From Fort Worth reaching 1 million residents to school closures to protests and the opening of a museum dedicated to those who served, this year was full of impactful moments across Tarrant County.
Fort Worth Report journalists brought you stories that connected community members and the impact of national issues on the hyperlocal level.
We went through our collection of images shot by staff members in 2025 and picked the ones that stood out to us.
Bridget Musenda paints hands on a mural in the Ryan Place neighborhood on Oct. 30. It was part of an I.M. Terrell Academy student art project. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
Players and coaches run through a tunnel onto the Doug Inman Miracle League Field in Arlington on Sept. 19. The inclusive league allows those with physical or other disabilities to play baseball. (Chris Moss | Arlington Report)
Gene Simmons, a literacy specialist for the city of Fort Worth, leads a lesson on vowels April 14 in the Como Community Center. (Billy Banks | Fort Worth Report)
Kindergartener Gianna Leon plays with bubbles at Mary Louise Phillips Elementary before Fort Worth ISD’s first day of school Aug. 12. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
Former President George W. Bush speaks to retired Navy Seal Lt. Thomas Rolland Norris, a Medal of Honor recipient, as former first lady Laura Bush listens during the National Medal of Honor Museum ribbon-cutting ceremony March 22 in Arlington. (Drew Shaw | Fort Worth Report)
Eddie García is named as the next Fort Worth police chief Aug. 22. Every new city employee receives a Molly the Longhorn lapel pin. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
“The whole day, many were biting their pens, wondering if a president would make an appearance. The signs were there — Secret Service and snipers on the roofs — but nobody knew when and who the final guest of the night would be.
All this to say, when George W. Bush, the former first lady Laura Bush, Gov. Greg Abbott and about 40 Medal of Honor recipients emerged from their cars to cut the ribbon and pose for photos, it felt like the night’s penultimate moment.
I found the moments after they cut the ribbon the most interesting, as the former president and medal recipients shook hands and talked like old chums, ignoring the gaggle of reporters in front of them.”
Drew Shaw, government accountability reporter
A demonstrator cries as a crowd gathered at the Tarrant County Courthouse to remember Charlie Kirk on Sept. 20. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
Lakewood resident Ben Maple, 61, yells and beats his drum during a No Kings protest June 14 at Burk Burnett Park in downtown Fort Worth. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)
Buddhist monks from Fort Worth’s Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center begin their Walk for Peace initiative Oct. 26. (Marissa Greene | Fort Worth Report)
“On a foggy October morning, more than a dozen Buddhist monks took their first steps outside a Fort Worth temple, embarking on a long journey to the nation’s capital. I crouched low in the street in front of the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center, hoping to capture the elements of the sacred moment: monks clad in robes stepping onto the pavement, red flower petals tossed by observers in honor of their journey and the temple they were leaving behind. Together, these details spoke to the 2,300-mile journey the monks were about to undertake in the name of peace. In journalism, photographs help humanize faith and show how belief is lived out through rituals and traditions.”
Marissa Greene, faith reporter
Leon Bridges looks up at his street topper in the Near Southside neighborhood on Oct. 7. City officials renamed a portion of a road in his honor. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
A cyclist crosses a bridge over the Trinity River in Fort Worth on Aug. 27. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
Lady Bird “Birdie,” the newest Asian elephant calf at the Fort Worth Zoo, chews on her trunk Nov. 12. Her mother, Bluebonnet, was the first elephant calf born in the history of the zoo in 1998. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
“When Nicole Lopez and I got to the Fort Worth Zoo, we were excited to get a behind-the-scenes look at the newest baby elephant, Lady Bird. We spent the morning with the elephant trainers and watched as they did daily health checks and tricks with the elephants. Nicole and I got an up-close look at Lady Bird and the three generations of elephants at the zoo.”
Maria Crane, multimedia journalist
Aluminum cans, pictured Oct. 28, are sorted and compacted at the south Fort Worth recycling facility. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
Daniel Palomo welds a U holder at Trinity Forge in Mansfield on Nov. 25. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
The Texas & Pacific Warehouse, pictured Aug. 8, has been almost totally vacant since the 1970s. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
Siblings Eamon, left, and Maeve Campos play through the open walls of a house on June 26 in Fort Worth. The family’s home needed restoration after mold was discovered, their parents said. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)
Students from Fort Worth ISD’s Edward J. Briscoe Elementary School hold up signs reading “Keep Briscoe Open!” and “Don’t let Briscoe close” during a board meeting May 20 at the District Service Center. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)
“I sat in the front row getting both the board members and the audience’s reactions to each other, but both sides were very solemn. FWISD trustees were deciding whether or not to close some campuses, including the Edward J. Briscoe campus in east Fort Worth. The adults in the room seemed skeptical of being able to convince the other side to see their reasons. But the kids were full of emotion, ranging from excitement about sharing their stories about their schools to exhaustion as the meeting went well past their bedtimes.”
Mary Abby Goss, summer fellow
Shirley Knox Benton is honored with a street sign topper in Fort Worth on Oct. 2. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker speaks during the State of the City on Oct. 16, stressing how the film industry is shaping Cowtown. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
Blanca Gutierrez passes pizza slices to her daughters for lunch while they watch videos and color July 20. The mother of five was navigating daily routines this summer as her husband, Victor, was detained for six months over his immigration status. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
Lauri Winter holds Olivia Carter while watching the GM Financial Parade of Lights in downtown Fort Worth on Nov. 30. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
Fort Worth resident Mike Massey has experienced homelessness since August 2024. He was among many people volunteers met during the Point in Time Count, the annual count of people experiencing homelessness, on Jan. 23 in Fort Worth. (Billy Banks | Fort Worth Report)
A waning gibbous moon peeks between two high-rises of Fort Worth’s skyline at night on Nov. 6. (John Forbes | Fort Worth Report)
As the year comes to an end, we are excited to see what 2026 will bring visually to our team. We strive to connect with the community on a deeper level and bring their stories to life through visuals.
Maria Crane is a multimedia journalist for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at maria.crane@fortworthreport.org.
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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