9-year-old Bristol Lawfield, far right, and 10-year-old Izzy Rost hug while insisting they could never, ever hate each other after trying to hit each other with their shoes on Feb. 7, 2025 in the New Madrid County Club lobby in New Madrid, Mo. Bristol and Izzy’s moms are best friends, their dads are best friends and their sisters, pretending to ignore the faux fighting behind them, are best friends. When asked if they, too, were best friends, they immediately hugged each other tight and screamed, in unison and with a British accent, “yes!”
Jackie Bulter (left) tries to help Zardyn Mosley stay focused as he looks for mini Scrabble letters during Sunday School on April 21, 2024, at the New Wine Fellowship Church in Fulton, Mo. The church’s two children joined the adults for singing and prayers, but moved to the back of the room to receive their own message.
Six-year-old Cloveni Kapita gets distracted by streamers and her classmate Carlos Andrade, also 6, during her school's Multicultural Festival on June 26, 2024 at Irving Dual Language Elementary in Sioux City, Iowa. In her absence, Kapita's group leader had to present Kapita's summer project, a paper "quilt" showcasing her personal culture, to visiting parents by herself.
Lynnette Logsdon hands her sweaters to board chair Evette Nissen at The Wardrobe on Nov. 11, 2024, in Columbia, Mo. The Wardrobe, a non-profit thrift store, provides free clothing to those who have been recommended by a local agency on Tuesdays, and sells clothes the rest of the week. “We only exist on donations,” said Nissen. “We're not overflowing, but we don’t have a problem getting donations right now.”
The Saturday in the Park Main Stage crowd waits for Bleachers to start their set on July 6, 2024 at Grandview Park in Sioux City, Iowa. The free festival brought in thousands of fans from around the world, including a Toronto, Canada native who came for her 73rd Bleachers show.
Missouri players run out on the field on Sept. 7, 2024 at Faurot Field in Columbia, Mo. Missouri's 38-0 victory over Buffalo is that it marked the first time since 1935 that Missouri opened a season with back-to-back shutouts.
From left, Sue Chartier, Terri McGaffin, Lynn Doxtad and Sue Mullin work together to finish sewing strips of fabric together on July 25, 2024 at West Middle School in Sioux City, Iowa. The women have been volunteering to sew together the large-scale textile installation, titled "Razzle Dazzle", for over a year with artist Amanda Browder. The final piece will be hung outside the Sioux City Art Center. This evening they finished a main piece that was 109 by 44 feet.
Linda Monk presses the switch to open the trailer awning on June 14, 2024, at Snyder Bend Park in Salix, Iowa. Monk lived only 15 minutes away, but enjoyed taking the trailer out on the weekends to have an excuse not to work.
Muhamad Gul Safi, 7, points to where his bed will be once construction is finished on his family's Habitat for Humanity home on March 17, 2024 in Fulton, Mo. Sheen Gul Safi, Muhamad's father, fought with the U.S. Military in Afghanistan and fled with his family after the country fell to the Taliban. After living in a frat house for a year and renting a temporary home for another year, they moved into the custom house at the end of May 2024. The house has six bedrooms split among the 14 family members.
Zay Green, playing Roger, plays his guitar during a rehearsal of RENT on July 17, 2024 at the Sioux City Community Theatre in Sioux City, Iowa. Weeks ago the Sioux City Community Theater lost a majority of their collections of costumes, props and furniture that they had been building up for generations. The floods took away six days of precious rehearsal time and lowered the moral of the cast. Still, the show must go on, and their sixth show of the year, RENT, will go on as planned.