2010s: Once-in-a-lifetime moments
From a devastating tornado to a championship win, here are a few of the stories from the 2010s.
5 On Your Side
In 2022, 5 On Your Side is celebrating its 75th anniversary and we’re looking back at some of the most memorable stories throughout our history.
From a devastating tornado to a championship win, here are a few of the stories from the 2010s.
Good Friday Tornado Tornado carves 22-mile path across St. Louis region
A tornado outbreak on April 22, 2011, produced five tornadoes that hit our region. The most devastating was a long-track EF4 that touched down just north of Creve Coeur Lake and moved east for 22 miles before ending in Madison County, Illinois. It became known as the “Good Friday Tornado” because of its occurrence on the Friday before Easter.
The tornado hit Bridgeton at its peak wind speed of 166-200 miles per hour and moved toward St. Louis Lambert International Airport. The airport sustained damage estimated around $20 million. It took more than a year to fully repair.
By the time the tornado made it to Dellwood, winds slowed to the EF2 range and crossed into the Metro East about 1 ½ miles south of the Chain of Rocks Bridge.
In total, more than 2,700 structures were damaged, including 251 homes that were heavily damaged or destroyed.
The Good Friday tornado was the strongest to hit St. Louis County in 44 years. But despite striking a heavily populated area, nobody died, and fewer than two dozen people were injured.
Mike Brown Death of Michael Brown sparks civil unrest throughout the country
On August 9, 2014, police officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager, in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson.
There were differing accounts of how the controversial shooting occurred, and Ferguson erupted into an international story.
Public opinion was sharply divided about the shooting, protests, and militarized police response. Revealed were long-simmering tensions between majority-Black Ferguson and the mostly white local police. There were peaceful protests calling for justice and police reform, but the nighttime protests were often destructive.
In November 2014, a grand jury declined to indict Officer Wilson, leading to another round of protests, rioting, and property destruction. The Justice Department concluded that Wilson acted in self-defense. Federal investigators also found that the Ferguson Police Department routinely violated the civil rights of its Black residents.
Ferguson’s progress since the shooting includes the city’s first Black mayor, first Black police chief, more Black city council members, police wearing body cameras, and new community resources including the new Urban League headquarters.
KSDK addressed the change in 2019 in an original docu-series called “The Ferguson Effects.”
Story written by Art Holliday
5 On Your Side 'NewsChannel 5' becomes '5 On Your Side'
KSDK’s mission has always been to serve the people of St. Louis through local storytelling and creating a dialogue with our audience to make a positive impact on our region. From the early 1990s until 2015, our moniker was “NewsChannel 5” and our tagline was “Where the news comes first.”
This moniker and tagline served their purpose. It helped cement our status as news leaders in the St. Louis region.
But by 2015 we felt it was time to update our branding to focus on our connection with the community. Reaching back to the ‘80s, we thought the name of a past franchise was the perfect fit for who we are today: 5 On Your Side.
Originally a consumer advocacy franchise, 5 On Your Side means much more than that now.
5 On Your Side is on the side of St. Louis, a true advocate for our region. We’ve evolved from doing just news to providing local content that goes beyond the TV screen. From our digital properties to podcasts to specials that focus on creating a conversation, everything we do is completely dedicated to supporting the well-being of our community.
So while we’re no longer “where the news comes first,” our commitment to serving you the content you’re looking for means we’re now “where the audience comes first.”
Eclipse Total solar eclipse is a once-in-a-lifetime event
On Aug. 21, 2017, the “Great American Eclipse” spanned the United States, with the zone of totality going right through the 5 On Your Side viewing region.
A solar eclipse is when the moon passes between Earth and the Sun, casting the moon’s shadow on Earth. The zone of totality is the area in which the entirety of the sun is blocked by the moon for a short period of time.
This once-in-a-lifetime event hadn’t been seen in the United States in 99 years, and the last time the pathway of totality came this close to St. Louis was 575 years ago in 1442.
A location with one of the longest durations of totality during the eclipse wasn't far from St. Louis. Union, Missouri provided eager eclipse enthusiasts with about two minutes, 40 seconds of totality.
During total black-out, excited viewers were able to look at the eclipse with the naked eye for roughly two minutes. Special glasses were used before and after totality to prevent people from damaging their eyes.
Gloria St. Louis Blues win first Stanley Cup in franchise history
On June 12, 2019, the St. Louis Blues won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. The Blues beat the Boston Bruins 4-1 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The season was made even more exciting by the Blues’ impressive improvement throughout the second half of the season. In January of that year, the team has the fewest points in the NHL, and went from worst to first in six months.
During the season, the song “Gloria” by Laura Branigan became the team’s victory song, and the phrase “Play Gloria!” became a St. Louis phenomenon.
Re-live the celebration by watching the victory parade.
5 at 75 Anniversary celebration
Take a walk back in time with some of the biggest stories from each decade:
Be sure to learn more about our banner show at locations throughout the Bi-state.
Find complete 5 On Your Side anniversary coverage, stories and videos at ksdk.com/75.