If 2025 seemed like a lot, IndyStar has receipts to prove yes, it was

What a year.

Who could have imagined at this time last year the Pacers going to the NBA finals or Indiana Republicans defying President Donald Trump?

Roundups of the year’s top stories are a longstanding tradition in newspapers — one created, no doubt, to fill print editions during a stretch when news tends to slow down.

But IndyStar’s review of the top stories of the year, written by city reporter Jordan Smith, tells you more than what you already know. Looking back at 12 months of news teases out patterns and themes that may not have been obvious in the moment.

The role of injuries in both the Pacers’ and Fever’s seasons.

The issues IndyStar and Mirror Indy have unearthed in Mayor Joe Hogsett’s administration.

The sweeping impact of Trump’s policies across communities: immigrants, poor people, federal employees, farmers, small businesses, educators.

The stories behind IndyStar’s 2025 coverage

When I read Jordan’s story, I also see the story behind the stories: IndyStar journalists’ hustle to bring you, our audience, the news you want and need to know.

The Statehouse team, anticipating a quiet fall without statewide elections, planned a weekly listening tour across Indiana before redistricting became both a national and state issue. Whoops. The on-again, off-again — but not special! — fall legislative session kept our politics team pirouetting more than a ballet troupe. They more than met Hoosiers’ moment in the national spotlight, though, with unprecedented live and near-live coverage via both written words and video.

The sports team makes it look easy to cover high school, college and professional sports year-round, but the Indy 500 and a Pacers playoff game at home on the same day? C’mon!

And the aggressive pivot on immigration by both Trump’s and Gov. Mike Braun’s administrations prompted the creation of a cross-newsroom team that covered the issue from Seymour to the “Speedway Slammer,” from farm fields to federal courts.

As Jordan mentions, IndyStar hired a reporter this year specifically to cover First Amendment issues, thanks to a grant from the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. Freedom of speech and the press have a special place in journalists’ hearts, and it has been a joy to find that so many readers are also interested in reporter Cate Charron’s coverage.

What stories most resonated with you in 2025? Email me.

Hopefully, we’ll all have a few moments to catch our collective breath and reflect before we dive into 2026.

Cindi Andrews is senior news director at IndyStar. She can be reached at cindi.andrews@indystar.com.