2018 was a year filled with memorable news events in the St. Louis region, including the indictment and resignation of Gov. Eric Greitens, a student-led march against gun violence following a mass shooting in Parkland, Florida and midterm elections.
St. Louis Public Radio photojournalist Carolina Hidalgo shares her favorite photos from those and many quieter moments that made 2018 a year to remember.
MORE: Our favorite photos from 2017. And, our 2016 favorites.
See also: We asked our readers and staff to send their favorite stories of 2018, then built a Best of 2018 story concierge for you to revisit the year that was.
Alex Garcia spends time with his 5-year-old son, Xander, at Christ Church UCC in Maplewood. Garcia, who fled Honduras as a teenager and entered the United States illegally, took sanctuary at the church in September 2017 in order to remain in the United States with his wife and five children, who are all U.S. citizens.
Ngone Seck thanks her younger sisters for writing her a card to congratulate her on graduation day. The teen — whose parents fled conflict in Senegal before moving to Italy, where she was born — immigrated to St. Louis about five years ago. This year, she accepted a full ride to Washington University after being named valedictorian of Riverview Gardens High School.
Nine-year-old Mikaylah Norfolk makes sugar cookies with her mom at their home in Florissant. Mikaylah founded We Rise Up 4 Kids after being physically and verbally bullied at school. “It was like the starting of a new chapter and helping others,” she said. “It's a form of healing. So I was healing and I want other kids to be able to heal.”
Michael Brown Sr. sets down roses as he rebuilds a memorial to honor his son, Michael Brown Jr., on Canfield Drive in Ferguson on Aug. 8. With help from family and friends and community members, Brown rebuilds the memorial every year before the anniversary of the day a Ferguson police officer killed his son.
Supporters of U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, including Dana Plonka, center, listen as McCaskill thanks the crowd at her election night watch party after conceding to Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley in a closely-watched senate race on Nov. 6.
Former Gov. Eric Greitens walks away from reporters after delivering a statement shortly after prosecutors dropped a felony invasion of privacy charge against him on May 14.
Marcellus Buckley and Michael Brown Sr. march down West Florissant Avenue following a memorial event to celebrate the life of Michael Brown Jr. on Aug. 9.
Rigo, who is enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, marches along Delmar Boulevard on March 2. Rigo joined fellow DACA recipients and supporters to decry the Trump administration's efforts to end the program.
Three-year-old Brigid Horn looks up at the Arch after workers removed construction fencing between Luther Ely Smith Square and the Gateway Arch National Park on March 26, allowing the public to walk across the renovated grounds for the first time.
Ty'Chila Thomas watches a video about Henrietta Lacks, a black woman whose cervical cancer cells advanced medical research, at Lafayette High School in Wildwood. Thomas is one of several girls who participate in The L.O.V.E. Project, an out-of-class program aimed at helping black students build self-esteem and excel in mostly-white schools.
To mark four years since Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson killed Michael Brown Jr., protesters gather outside Ferguson Market and Liquor on West Florissant Avenue on Aug. 9.
Isabelle Braeske, 12, and Madelaine Province, 11, listen to speakers at a March for Our Lives event in downtown St. Louis on March 24. The event came one month after a gunman killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Zack Lesmeister, of Marquette High School, participates in a die-in outside Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley's office while joining area high schoolers calling for gun control legislation on April 20.
High school students call for improved school safety and tighter gun control measures outside the Old Post Office on Olive Street in downtown St. Louis. Students across the region walked out of class on April 20, to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the school shooting at Columbine High School.
Follow St. Louis Public Radio on Instagram @stlpublicradio. Follow Carolina Hidalgo @carolinahidalgo.
