Taking a look back at 2025
Jan. 1. By Jon Show. It’s not intentional or by design, but each year around New Year’s Day I find myself reflecting on the past 12 months.
I scroll through my phone and post some of my favorite photos on social media — not because I care who sees them, but because I enjoy revisiting them. As time passes, it’s easy to forget the small moments, and it’s nice to be reminded of them.
In that same spirit, today we’re looking back at 2025, revisiting some of your favorite stories, sharing our favorite covers and reflecting on the many new things that happened this year at Cornelius Today.
Top ten most-read stories
Mansion owned by Michael Jordan torn down
Town affirms unregistered golf carts cannot be used on roads, sidewalks and greenways
Former Hough student dies in plane crash
Police will reinforce training after dog incident in car
New eatery coming to Shops on the Green
Penny Lane opens in Jetton Village
Little Mama’s coming to Cornelius
Esquire recognizes Cornelius restaurant
Port City reopens as Lake House Wine Bar & Grill
Top five most-read columns
Milling About: Celebrating the end of summer around Lake Norman
Modern Dad: Saying goodbye to my dad
Modern Dad: Living the teenage life
Milling About: It’s a beaut, Clark
Modern Dad: Finding a rainbow when you need one
Favorite covers
When you don’t have data analytics, you have to rely on the old eye test — especially when it comes to magazine covers created by our talented creative director, Jason Benavides. So I spread out a year’s worth of covers on the kitchen counter and asked visitors over the holidays which ones they liked best.
Their favorite was the February issue, which featured a boat sailing through a heart carved into a fence. In my opinion, a great cover captures what it’s like to live here, and it’s hard to imagine a better image to convey the joy of living in a lakeside town.
The runner up was our December cover, showing hundreds of residents gathered for our annual tree lighting. Maybe it’s the sunset. Maybe it’s the glow of the tree against an otherwise dark photo. For me, it’s the sense of calm captured during an otherwise chaotic season.
Ringing in the new
Everything we do is viewed through one lens: Does it make Cornelius Today a better guide for readers to live more informed lives in our town? With that in mind, we’d be remiss not to highlight some of the changes from the past year as we work to better serve our audience.
We welcomed new contributors, expanded coverage areas and launched new features designed to make Cornelius Today more useful. This month, we will debut what we hope becomes the most comprehensive listing of live music in the area, along with a new online feature spotlighting homes for sale at different price points. We’re also rolling out a new website design to improve the online experience. More on that next week.
We also want to thank our advertisers — both longtime supporters and new partners — for helping make this resource possible. Please take a moment to thank them when you visit their offices or establishments in the year ahead.
On behalf of all of us at Cornelius Today, we wish you and yours a healthy and happy New Year.
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