An MBTA subway car peeks through its windshield in Boston.
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Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority/AP
To put it mildly, 2024 has not shied away from grim news. One might be forgiven for looking at the headlines from last year and wondering if they should throw their phone into the nearest body of water.
But let’s not allow this gloom to overshadow the joy that 2024 also brings – for example, when millions will marvel at a total solar eclipse! The drumbeat of good news has continued across the country, whether we’re paying attention or not. If not, NPR member stations are watching.
Here are some stories from coast to coast that made us smile in 2024:
An Iowa boy wanted to ride a motorcycle for his 11th birthday. More than 250 bikers came to his party to fulfill his wish.
Dallas Greif became obsessed with motorcycles after meeting a group of bikers while running a lemonade stand. Iowa Public Radio reported in October. So when he asked to ride one of the motorcycles for his birthday, his mother, Ashley Kirks, thought she would put out an open invitation on Facebook to any biker who might want to stop by and give him a ride. She couldn’t imagine what happened in the end: dozens of them showed up with gifts.
A Missouri school district has named its school building after its beloved custodian.
Claudine Wilson began her work with the Swedenborg School District in 1992 as a trustee, According to KCUR. But as the years went by, she started wearing more and more hats, like bus driver, lawnmower, or answering the phone at the office. Generations of students have known and loved her as a trusted cornerstone of their school. So, at the beginning of this school year, the district decided to name its K-8 elementary school after her, celebrating more than 30 years of her dedication.
A mother grizzly bear and her cub in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.
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Grizzly bears are being reintroduced to the North Cascades.
It’s been nearly three decades since anyone has seen a grizzly anywhere near North Cascades National Park, located northeast of Seattle. KUOW reportsAlthough the bears were controlling the area. Now, many graylings from Montana, Wyoming and British Columbia will be flown to the North Cascades each summer to slowly rebuild their numbers.
A group of Boston residents has asked the local train authority to put bug eyes on some of their trains. You succeeded!
It’s a classic, if unconventional, example of successful grassroots organizing: Some Bostonians rallied to demand that the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority put bug eyes on trains. And as WBUR reported back in JuneMBTA binding. Only five of the trains are eye-catching, but a little whimsy goes a long way.
The total solar eclipse stunned residents of northern New Hampshire.
Northern New Hampshire was one of the areas that witnessed the path of the total solar eclipse in the United States last April, and thus tourists flocked there. New Hampshire Public Radio staff spoke with everyone, From trailblazers to small business owners, state park workers and local college students. Verdict? As one visitor from Maryland said: “It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen in my life.”
Once again, the Kensington Derby in Philly brought together the strangest human-powered vehicles in town.
Picture this: 15,000 Philadelphians cheering on bikers, tricycle riders, skateboarders dressed as Shrek, Philly Phanatic, parking cones, and a giant Nautilus. This was the sight to behold at the 16th edition of the Kensington Derby, as participants faced a 3-mile course, culminating in a mud pit at the finish line. As I mentioned why, It’s all for a good cause: proceeds go to support local community development organizations.
The sun catches the sunglasses of a man watching the Great North American Eclipse on April 8 in Colebrook, New Hampshire
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For the first time since the 1600s, the Nansemond Indian Nation held its annual ceremony on land it officially owned.
Last May, the Suffolk, Virginia, city council voted to return 71 acres of land to Nansemond, the result of a years-long debate between the city and the tribe, which was displaced from the land in the 1600s. The human rights organization of the prisoners reported FWhere the tribe members celebrated with dancing, food and much more.
A duck named Polly won everyone over at an animal sanctuary in Texas.
Caretakers at All Things Wild Rehabilitation believe Polly, a 1-year-old Pekin duck who lost part of her bill, was thrown into a pond by her previous owner and attacked by a snapping turtle. but, As reported by KUTThey know one thing for sure: Polly loves everyone at the animal sanctuary, and everyone loves Polly. Proof of this: They made her a 3D-printed prosthetic terminal bill using money raised by the community.
When the owners of a Seattle music venue went out of business, employees stepped in to keep it running as a co-op.
Connor Byrne’s pub, a beloved music venue frequented by up-and-coming artists, was in danger of closing its doors for good earlier this year. KNKX reported. Instead, it has become a cooperative, funded and managed by community members thanks to an effort led by its former employees.
Researchers announced a new type of dinosaur discovered in Montana.
When a University of Utah paleontologist and his students began examining small fragments of bones for research in 2022, all they knew was that they were looking at bones discovered in northern Montana a few years earlier. According to Yellowstone Public Radio. They had no idea they were getting pieces of a previously undiscovered dinosaur, the reconstruction of which was unveiled last June. Her name: Locyceratops rangeiformisnamed after the Norse god Loki.
Signs point to the return of an endangered snake in Indiana.
The Kirtland’s snake, a small, red-bellied reptile, is considered endangered in Indiana. However, recent sightings indicate that the species is beginning to recover, According to Indiana Public Media. While examining a recently restored wetland near Bloomington, Indiana, local officials found some snakes in a nearby abandoned soybean field — an unusual location that makes herpetologists optimistic about the snakes’ return to the state.
Looking for more feel-good stories? Check out Iowa Public Radio’s daily newsletter dedicated to good news, Sunnyside Project.
This piece includes reports from Member station newsrooms All over the United States
