The Daily Memphian’s metro team had a busy year covering the community’s biggest stories.

2025 started with the news of the Memphis-Shelby County Schools board ousting its superintendent, who held the job for less than a year, and ends amid a flurry of reporting on the Memphis Safe Task Force’s presence in the city.

What a giant train merger has to do with National Guard in Memphis

Some story lines — including the trial of the former police officers charged in Tyré Nichols’ death and the burgeoning presence of artificial intelligence company xAI — continued. Some stories — like the Task Force’s creation and the federal indictment of an elected official — were new.

Simply put, we did what reporters do: We went to court hearings, public meetings, press conferences and more. Then we brought that information, quickly and accurately, back to our readers. 

Beyond that, here are some highlights from our 2025 reporting.

We gave you information before you read it anywhere else.

We were the first news outlet to report the death of FedEx founder and executive chairman Frederick W. Smith, ‘the most important Memphian of all time.’

What to know about National Guard, federal forces in Memphis

We wrote from exclusive interviews, including one with MSCS interim superintendent Roderick Richmond about the district’s long-awaited facilities plan and a ride-along with Karolina Duda, a U.S. Marshals Service supervisor working as part of the MSTF. We first reported the Title IX investigation of a school board member, one man’s failed attempt to kidnap the Memphis mayor, a legislative proposal that aimed take over MSCS with a state-appointed board and much more.

We took the news of the day further.

Following Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr.’s indictment on federal bribery charges, The Daily Memphian analyzed commission and City Council meeting minutes to determine which nonprofits were likely involved. And went deep on his political background and that of his family.

We uncovered the who, what and why after President Donald Trump cited a FedEx board member’s experience in his decision to send the National Guard to Memphis. We talked to the leader of the nonprofit overseeing restoration of Clayborn Temple after a fire destroyed the landmark.

We interviewed the family of one of the 13 people who have died this year while in custody of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office. We also reported much on the dilapidated, overcrowded conditions at 201 Poplar, which continues to be a political lightning rod and community liability.

We enlisted legal support to help us do our jobs.

The Daily Memphian inserted itself into the case of the United States of America vs. Emmitt Martin III et al after filing a motion in federal court to unseal hidden court records. U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman, who took over for District Judge Mark Norris, who had recused himself from the case, ultimately granted the motion. In doing so, Lipman also granted a new trial to the three defendants who had been convicted on some of their federal charges. And Norris later defended himself against the allegations of bias in a surprise court filing of his own.

‘Most important Memphian of all time’ has died

An attorney for Marie Feagins, the former MSCS superintendent and current candidate for Shelby County mayor, requested The Daily Memphian remove a story about Feagins and pay her $50,000. The payment demand was connected to a story the news organization published that reported on the contents of a deposition filed in Feagins’ lawsuit against MSCS over her firing. The news site did not remove or retract the story, and also refused to pay Feagins $50,000. The attorney who made the demand, William Wooten, has since withdrawn from representing Feagins in her lawsuit against MSCS.

We filed records requests and analyzed contracts.

There was the City of Memphis’ overnight executive retreat at Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid that cost taxpayers more than $18,000. And the city continuing to pay a consulting firm $70,000 a month, plus travel expenses, to manage the stalled Liberty Park redevelopment. And xAI being late to pay its Memphis Light, Gas and Water bills. And an inside look at negotiations, based on financing documents and exclusive interviews, to keep the Grizzlies in Memphis.

We wrote story series, about xAI’s Colossus and about the 100th anniversary of Tom Lee’s heroic river rescue.

We wrote about the Memphis Safe Task Force. A lot. Exactly 101 stories as of Dec. 29, which more than qualifies as a series in its own right.

We covered trials gavel-to-gavel, including two high-profile acquittals in the case of Young Dolph’s death and that of Tyré Nichols.

After 17 years in elected office, Edmund Ford Jr. is at a crossroads

We tackled some uniquely Memphis questions with the launch of our “Ask the Memphian” series in March, which aims to uncover the stories behind some of the city’s myths, legends and downright weirdness.

And we wrote about consequential issues central to our city’s well-being. A decline in the number of kids who are gunshot victims. A decline in overall crime that has accelerated in MSTF’s wake. The shortage of affordable housing. The outside audit and internal struggles of Memphis’ public transportation system.

As a new year commences, we’ll still be here, working hard to bring the news to our readers. We’ll keep looking for original stories and try to uncover hidden information. We’ll ask hard questions, challenge narratives and tell stories our community needs to hear.

Thank you for reading.