So far, incumbent Jack Deeken and Randy Hoselton have filed as candidates for Ward 1; incumbent Mike Lester for Ward 2; Amy Brix and Treaka Young for Ward 3; Wright and Chris Leuckel for Ward 4; and Mackenzie Job for Ward 5.
No. 6: State employee pay raises
During a legislative session that had little accomplished, better pay for state workers was an idea lawmakers quickly rallied behind.
With only six votes in opposition, Missouri legislators in February approved an 8.7 percent pay raise for all state employees, along with a $2 per hour increase in pay to congregate care staff working outside normal business hours. The raise was part of a supplemental appropriation bill -- the first piece of legislation to come out of the 2023 legislative session.
Gov. Mike Parson signed the pay increase just four days later to thunderous applause from hundreds of state workers in the Truman State Office Building, where he held the bill-signing ceremony.
The 8.7 percent raise, the largest in recent memory, built on a 5.5 percent raise in 2022. The 2022 bill also established a $15 minimum wage for state workers.
Legislators from the Jefferson City area have said they will push for additional raises in future sessions. The state is Cole County's largest employer with more than 15,300 employees, according to the Jefferson City Regional Economic Partnership.
No. 7: Drought and state responses
Missouri experienced a second consecutive year of drought in 2023.
By mid-July, more than 99 percent of the state was abnormally dry and more than a quarter was experiencing extreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
The state's $3.2 billion wine and grape industry was starting to see negative effects on crops and, by late July, cattle barns were reporting record sales as livestock producers attempted to sell cattle they didn't have enough hay to feed. Optimism was drying up, producers said.
Gov. Mike Parson signed an executive order May 31 activating state agencies to respond to negative effects of the drought. Agencies opened 25 state parks and 36 conservation areas for farmers to collect water, and nearly 700 acres within 17 state parks to collect hay. The Missouri Department of Transportation also began offering free special hauling permits for those transporting hay.
With more than half the state still experiencing moderate to extreme drought, Parson in November extended the executive order to May 1, 2024.
No. 8: Truman Hotel faces scrutiny
The former Truman Hotel re-entered the public conversation a decade after it closed its doors when former city officials came to City Hall during the summer to discuss it with the Jefferson City Council.
The initial plan was to build two hotels on the nine acres. Half of the site was razed, and the first new hotel was built. The other half of the site -- the Truman Hotel/Ramada Inn -- has been left untouched, with its owners pointing to economic factors as a reason to hold off.
While the exterior dilapidation is a common complaint, records obtained by the News Tribune in August revealed numerous citations over the years, including reports of homeless individuals entering the building and lighting fires. A deceased woman was also located on the premises in January, according to police reports.
Raman Puri, president and chief executive officer of Puri Group of Enterprises, which owns the property, told the News Tribune the demolition of the building can only happen once the hospitality market in Jefferson City rebounds to pre-pandemic levels, tying the cost of demolition to the economic prospects of a new hotel to replace it.
No. 9: Downtown developments
Officials in November unveiled tentative plans for a 750-space parking garage, 100- to 200-room hotel and 36,000-square-foot conference center where the aging Madison Street garage and News Tribune office, which was recently sold to the city, now stand.
Led by the city and Jefferson City Regional Economic Partnership, the proposal was also backed by members of the downtown business community as a potential economic driver and parking solution.
Officials have yet to choose a developer, and the specifics of what the project could actually entail have yet to be ironed out -- including the size of the hotel, the number of available parking spots and an interim solution when the current garage comes down before the new one can be built.
No. 10: Ann Bax retires from United Way
After more than a decade, Ann Bax stepped down in June from her post as president of the United Way of Central Missouri.
During Bax's tenure, United Way added service in Camden, Maries, Morgan and Phelps counties. It added three new partner agencies and initiatives as well, including Capital City Court Appointed Special Advocates, Central Missouri Foster Care & Adoption Association and the United Way Early Childhood Initiative. The organization founded the Cole County Mobile Food Pantry with the Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri.
Moreover, during her time as president, United Way saw a yearly increase of $100,000 in its fundraising campaigns. In fact, in 2022, her final full year at the helm, the organization raised a record amount of $2.53 million, significantly exceeding its goal of $2.3 million.
During the last months of her tenure, United Way kicked off a search for new partner agencies. It originally began a search in 2019, but it was delayed because of a tornado and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lee Knernschield, the former program director at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Jefferson City, took over Bax's role.
Bax grew up in Jefferson City. She first got a taste of the works of United Way and its partner agencies by volunteering at what is now Little Explorers Discovery Center as a student at Helias Catholic High School. Since that time, she has volunteered at the Boys & Girls Club, Salvation Army and other nonprofits and fundraising campaigns.
Looking back, Bax was most fond of working with other individuals, businesses and organizations to make a difference.
"My life has been changed by all of those people," she said. "I've (played) a small role in touching the lives of so many people through the great work of the United Way and through the great work of our agencies."
News Tribune file: In this file photo, from right, Missouri River Regional Library board member Anne Rottman, MRRL Executive Director Claudia Young and board member Bob Priddy listen to input from citizens at the library on how the library can move forward following a tax levy defeat in August.
News Tribune file: In this file photo, Missouri River Regional Library supporters anxiously await word on election night about the results of a tax levy measure to renovate the library building in Jefferson City.
News Tribune file: In this file photo, guests arriving at the Holiday Inn in Jefferson City also get a good view of the Truman Hotel, which has come under scrutiny for disrepair.
News Tribune file: This file photo shows the Truman Hotel eight years after it closed. Complaints in 2023 brought the hotel's alleged state of decay to the Jefferson City Council.
News Tribune file: In this file photo, Ann Bax poses for a photograph at the Catholic Charities Food Pantry.