As events around the world and around our state gave shape to 2025, Connecticut Public photojournalists were often present to inform our community through photographs. These photographs, presented in chronological order, are both a reflection on 2025 and an implied promise of commitment to continuing our documentation through the coming years.
Ryan Caron King
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Connecticut Public
April 21 — “It’s really strange to go from the celebration of Easter to the passing of a pope,” said Dolores Mihaliak of Avon, Connecticut, after lighting a candle for Pope Francis at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford. Read more here.
Ayannah Brown
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Connecticut Public
April 23 — Pro-Palestinian activists protested the presence of Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Israeli Minister of National Security, from conducting at speech at the John C. Anderson House at Yale by blocking a vehicle. Read more here.
Tyler Russell
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Connecticut Public
May 14 — Oluwaseyi Oluborode is part of a youth-led campaign that advocates for S.B. 12243, a bill that would provide fare-free bus public transportation services for high school students and veterans. Her high school had a pilot program for it, but it may be going away due to potential budget cuts to the Hartford Public School system. Read more here.
Ryan Caron King
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Connecticut Public
April 29 — Takina Pollock Shafer, founder of Skateport Bridgeport, stands for a portrait at Foolproof Brewing as skaters start to hit the floors for a pop-up skating party. Read more here.
Tyler Russell
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Connecticut Public
May 19 — Charles Arrigoni shakes hands with Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz as she passes out medals to Connecticut’s living World War II veterans at the State Armory in Hartford. Read more here.
Ayannah Brown
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Connecticut Public
June 11 — Monse, the daughter of a New Haven mother who was detained by ICE on her way to drop her kids off at school (and who only wanted to be identified by her first name), cries after speaking out on what it’s been like to experience her mother get taken away. ICE agents allegedly left the children in the running car as they took in their mother, according to the New Haven Independent. At right is Kica Matos, president of the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) and the Immigrant Justice Fund. Read more here.
Mark Mirko
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Connecticut Public
June 14 — Demonstrators outside The Connecticut State Capitol chant during a No Kings protest. An estimated 7,000 people gathered at the state Capitol in Hartford, joining others across the U.S. for “No Kings” demonstrations, as news moved through the crowd of the shooting of two Minnesota lawmakers. Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman was killed alongside her husband, Mark. And Minnesota senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were shot and seriously injured in their home. Read more here.
Mark Mirko
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Connecticut Public
June 27 — “It makes you feel alive,” said 79 year-old Robert McGraph of Chicopee, Massachusetts, after Salsa dancing with Dawn Orsini during one of this summer’s Pratt Street Salsa Socials. McGrath said he dances, “everywhere,” after naming Albany, Cambridge and Massachusetts places he’s traveled to for dancing. Orsini, who said she is still learning, “No one really judges you here. It’s how you feel.” Read more here.
Ayannah Brown
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Connecticut Public
July 16 — “This place saved my life,” said Florence Times as she drinks and cools off at CT Harm Reduction Alliance cooling center in Hartford, Connecticut. Read more here.
Joe Amon
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Connecticut Public
Aug. 20 — Twelve-year-old Isaiah Snell taps out a calm rhythm during the “Get it Out” drum session at Experience Camps, a free grief-camp for kids whose parent died, that expanded to Connecticut this year at KenMont and KenWood Camp. Read more here.
Tyler Russell
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Connecticut Public
Sept. 8 — A passing cyclist gestures toward Katherine Hinds and the Connecticut Visibility Brigade protest along North Frontage Road in New Haven. Hinds had been arrested for leading anti-Trump demonstrations on highway overpasses around New Haven, Connecticut, over the previous several months. Read more here.
Mark Mirko
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Connecticut Public
Sept. 9 — A piece of hydrilla floats in the Connecticut River after it was dyed by scientists from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The scientists studied flow patterns to obtain information about how best to add herbicides to the water and kill the highly invasive plant. Hydrilla was identified in the Connecticut River in 2016. “The plant is spreading and the risk of it spreading further to other regional waterbodies is significant,” according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Read more here.
Ayannah Brown
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Connecticut Public
Sept. 16 — As part of the Mexicanos en Connecticut Committee hosting its 10th annual event commemorating Mexican Independence Day, performances from the Spanish Community of Wallingford’s (SCOW) School of Music student mariachi ensemble and folk dancers took place throughout the state Capitol building in Hartford, Connecticut. Read more here.
Joe Amon
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Connecticut Public
Oct. 10 — Kathy Barco with her Chihuahua-Shih Tzu-Beagle mix Phoebe and her son Michael Barco in their hotel room. People wanting to keep pets with them can be a barrier for the homeless seeking shelter, and what resources are available for them. Read more here.
Jonathan McNicol
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Connecticut Public
Oct. 10 — Linesman Kyle Cedrone pushes Danbury Hat Tricks forward Jesse Swanson into the penalty box after the second fight during the first period of the Hat Tricks’ home opener on Oct. 10, 2025. Swanson was part of both first-period fights and received four penalties, including a 10-minute misconduct penalty. The first fight occurred just two seconds into the game. Read more here.
Joe Amon
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Connecticut Public
Oct. 11 — Garrett Zagurski, 14, of Terryville takes aim as a pheasant pops into the air from a spring-loaded launcher while also being mindful of the location of Penny the hunting dog. The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s wildlife division held a junior hunting training day for 12-15 year olds to learn how to hunt pheasants with members of the Harwinton Rod and Gun Club in Colebrook, Connecticut. Read story here.
Joe Amon
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Connecticut Public
Oct. 14 — With murmurs of “I love you” Erica Nieves comforts her 15-year-old daughter Tianna Clay at a memorial in front of the abandoned home where the remains of 12-year-old Jacqueline “Mimi” Torres Garcia were found. Nieves, of Waterbury, said she knew the parents when they were younger and lived across the street from the abandoned home. “I can’t sleep,” Nieves said. “You’re their mother, you protect them from anything,” in New Britain, Connecticut. Read more here.
Janae Spinato
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Connecticut Public
Oct. 25 —A shadow cast production of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” at Edmund Town Hall in Newtown, Connecticut, is performed by members of The Come Again Players, a group based in Western Massachusetts. Actors Erin and Sylvia (who asked to be identified by first name only) portray the characters Frank-N-Furter (right) and Janet (left) as the original movie plays behind them. Read more here.
Tyler Russell
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Connecticut Public
Dec. 15 — A Santa hat floats down Thomaston Avenue in Waterbury, Connecticut, carried along by the currents created by the water being pumped away from a major water main break. Read more here.