2025 in photos: MPR News’ top shots from its staff and freelance photojournalists
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Each year, MPR News’ freelance and staff photographers help shape how Minnesota is seen, understood and remembered. Their work brings us into moments of celebration and protest, grief and resilience, labor and landscape often in places where complexity resists easy answers.
This year’s selection reflects that range and the shared discipline behind it. From breaking news and public accountability, to quiet environmental reporting and deeply personal human stories, these photographs are rooted in presence in showing up, listening and staying long enough to notice a gesture, a contradiction or a moment of trust.
Whether documenting wildfire smoke drifting across northern lakes, a family marking a decade of loss, a dancer mid-performance or a runner reclaiming freedom mile by mile, each image reflects a careful and responsible way of seeing.
At its core, this work is about closeness earned, not assumed. Some of the most meaningful photographs this year were made in moments where trust opened doors into homes, into private grief and into lives reshaped by time and circumstance.
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Those moments remind us that visual journalism isn’t only about access or proximity, but about how we carry ourselves once we’re allowed to be there.
Together, these photographs offer more than a record of events. They reflect a collective effort to slow down, to look with care and to show the world as it is lived not just as it passes by.
Tim Evans
Freelance photographer for MPR News
2025 Stripper Awards Gala — Minneapolis
When I got the call to photograph the 2025 Stripper Awards Gala, I knew it would be an interesting night and also a challenging one to photograph in a way that felt appropriate for our audience. During the evening, I was trying to figure out how to make an image of the pole routines that wasn’t overtly explicit, while still being true to the space and the performance.
At one point, one of the dancers flipped upside down, her legs shooting up into the air as the crowd looked on in the background. It felt like a perfect middle ground an image that captured the scene respectfully while also highlighting the dancer’s incredible athleticism and grace.
Battletrain preparations — Minneapolis
I love the May Day Parade. As a Minneapolis resident, I see it as a cultural rite of passage and a must-attend event. That’s why I was excited to photograph the behind-the-scenes work that goes into building the Battletrain section of the parade a world that feels like Mad Max colliding with south Minneapolis punks.
This image of Daniel Novak stood out to me because it embodies the ragtag, industrious, high-octane nature of the Battletrain crew. The fact that the word “South” is cut into the rusted metal and appears cleanly through the sparks felt like the perfect final detail.
Jamar Clark memorial — Minneapolis
Jamar Clark’s family has endured a decade of pain, heartache and a lack of accountability following his death at the hands of Minneapolis Police. I made this photograph after spending hours listening to family members, friends, community members and legal advocates recount and relive that trauma.
Because of that, it was especially powerful for me to document a moment of joy as the family unveiled a marble bench in Clark’s honor a brief moment of togetherness after years of grief.
Kerem Yücel
Senior photojournalist
Leonard Peltier — North Dakota
Traveling to North Dakota for Leonard Peltier’s first interview after his release from prison was deeply meaningful for me. Photographing someone who had spent decades behind bars and then meeting him in the place he now calls home felt both powerful and humbling.
I was excited, but also thinking carefully about how to photograph his return to freedom. What does “home” look like after years of confinement? How do you visually approach that moment without spectacle, without intrusion?
Inside his home, I had the opportunity to spend time talking with Peltier as I moved through the space. As a photographer, I’ve learned that trust is often built over years through previous work, shared understanding, and simply showing up with respect. That trust sometimes allows you access to the most private spaces, even someone’s bedroom.
Because of that trust, I was able to make intimate portraits of Peltier and photograph small details of his daily life. I chose to work with a single camera and a fixed lens, intentionally limiting my tools.
My goal was to remove as many barriers as possible between us, to stay physically and emotionally close, and to photograph his presence in a way that felt honest, quiet and human.
Erica Dischino
Freelance photographer for MPR News
Wildfire recovery — Northern Minnesota
Reporter Dan Kraker and I were working on a story about northern Minnesota forests recovering from wildfires. What struck me immediately was the contrast fresh green growth pushing through deep black burn scars on the ground and trees.
As we continued moving, several swallowtail butterflies gathered along the edge of Petrell Creek near Brimson. They rested on the new growth. I moved very slowly, trying to photograph them without disturbing the moment. Eventually, they lifted off and flew to the next patch. It felt deeply symbolic a quiet reflection of nature’s life cycle. To me, the butterflies became a visual representation of resilience.
Extreme cold — Lake Superior
It was 20 below zero when I made this photograph. Every inch of my body was covered to protect against the cold. I would scout scenes from the warmth of my car, then hop out only when I was ready to shoot.
Photographing in those conditions isn’t easy, but it reveals some of Lake Superior’s most striking sights. The cold transforms everything light, texture, stillness in a way you can only experience by being there.
Split Rock Lighthouse memorial — Silver Bay
People are connected to the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald in so many different ways. Photographing the memorial at Split Rock Lighthouse felt surreal.
Standing there as the beacon was lit marking both the 50th anniversary of the ship’s sinking and decades of remembrance I felt the weight of history, memory and loss converge in a single moment.
Derek Montgomery
Freelance photographer for MPR News
Wildfire — Northeastern Minnesota
Both of these assignments easily rank among my most memorable of 2025. They each required a mix of research, preparation, persistence and a bit of luck. Photographing wildfires is always challenging, especially in breaking news situations where it can be difficult to move beyond straightforward documentation. As a photojournalist, I’ve always pushed myself to find creative ways to tell those stories.
The day the fire broke out, it was a beautiful mid-May afternoon by northern Minnesota standards blue skies and temperatures in the 80s. Over the course of the afternoon, the fire rapidly intensified, and shifting winds pushed the leading edge of one smoke plume directly over Salo Lake.
The contrast between the clear blue sky and the expanding plume felt like a visual metaphor for what was unfolding on the ground as residents and officials raced to protect lives and property.
Great gray owl irruption — Northern Minnesota
The great gray owl irruption of 2025 was incredible. There’s something uniquely powerful about being in the presence of a great gray owl. That story quickly became a vivid tension between the excitement of birders drawn to a rare spectacle and the growing concern that the crowds gathering to see the owls might harm the very animals they admired.
Although I made the photographs in the moment, what stayed with me was the experience of seeing these owls up close watching them look directly back at you. It reminded me of a scene from “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” where Sean Penn’s character talks about simply being present in a moment and says, “Beautiful things don’t ask for attention.” That idea felt especially fitting for this story.
Jackson Forderer
Freelance photographer for MPR News
JBS plant strike — Worthington
While on assignment in Worthington covering a strike at the JBS meat processing plant, Diana Rodriguez came forward and shared her story through an interpreter. She talked about the injuries she sustained while working at the plant and how her supervisors had yet to address them.
As she spoke to the reporter, she was already resting her injured hand against her chest, pinning her protest sign in place. I focused on her bandaged hand while she told her story, a small but telling detail that reflected the physical toll of the work she described.
Manhunt — Green Isle
I was at home watching the news unfold on the day of the political assassinations when I saw that a property in rural Green Isle was being investigated by authorities. I live not far from Green Isle, so I reached out to my editors and offered to cover what would become the largest manhunt in Minnesota’s history.
When I arrived, law enforcement had established a one-mile perimeter around the property. I couldn’t even see it from where I was parked in my car. I remember thinking, “I drove all this way and now I don’t have anything to photograph.”
Just as I was about to leave and head into town, two sheriff’s deputies at the perimeter told me I could proceed. I did a double take realizing I was being allowed through. As the deputies drove off, I became the first media member on site. I drove up the driveway, found a vantage point from my car, made a few photographs and sent them directly to my editors.
From a distance, one of the vehicles looked like a standard SUV. It later turned out to be the second vehicle authorities discovered that resembled a law enforcement vehicle.
Political division — St. James
While on assignment in St. James, a city with a large immigrant population, I was looking for visual symbols of the divisions shaping current American politics. Several people suggested I visit a small park called Plaza de St. James.
I first noticed the painted water tower nearby, and then saw the Trump-Pence campaign sign hanging from a grain elevator behind it. I moved carefully to line those two elements up side by side and chose to keep the grain elevator in focus. Without that focus, the Trump-Pence sign might have disappeared and the contrast between the imagery would have been lost.
Carly Danek
Freelance photographer for MPR News
Twin Cities Marathon — Minneapolis and St. Paul
Marathon day is one of my favorite days of the year. The race is both a physical and mental challenge, filled with color, motion and emotion. When I heard that Andre Anderson was running the Twin Cities Marathon just two months after being released from prison, I knew I wanted to follow his story.
Andre went from being sequestered behind bars for a decade to running freely through the streets of Minneapolis and St. Paul, cheered on by hundreds of spectators. That contrast confinement to freedom stayed with me throughout the day.
The moment Andre and his running mentor, Steve English, ran through the Mile in My Shoes cheer station was pure chaos. Cowbells rang, water guns sprayed, and high-fives came from every direction. It was loud, joyful, overwhelming and an incredible moment to photograph.
Tom Baker
Freelance photographer for MPR News
George Floyd vigil — Minneapolis
When I made this image, the vigil for George Floyd had just ended and most people had cleared out. I stayed a few extra minutes to see if there was anything else to observe. That’s when this young woman walked up.
I immediately noticed the candlelight on her face and made a few frames. Because it was so dark, only one image ended up sharp before she noticed me. That photograph speaks to me as a quiet moment of reflection the kind many of us carry after tragedy, whether it’s recent or long past.
Search for Vance Boelter — Twin Cities and Sibley County
This was an intense and volatile situation, unlike anything I had covered before. Over two days, I documented the search for Vance Boelter, starting in Brooklyn Park, where Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were murdered. I quickly learned how much was happening at once and how critical it was to make fast decisions about where to go and what to document.
After locating the Hortmans’ home, I photographed the scene and later saw the vehicle used in the attacks towed out past members of the media. Seeing it up close was surreal, it could easily have been mistaken for a real police vehicle. I sent those images to editors immediately, knowing how important it was to get information out to the public.
The following day, I documented law enforcement sweeps in Sibley County as the search continued. It’s an unfortunate chapter in Minnesota history, but an important one and I’m proud to have helped tell the story.
Paul Middlestaedt
Freelance photographer for MPR News
Litter enforcement — Mille Lacs Lake
Summary written by senior photojournalist Kerem Yücel: Paul Middlestaedt’s photography this year focused on how people, policy and science intersect with Minnesota’s environment. In his reporting on litter enforcement, his images draw attention to everyday spaces where small actions accumulate into larger public impact.
Common carp — Sherburne County
That same quiet, observational approach carries into his work documenting efforts to reduce common carp. Grounded in place and process, the photographs emphasize patience and long-term problem solving rather than quick solutions. Together, these assignments reflect a steady visual focus on systems and the human role within them.
