LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The year 2025 gave us stories that shook us, stories that shaped us, and some stories that simply made us smile.
Here's a look back at some of the good news from 2025.
Miss Kentucky battled homelessness, adversity on her journey to the crown
The dream of most young girls came true for this Kentucky woman when she stepped foot on the Miss America stage.
The road to the glitz and glamor began in an unexpected place for Ariana Rodriguez -- a boarded up home in Muldraugh.
"This is where we always used to put our water buckets, so that when it rained we would have water to use for our baths and for us to cook food," Rodriguez shared.
"It actually breaks my heart," said Rodriguez supporter and local pageant director, Kimberly Lile. "I knew she was going through something, but I didn't know it was that."
Despite her setbacks, Rodriguez shared that she "always kind of had a feeling that I would be successful."
With the help of others, Rodriguez surpassed what she thought was possible.
"I definitely did not think I'd make it to Top 11 in Miss America," she said.
Rodriguez's circumstance never defined her.
Husband creates Key West oasis in southern Indiana for wife caring for dying father
Clarksville couple Debra and James Mull's front yard has palm trees, scuba divers, and a shark made of tires.
It's meant to look like their favorite getaway: Key West, Florida.
"The warmth, the sunshine, the water, it was just beautiful," Debra Mull said.
Pictured: Key West themed decorations adorn the front yard of James and Debra Mull along Veterans Parkway in Clarksville, Ind. (WDRB image)
The Mulls planned to take a trip South, until realizing her dad was too medically fragile to be left alone.
"He was diagnosed with lung and brain cancer,” Debra Mull explained.
The front yard makeover proved to be the light-hearted distraction the couple needed.
Glasgow teacher 3D prints right hand for student born without one
A Glasgow boy's classmates were picking on him -- because he was born without his right hand. His mom taught him a valuable skill though: humor keeps the bullies away.
The laughs also brought Jackson Farmer closer to Scott Johnson, his STEAM teacher at Red Cross Elementary School.
"First year we met, he was a kindergartener, and he cracked a joke at me," Johnson explained.
"Hey do you need an extra hand?" added Farmer.
Pictured: Glasgow student Jackson Farmer poses next to a prosthetic hand that was 3-D printed by his STEAM teacher, Scott Johnson.
"All of the sudden, he pulled off his silicone hand, and he started to hand it to me," Johnson remembered.
Johnson, an expert with 3D printers, ended up making Farmer a functioning hand.
"Good teacher!" Jackson said with a smile.
Louisville man remembers the day he watched huge Slugger bat get hoisted into place, at 7 years old
Childhood memories are the best! Some king-sized memories of a once-in-a-lifetime event recently came flooding back for a Louisville man who was only seven when he witnessed history in the making: a 120-foot baseball bat being hoisted into place outside the Slugger Museum and Factory in downtown Louisville.
"I think it's neat because it looks like a wooden bat, but it's really a metal bat," Chas Krish told WDRB in 1995.
Krish hasn't cracked 40, but we'll say he's on deck.
Viewers still recognized Krish from a clip WDRB re-aired from the archives in October 2025, as the iconic museum celebrated 30 years of having the world's largest bat at its front entrance.
The museum is marking 30 years since the streets were shutdown for the bat's arrival!
"My phone was going off, Facebook comments everywhere," Krish said. "I've got a 7-year-old, just like I was at the time."
So the return of the notoriety, was sort of a full circle moment.
More Positive News:
Children get early visit from Santa Claus at Louisville's Norton West Hospital
OneWest brings free Winter Wonderland to Louisville's west end
Community generosity shines as Jude’s Jingle Tree raises over $300,000 for Home of the Innocents
Wildlife rescue | Injured owl saved by southern Indiana sheriff's deputy
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