It's hard for Jefferson City to look back on 2019 without seeing the memories through the lens of natural disasters that affected much of the year's events.
But a year in some ways overshadowed by hardship for many Mid-Missourians also saw significant action by the Missouri Legislature, inaction on a hazard in the heart of downtown Jefferson City, the glimmer of a bright future for the historic Missouri State Penitentiary property, and big steps forward for local school facilities.
Read on to reflect on Mid-Missouri's top 10 local news stories of 2019, as ranked by the News Tribune's reporting staff.
May 22 tornado blows through Mid-Missouri
The May tornado grabbed headlines and continues to influence the news in Jefferson City.
Word of a tornado began to reach people in Jefferson City about 11 p.m. May 22. A tornado had touched down in Miller County, traveling northeast. It hit Eldon and continued along a relatively straight path into Cole County.
Jefferson City's first storm siren went off at 11:10 p.m. A second went off seven minutes later.
The relentless tornado continued on a path that paralleled U.S. 54, ripping up trees and flattening buildings.
Shortly before midnight, it hit eastern Jefferson City; tossed about new cars at the Riley Chevrolet dealership; ripped apart Burger King, Sonic and other businesses; knocked a wall down at the Firley YMCA; and barreled into Hawthorne Park Apartments.
The structures were no match for the EF-3 tornado. Its 160 mph-plus winds dismantled the buildings.
The storm continued along Jackson Street and wreaked havoc on early 20th-century homes. The tornado continued across the Missouri River and finally dissipated in Callaway County.
By the time it was done, it had damaged hundreds of structures - more than 600 in Cole County alone. The storm directly affected thousands of people.
Hundreds showed up at Multi-Agency Response Centers set up shortly after the storm in Jefferson City and Eldon.
Faster than most communities, according to state and federal emergency management personnel, Cole County emergency responders set up programs to begin recovery and to help people reach their new normal.
The United Way of Central Missouri led efforts to organize volunteers and to collect donations.
Seven months later, the community is moving into long-term recovery, still dealing with insurance claims but finding solutions for families.
Case managers from Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri are vetting tornado victims' cases, helping to connect people with resources and taking cases to the Long Term Disaster Recovery Committee.
Missouri River flooding spans much of 2019
A tornado was not the only weather-related disaster to affect Jefferson City in 2019. Record flooding on the Missouri River lasted more than three-quarters of the year in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Kansas City district - of which Jefferson City is a part - but it was a long surge of water in the summer that did the most damage locally.
The Missouri River in the Kansas City district was above flood stage between March 13 and Dec. 16, but it was between May 21 and July 13 that the river left its banks at Jefferson City - forcing an evacuation in North Jefferson City, canceling the Salute to Veterans Airshow, breaching the Capitol View Levee, flooding the Jefferson City Memorial Airport, closing Missouri 94 and the Katy Trail, prompting sandbagging efforts in Hartsburg and Mokane, and inundating farmland and businesses in the river bottomlands.
On the river's south bank, backwaters covered sections of downtown Jefferson City thoroughfares and state employees' parking lots, blocked access to businesses, and flooded the backyards and lower levels of homes on Geneva Street.
Passenger rail service and other travel routes by road were also disrupted.
People and government authorities have done a lot of cleaning up along floodwaters' path, but the effects of 2019's flood won't really be resolved for some time - maybe not even before the Missouri River potentially floods again in spring 2020.
The Capitol View Levee is still breached in multiple places. Jefferson City Operations Director Britt Smith - who is the city's representative to the Capitol View Drainage District - said the levee was breached in five places, with the biggest breach about 1,000 feet in length.
One breach has been filled, but Smith said "there's almost no protection to the east side." That basically means areas to the east of U.S. 54 - including the airport and the Jefferson City sewage treatment plant - are only protected from flooding up to about 27 feet.
Before the breaches, the levee protected against flooding on the river of up to 30 feet. The river crested this year about 2 feet higher than that.
The 3-foot difference also means having to evacuate the airport sooner ahead of a predicted flood, for example, Smith said.
The breaches in the levee have also left local farmers in the river bottoms with uncertainty about the prospects for their crops next year.
"It's going to be a challenge come spring to decide what to plant, if we're going to plant," said Jay Fischer, of Fischer Farms in North Jefferson City, who had floodwaters cover much of his property.
He expected that if breached levees are not fixed, crop insurance through the U.S. Department of Agriculture either will not be available for the land behind those levees, or the insurance will be unaffordable.
Until levees are fixed or there's work visibly underway on them, he and other farmers are hesitant to spend much money to clean up the sand left by floodwaters.
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson this year convened the Flood Recovery Advisory Working Group to develop flood recovery priorities, especially for state funding and the levee system. The group is expected to give Parson an initial report and list of recommendations by the end of the month, with a final report due by the end of May 2020.
New Capital City High School, renovated JCHS debut in August
While work on the Jefferson City School District's two high school projects was not yet fully complete in 2019, JC Schools opened the newly constructed Capital City High School and partly renovated Jefferson City High School in August.
More than 60 percent of voters in April 2017 approved the bond issue and tax increases funding the projects. Ground was broken on CCHS in February 2018, and renovations at JCHS and adjacent Nichols Career Center began in summer 2018.
CCHS opened to its first students with its gyms, locker room, theater, shops and some remaining classrooms left to be finished. JCHS opened in August with its new practice gym, storm shelter and building connector with Nichols yet to be complete.
Jason Hoffman, JC Schools' chief operating and financial officer, said all areas will be open in January when students and staff return from winter break - with finishing touches being completed over the break.
Nabholz Construction - the Arkansas-based company that is the projects' construction manager - will have two employees stay on through the end of January to be available for any needs as the buildings are fully settled into, Hoffman said.
The high schools also have one year's warranty with Nabholz, which can work with subcontractors to resolve any issues with the buildings, he said.
The total cost for construction is $142.5 million - not including $1.5 million being reimbursed to the school district by the city for building the new road CCHS is located on, Hoffman said.
The project is still looking to be up to $1.5 million under budget, he said.
Even though the physical work on the projects will soon be done, some things won't go away quite yet.
There will still be bills to be paid through February as contractors submit invoices and the district starts releasing more than $5 million in retainers it's been holding onto, Hoffman said.
Not all of the classroom trailers at JCHS will go away just yet, as they're still needed for the rest of the current school year.
Once school is out in May, six trailers will be taken away - Lawson, Moreau Heights and North elementary schools will each need a trailer next school year, while JCHS will have 300 fewer students - but two trailers will stay behind at Nichols for one more year.
Both high schools will have ribbon-cutting and open house events Jan. 12. At JCHS, a program will begin at 1 p.m. Self-guided tours will run from 1-2:30 p.m. At CCHS, a program will begin at 3 p.m. with self-guided tours running until 4:30 p.m.
State Legislature passes abortion ban at 8 weeks
The nation watched as Missouri lawmakers tackled the abortion issue.
Conservative lawmakers felt the time was right for Missouri - and in May passed a bill that may have become the most pro-life law in the country.
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed the "Missouri Stands for the Unborn Act" into law about a week later.
It didn't come without a challenge. Opponents in the state Senate mounted a filibuster May 15, even though the issue had not officially been brought up for debate. But, in the early morning hours of May 16, a day before the deadline for the Legislature to pass bills, the state Senate passed the bill. It went to the state House of Representatives and passed as well.
The law outlaws abortion after eight weeks of pregnancy. Although women who receive abortions after eight weeks would not be prosecuted, doctors would face criminal charges for violating the eight-week cutoff.
The law includes exceptions for medical emergencies, but not for pregnancies caused by rape or incest.
Missouri became the eighth state to pass similar legislation during 2019.
Opponents of the law - one being the American Civil Liberties Union - filed petitions seeking a statewide vote on the issue.
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft rejected the petitions, stating an emergency clause in the bill caused part of it to go into effect immediately upon receiving the governor's signature.
The ACLU appealed the decision, and the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District ruled Ashcroft had overstepped his authority in rejecting the proposed referendum petition.
However, the court denied the ACLU's request that Ashcroft and Attorney General Eric Schmitt complete their review of the referendum paperwork rapidly, giving the ACLU six weeks to gather signatures.
The organization then sued to remove laws that allow bureaucracy from preventing organizations from seeking petitions.
Originally set to go into effect Aug. 28, a federal judge blocked the state from enforcing its ban on abortions after the eighth week of pregnancy. The state appealed the injunction, and it's not clear when the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear the case.
Collapsed building continues to crumble downtown
It's been 18 months since the west wall of 200 E. High St. partially collapsed - and despite promises from Jefferson City officials and the property owner to demolish the building this year, it's still unclear when demolition will proceed.
Neidert Properties LLC owns 200 E. High St., while Carol and Ruben Wieberg own 202 E. High St. The two buildings share a common wall the city ruled was failing in 2018.
City staff gave the Wiebergs until Dec. 9 to begin repairing or demolishing their building. If they didn't, the city threatened to begin the demolition process Dec. 10.
However, the city did not begin the demolition process and is currently working with the Wiebergs and Neidert Properties on a resolution to the issue, City Counselor Ryan Moehlman said earlier this month.
City staff is waiting until the Jan. 6 Jefferson City Council meeting to receive direction and/or approval to proceed with a possible solution, Jefferson City Building Official Larry Burkhardt said.
The council may also vote on a contract for the selective demolition of the two buildings that same night.
Earlier this month, the City Council approved a $300,000 supplemental appropriation to pay for possible demolition of 200 and/or 202 E. High St.
For the last year and a half, Neidert Properties and the Wiebergs have argued over who is responsible for repairing and maintaining the common wall, filing petitions with the Cole County Court in fall 2018.
Cole County Presiding Judge Pat Joyce ruled earlier this year Neidert Properties owns the common wall and could demolish 200 E. High St.
The Wiebergs filed an appeal with the Missouri Western District Court of Appeals in October, asking the court to reconsider Joyce's judgment.
After ruling 200 and 202 E. High St. were dangerous buildings in 2018, the city gave Neidert Properties and the Wiebergs deadlines to repair or demolish their buildings, which they both missed.
The city held administrative hearings and ruled the city could abate the nuisance if the property owners did not repair or demolish the two buildings.
Structural engineers determined the wall at 200 E. High St. had collapsed due to water infiltration and hidden decay of the mortar in the wall.
Attorney general releases report on Catholic clergy abuse
The much-anticipated release of the Missouri Attorney General's Office report on clergy abuse left few onlookers satisfied with the results.
The office took on a statewide investigation of reported sexual abuse by Missouri clergy members in August 2018, when the states' four dioceses volunteered to offer their records for an investigation.
Then-Attorney General Josh Hawley left the office several months later after his election to the U.S. Senate.
Eric Schmitt, who left the State Treasurer's Office and took over as attorney general, continued the investigation. And the public waited.
In late February, Pope Francis gathered the church's world leaders at the Vatican for a summit on child sex abuse. Bishop W. Shawn McKnight, of the Diocese of Jefferson City, praised the outcome of the summit as supportive of U.S. bishops' efforts to improve transparency and accountability of the church and to include the laity on matters concerning allegations of abuse. The Vatican also supported U.S. bishops' wish to penalize people within the church who cover up abuses.
The pope issued procedures for reporting clergy abuse in May.
In mid-September, Schmitt released the report on the clergy abuse investigation.
The church found it vague and unhelpful. Abuse victims said it didn't go far enough - that investigators didn't reach out to scores of victims who had reported abuse and didn't look at "corrupt officials" who had concealed abuse. Others suggested the investigation and report were only used for political gain.
Schmitt's office touted the report as the most successful by any state since Pennsylvania released findings from its own investigation a year before.
The Missouri Attorney General's Office referred 12 suspects to local law enforcement agencies for prosecution. The report did not identify the suspects publicly.
To date, none have been charged, Schmitt's office said earlier this month.
City takes steps toward redeveloping MSP property
The historic Missouri State Penitentiary has had a busy year between heavy tornado damage, a fire and proposals for redevelopment of the Jefferson City-owned portion.
MSP was one of several areas of Jefferson City affected by the May 22 tornado.
Part of the old MSP wall along Capitol Avenue collapsed, and several of the buildings, including the prison's famous Housing Unit 4, or A Hall, were damaged. The Missouri Office of Administration estimated it may cost $9.4 million to repair all of the damage.
Tours of the prison were suspended from after the tornado until Oct. 1, when they resumed until the end of the regular season.
If that wasn't enough, in the late afternoon of Nov. 20, a fire started on the roof of Housing Unit 2 after an ember from a nearby controlled burn blew onto it. Jefferson City fire crews extinguished the flames within an hour.
In early December, the public was able to see for the first time two proposals for redevelopment of a 32-acre site at the Missouri State Penitentiary now owned by Jefferson City.
The two proposals - one from Farmer Companies and the other from a St. Louis-based group made up of Chesterfield Hotels, Arcturis, Peckham Architecture and Central Missouri Professional Services - were about a year in the making. The land available for redevelopment was conveyed to the city from the state in 2018.
The land is between the historic site and Chestnut Street, as well as some right-of-way areas and the old shoe factory, the second-oldest building on the prison site.
The Farmer Companies proposal, made up of two options, would include development of an outdoor space at the MSP site and a convention center next to the Courtyard by Marriott hotel currently being built on the old St. Mary's Hospital site at Missouri Boulevard and U.S. 50.
Option A would be to build a 25,000-square-foot convention center next to the hotel and turn the MSP site into the Veterans Memorial Athletic Complex, which would include artificial turf athletic fields.
Option B would include a two-story, 50,000-square-foot convention center by the hotel and a park space at MSP.
The St. Louis-based group's proposal would include development of a hotel, conference center and other amenities like a museum, three mixed-use buildings, a group of single-family town homes and an office building on the MSP site.
City officials have previously said they expect to select a developer by spring 2020. The city must select a developer within two years of the state conveying the land to the city. The city must also start construction within four years.
Crews started working Dec. 13 to uncover a block of buried cells on the historic site between Housing Units 2 and 3. The cells were first discovered during a construction project between 1984-85.
Jefferson City's Ward 5 Councilman Mark Schreiber, who previously served as an assistant to the prison's director of adult institutions, believes the cells were called the Centennial Cells and date back to the 1840s.
The Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau hopes to uncover the cells and add them to the prison tours by spring 2020.
Blair Oaks OKs construction of new high school
A groundbreaking for the Blair Oaks R-2 school district's new high school is expected almost exactly a year after voters approved the new school's construction in April 2019.
Ground is expected be broken in early April 2020, Blair Oaks Superintendent Jim Jones said earlier this month.
Almost 78 percent of voters approved a $14 million bond issue to pay for the new high school, and almost 70 percent of voters approved a 30-cent increase to the district's operating tax levy to prepare the district's finances for the extra staff the new high school will require adding.
The district's debt-service levy did not increase during the election because the Board of Education had already approved a 30-cent increase the August before.
The district in September sold $9 million of the $14 million in bonds, with the remaining $5 million to be sold in early 2020.
The total cost of building the new high school is projected to cost $19 million, but it's being built in two phases.
The $14 million first phase is expected to be finished with the new high school opening in August 2021. The first phase is planned to open with the school's auditorium, gym, library, cafeteria and enough classrooms for grades 9-12 to be complete.
The entire project is planned to be complete in August 2025.
An official groundbreaking date will be scheduled at a later date.
The district currently has a grades K-4 elementary school, 5-8 middle school and 9-12 high school. With the first phase of the new high school open, the plan is for the current Blair Oaks Middle School to become a grades 3-5 upper elementary school.
The middle school would move into the current building of Blair Oaks High School, and the current Blair Oaks Elementary School would continue to host grades K-2 - with the possibility that the elementary school could add preschool in the future.
Department of Corrections staffing issues persist
Staffing has long been a safety concern for Missouri Department of Corrections leadership.
Facilities, they have warned, are understaffed, while employees are overworked and underpaid.
Missouri DOC staff are the lowest-paid in the nation.
A Cole County jury determined in August 2018 the agency owed prison workers more than $113 million in unpaid overtime. However, the decision remains in the courts. Interest is accruing on the overtime. It is estimated that the money owed will top $125 million before the beginning of the year.
In January, Gov. Mike Parson came up with a plan to alleviate some of the pressures on the DOC - merging two prisons in Cameron.
The merger, his administration said, would free up workers to transfer to other facilities.
Once completed, it also made money available to offer raises to DOC workers.
As part of this year's budget, Parson included a pay plan that provided a 3 percent salary increase for all state workers, plus an additional increase of 1 percent for every two years of service - up to 20 years - for non-executive corrections staff.
Area high school teams take championship honors
It was a busy week in May for Mid-Missouri at the state baseball championships in O'Fallon.
Four local high school baseball teams reached the Final Four, two won state championships and two faced each other in the title game.
The Blair Oaks Falcons capped a 13-game winning streak to finish the season, edging the Fatima Comets 1-0 in the Class 3 state championship game May 28. It was the Falcons' first state baseball title since 2007.
One day later, the St. Elizabeth Hornets escaped a tough jam in the seventh inning to edge La Plata 2-1, winning the Class 1 state championship. The Hornets, who lost in the title game last season, won their first state championship since 1997.
The Helias Crusaders wrapped up the busy week of baseball May 30 with a 5-0 loss to St. Francis Borgia in the semifinals of the Class 4 state tournament. Because the third-place game was canceled due to rainy weather, the Crusaders tied Savannah for third place.
Another high school team captured a state championship on the diamond this fall, as the Helias Lady Crusaders won the Class 3 state softball championship in Springfield.
Helias beat Blair Oaks 1-0 in the district championship game, then outscored its next three opponents 27-0 to advance to the state title game. The Lady Crusaders defeated Sullivan 3-1 in the championship game Nov. 2, winning their first state title since 2005.
On the basketball court, the Jefferson City Lady Jays were among the top girls teams during the 2018-19 season.
The Lady Jays won 23 straight games to start the season, and after a loss to Incarnate Word answered with six more wins to advance to the Class 5 state championship game March 16 in Springfield. Jefferson City fell 43-34 to North Kansas City, coming up just short of the program's first title.
The St. Elizabeth boys basketball team came away with a third-place finish in Class 1 the weekend before in Springfield, beating Linn County 66-61 to finish the season with a 24-6 record.
The Fatima Comets and Lady Comets completed a second straight sweep of the Class 2 cross country state championships Nov. 9 in Columbia. The girls won their seventh consecutive state title, while the boys took home their ninth straight state trophy.