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In that time, I've had the privilege of learning about this region by writing about it. I explored policing, municipal dysfunction and spoke with countless families of people who were killed by violence or died in tragic accidents. I also had some fun assignments, too, writing about the Webster Groves Independence Day parade and a major marching band competition. 

No matter where the stories took me this year, I am so grateful to have shared them with you, our readers. I can't wait to see what we learn about in 2022. 

Here are my most memorable stories from the past seven months:

1. For my first Sunday story in the Post-Dispatch, I waded into an age-old debate about municipal fracturing, this time talking about two proposals to merge fire departments. Read the story.

2. I spent several weeks later in the year speaking with officials and residents in Normandy as the city was suffered from a bitter political fight. Read the story.

3. News of a suspected serial killer had me and my colleagues driving around the city interviewing residents and loved ones of those who died after encounters with him. Read the story.

4. I saw the resolve and patriotism of this region one day in September when thousands of people lined roads and highways to pay their respects to a Wentzville Marine who was killed in Afghanistan. Read this story.

5. A long-standing controversy about the city's Medium Security Institution, or Workhouse, was front and center one Saturday when officials announced the facility would reopen and 120 detainees would be moved there after multiple disturbances at the downtown jail. Read the story.