Here's a chronological look at some of the top news stories out of Missouri during 2011.
Birds Point Levee Detonation
Heavy spring rains in southeast Missouri warranted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to blow a thousand-foot wide hole in the Birds Point Levee May 3 in Mississippi County, Mo. Hundreds of farm houses had to be evacuated and crop land was inundated with water in order to save towns upstream including Cairo, Ill.
Despite legal challenges from officials in Missouri, the Corps of Engineers followed federal laws written after the Great Flood of 1927 that eased flooding along the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. The levee was designed to be breached if flood waters were high enough upstream.
Joplin Tornado
The biggest story in Missouri in 2011 was the Joplin tornado. Around 5:40 p.m. CT, May 22, a massive tornado packing estimated winds in excess of 200 mph ripped a hole through 30 percent of the city of 50,000 people. Around a mile wide and six miles long, the path of destruction leveled thousands of buildings and killed 161 people.
It was the single deadliest tornado in 60 years. The death toll was the largest since official records were kept beginning in 1950. Six months after the twister, the city still had a long way to go in the rebuilding process as many homes have yet to be constructed.
Lisa Irwin Missing
Baby Lisa Irwin disappeared from her northern Kansas City home sometime in the overnight hours of Oct. 3 into Oct. 4. The baby's mother, Deborah Bradley, admitted to being drunk and passed out the night Lisa disappeared. Months later, there has been no sign the case has been solved.
Over 1,200 leads and tips have been followed. Lisa's father, Jeremy Irwin, came home at 4 a.m. after working an overnight shift as an electrician to find his daughter missing from her crib. A $100,000 reward has been offered by an anonymous donor for information in the case leading to the discovery of Lisa's whereabouts.
St. Louis Cardinals Win World Seres
The St. Louis Cardinals weren't supposed to win the World Series in late October. They were reeling with a month left to go in the Major League Baseball season, behind 10 games in the wild card chase. Then the Cardinals won two-thirds of their remaining games and the Atlanta Braves tanked. St. Louis made the playoffs on the final day of the regular season.
After dispatching the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers in the National League playoffs, they faced the Texas Rangers in the World Series. The Cardinals won in seven games, including a dramatic 10-9 victory in Game 6 that saw St. Louis come back twice from two runs down late in the game.
Missouri to Southeastern Conference
The University of Missouri officially joined Southeastern Conference in early November. The move followed months of speculation and behind-the-scenes maneuvering that landed the Missouri Tigers' athletic program in a larger and move economically-viable athletic conference. Missouri joins fellow former Big 12 member Texas A&M in a move to the SEC that will increase from 12 to 14 schools starting in July 2012.
William Browning, a lifelong Missouri resident, writes about local and state issues for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Born in St. Louis, Browning earned his bachelor's degree in English from the University of Missouri. He currently resides in Branson.
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