Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s best photos of 2024: The stories we’ll remember
The Star-Telegram visuals team spent 2024 documenting life in Fort Worth and North Texas, from big breaking news and investigative journalism to the more light-hearted moments that we’ll always remember.
The year began with the unexpected tragedy of the Sandman Hotel explosion that brought downtown Fort Worth to a near standstill. As the year progressed, we experienced the awe of a total solar eclipse, played host to professional baseball’s finest and saw WNBA icon Caitlin Clark make her Indiana Fever debut.
The Star-Telegram’s journalists reported on serious issues in North Texas — gun violence at schools, “forever chemicals” polluting farmland and rising summer temperatures, to name a few. Our photographers strove to put faces on those issues and share the stories of people across our communities.
Here are some of the memorable moments of 2024 captured by our visuals team.
Jan. 8: Debris can be seen outside the Sandman Signature Hotel on Houston Street in downtown Fort Worth where a powerful explosion caused by a gas leak injured at least 21 people.
Jan. 9: Ace Diamond plays with her dog Glenwood after Fort Worth’s street medicine team supplied her with dog food while they live at an old drive-in movie theater. Ace, 35, was in recovery from substance use disorder and has been diagnosed with depression and epilepsy. Last year, her beloved puppy, Tiberius, died from an infection, and she wants to make sure Glenwood doesn’t experience the same fate.
Jan. 12: Ramon Rodriguez Jr., a second-grader at Cesar Chavez Elementary, turns to give his mother Nadia a hug after being named an American Heart Association Youth Heart ambassador. Ramon, who was born with his heart upside down, will share his story of living with heart disease.
Jan. 14: Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is sacked by Green Bay Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon during an NFC wild-card playoff game at AT&T Stadium. The loss ended the Cowboys’ hopes for a post-season drive.
Jan. 15: A thin layer of “lake effect” snow coats the Fort Worth Water Gardens and Commerce Street in downtown.
Jan. 18: Marcelo Aguilar watches his daughter ride on the Big Kahuna in the carnival midway at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo.
Jan. 23: Nora Cerda, 7, works with speech therapist Leanna Vollintine on a tablet at the child’s home in Weatherford. Vollintine and other speech language pathologists campaigned to get Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas to reverse rate cuts that that would have prevented many therapists from accepting patients.
Feb. 2: Elli Bezner, a 17-year-old from Dallam County, becomes emotional with her family after her steer Leadfoot was named Grand Champion at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.
Feb. 2: William Gibbs, left, and Von Williams unload food from the back of a truck to be sorted at Eastside Ministries in Fort Worth. The nonprofit was forced to convert to a drive-through method for food distribution after two fires in November 2023.
Feb. 3: TCU’s Emanuel Miller, left, and Avery Anderson exit the game following a loss to the Texas Longhorns at Schollmaier Arena. It was their final match-up before the Longhorns left the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference.
Feb. 22: Light and shadow play on the buildings in Hillsboro, just off I-35 about an hour south of Fort Worth. The small city was in the spotlight after Astronomy Magazine named it the seventh-best place in the country to view April’s total solar eclipse.
Feb. 27: Emma-Eliz Barbarena, a junior at Arlington Heights High School, and other students advocate for comprehensive sex education in the Fort Worth Independent School District.
Feb. 27: Greenway was one of the first neighborhoods in Fort Worth where Black residents could buy homes. Now this area near downtown is getting new attention from home builders.
March 12: People walk the Trinity Trails at Panther Island Pavilion.
March 20: Gorilla keeper Angie Holmes holds baby Jameela, the first gorilla born by Cesarean section at the Fort Worth Zoo. She was sent to Cleveland Metropark Zoo in the hopes of finding her a surrogate mother.
March 21: Opal Lee, center, cuts a board for the construction of her new home with the help of Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker, and Trinity Habitat of Humanity CEO Gage Yager. Texas Capital, Habitat and HistoryMaker Homes helped the ‘Grandmother of Juneteenth’ rebuild on the same lot where her family lived before a white mob drove them out.
March 28: (Top) Texas Ranger fans cheer as the team takes the field on opening day against the Chicago Cubs at Globe Life Field in Arlington. (Bottom) Texas Rangers catcher Jonah Heim (28) celebrates with teammates after hitting a walk off single at the bottom of the 10 inning to defeat the Cubs, 4-3.
March 29: Crystal Mason becomes emotional while speaking to the media about her acquittal in a high-profile voting rights case at the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center in Fort Worth. An appeals court reversed Mason’s conviction where she had faced five years in prison for submitting a provisional ballot in 2016 that was never counted as a vote.
April 5: Juan Cordova sits with his daughter, Camila, 6, while waiting for his replacement behind the bar to arrive to end his shift at Mac’s on Main in Grapevine. Dozens of businesses and organizations are calling for reforms in Texas to make child care more affordable and accessible.
April 8: (Top) The total eclipse of the sun over downtown Fort Worth’s Burnett Park, with the Man with a Briefcase statue in the foreground. (Bottom) Nathan, 8, and his brother Dean Dinino, 7, from Washington lay down with Ada June, 8, to watch the solar eclipse outside Hillsboro’s courthouse.
April 10: Shoppers rush through the doors of Fort Worth’s first H-E-B on the morning of its opening in Alliance.
April 13: Josh Bruda performs a trick on a ramp in the skate jam area of Open Streets on Magnolia Avenue in Fort Worth. After a five-year hiatus, thousands turned out for Open Streets, a national movement for innovative ways to improve communities by temporarily closing streets to cars.
April 24: Amiah Barrera, 15, is comforted by her grandfather David Barrera after reuniting with family at Arlington ISD Athletics Center. Bowie High School was put on lockdown after a fatal shooting on campus.
April 30: Student organizers with the Palestine Solidarity Committee rally hundreds of University of North Texas students and faculty during a walkout for Gaza. Similar protests, rallies and demonstrations during spring led to clashes across the country.
May 3: A fan holds a sign saying ‘I’ve got Caitlin Fever’ as Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) shoots a free throw in the fourth quarter of a WNBA preseason game with the Dallas Wings at College Park Center in Arlington. The game was Clark’s first appearance in the WNBA.
May 7: The family of Anthony Johnson Jr. — sisters Janell and Chanell Johnson and their mother Jacqualyne — speak with reporters about his death in the Tarrant County Jail. The family demanded answers from Tarrant County commissioners.
May 26: Debris surrounds a home in Valley View after tornadoes and severe storms moved through Denton and Cooke counties, killing several people and destroying a travel center on I-35.
May 28: Biologists carry the carcass of a whitetail deer during a depopulation at RW Trophy Ranch in Terrell. The deer were killed by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to manage the spread of chronic wasting disease.
May 29: Cheryl Shadden stands at the edge of her property in Granbury that faces a bitcoin mining facility. “No one in their right mind would live in this area. It’s miserable,” Shadden said about the plant’s near constant noise.
June 8: Brent Gobert wears his homemade headdress at the Arlington Pride event at Levitt Pavilion in Arlington.
June 12: Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) drives to the basket against Boston Celtics guards Jayson Tatum (0) and Jrue Holliday (4) in the fourth quarter of game 3 of the 2024 NBA Finals at American Airlines Center.
June 22: People gather in protest of child and sexual abuse outside of Gateway Church in Southlake.
June 27: Emmanuel Salazar, 7, runs through the water on a splash pad at Capp Smith Park in Watauga. Temperatures rose to over 100 degrees in June.
June 28: Nupohn Inthanousay, a co-owner of Goldee’s BBQ, takes Lao sausage out of the smoker and onto cooling racks. He has blended some of his family’s traditional dishes with Texas barbecue. “This is the food I grew up with and it’s a part of me,” he said. “A big part of me is being Lao, but also being Texan.”
June 28: Family, friends and former players attend a memorial service for legendary high school basketball coach Robert Hughes at Wilkerson-Greines Activities Center in Fort Worth. The service was held on the namesake Robert Hughes Court.
July 6: Members of the Lake Como Cemetery Association unveil a historical plaque during the dedication ceremony. The marker commemorated and honored the 300 to 500 people who were buried in the cemetery.
July 10: Children of the Artes de La Rosa Cultural Center for the Arts gather for a ribbon cutting during an event to unveil a mural celebrating MLB All-Star Week and Latino softball and baseball players.
July 15: (Top) Fernando Figueroa screams after catching a ball during the Home Run Derby of All-Star Week at Globe Life Field in Arlington. (Bottom) Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez celebrates after winning the derby.
July 23: Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at the Sheriffs’ Association of Texas 2024 Annual Training Conference held at the Fort Worth Convention Center.
Aug. 5: Eagle Mountain High School hosts its inaugural football practice with a new team and school.
Aug. 5: James Farmer describes the sight of finding a multitude of dead fish in his stock pond following a heavy rain in 2022. The kill started an investigation that involved the testing of water, soil and animals from North Texas farms and the discovery of “forever chemicals” polluting the land.
Aug. 6: Blue strip lights illuminate the parking garage and retail office building of the Tower Complex in downtown Fort Worth.
Aug. 9: Serbian athlete Lazar Đukić is honored with a tribute before the start of events at the CrossFit Games in Fort Worth. Đukić drowned in Marine Creek Lake during an event on the first day of the international games.
Aug. 13: Students and parents rush to class of the first day of school at M.H. Moore Elementary School in Fort Worth.
Aug. 14: Family members of Fort Worth police Sgt. Billy Randolph pray in his memory during a vigil at a police headquarters. Randolph was struck by a vehicle while working a crash scene on an Interstate 35W exit ramp.
Aug. 15: Drover Michael Ciccolella guides cattle out of pens at the Fort Worth Stockyards, passing by new apartments being built nearby. The historic district is set to see hundreds of millions of dollars in new development.
Sept. 10: English teacher Jeannette Jones-Wilson teaches a sixth grade class at Wedgwood Middle School. Wedgwood Middle is among campuses in Fort Worth ISD that added a cohort of sixth-graders after officials closed all of the district’s stand-alone sixth-grade campuses.
Sept. 11: Green Day lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong performs with his band members on stage for “The Saviors Tour” at Globe Life Field in Arlington.
Sept. 12: A crowd celebrates after Tarrant County commissioners voted 4-1 to keep all 50 early voting locations for the fall elections, and adding an additional one.
Sept. 14: Erica Silva, the mother of the late Zechariah Trevino, holds her grandson Zechariah Emilio after they slid down a water slide at his 1st birthday party. Silva’s son was killed by gun violence outside a Whataburger in 2023.
Sept. 14: TCU wide receiver Savion Williams (3) catches a touchdown pass in the second quarter of a BIG XII conference game between TCU and UCF at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth.
Sept. 21: The SMU football team celebrates after defeating TCU 66-42 in the Iron Skillet rivalry game at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas.
Sept. 22: Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb reacts during the second quarter as they trail the Baltimore Ravens at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Oct. 11: Union Pacific Railroad’s Big Boy No. 4014 stops at Fort Worth’s T&P Station during its Heartland of America Tour.
Oct. 12: (Top) Texas tight end Gunnar Helm (85) leaps over Oklahoma defensive back Kani Walker (26) in the first half of the Red River Rivalry game at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. (Bottom) Texas wide receiver Isiah Bond (7) puts on the Golden Hat with fans after Texas defeated Oklahoma, 34-3.
Oct. 13: Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is sacked by Detroit Lions defensive lineman Alim McNeill at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Oct. 19: Stephen Salter molds pottery with clay for the crowd around him during the Arts Goggle event on Magnolia Avenue in Fort Worth.
Nov. 2: Baylor kicker Isaiah Hankins (98) celebrates with his teammates after kicking the game-winning field goal to defeat TCU 37-34 in an NCAA match at McLane Stadium in Waco.
Nov. 5: Voters wait in line on Election Day at Dionne Phillips Bagsby Southwest Subcourthouse.
Nov. 10: Dallas Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush attempts to recover the ball after fumbling against the Philadelphia Eagles. The ball was recovered by Eagles defensive tackle Milton Williams, left.
Nov. 11: Guests sign their name to the final beam during a topping out ceremony for the Texas A&M-Fort Worth Law and Education Building under construction in downtown.
Nov. 22: Alice Salas was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2008 and underwent a full hysterectomy and chemotherapy, which left her scalp exposed and eyebrows bare. She is one of thousands of people who have sued Johnson & Johnson with claims that its baby powder gave them cancer, but companies use an obscure Texas law to avoid going to court.
Nov. 28: Dallas Cowboys defensive end Micah Parsons celebrates his team’s Thanksgiving Day win against the New York Giants with a turkey leg AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Parsons won the Madden Thanksgiving MVP Trophy.
Dec. 9: Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Armani Latimer performs without wearing her wig during the Dallas Cowboys’ game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Latimer wanted to raise awareness of alopecia.
Dec. 10: Mercy Culture lead pastor Heather Schott celebrates with supporters after a Fort Worth City Council vote cleared the way for the church to build a human trafficking victim shelter. Neighbors had fought the project for years.
Dec. 19: Second-grade students react to seeing their Christmas presents laid out on their desks at Alice Contreras Elementary School in Fort Worth.
Dec. 21: North Crowley quarterback Chris Jimerson (12) celebrates with his medal after winning the UIL 6A Division I state championship game against Austin Westlake at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
