A Year in Review

A Year in Review

By Dennis House

As the year 2025 comes to a close, it is difficult to comprehend we are now closer to 2050 than the year 2000. Time waits for no one and here we are a quarter century into the 21st century.

It is always hard to identify the biggest story of the year. ’25 brought us a new president, a new Pope and several new leaders across Connecticut. The election of 2025 brought new mayors to Bristol, New Britain, Milford, Hamden and Torrington as well as new first selectmen in several towns such as Ellington and Torrington. In November, Governor Lamont put the speculation to rest and announced he was indeed going to seek re-election and run for a third term. Ditto for Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz. 

The new President was president before and Donald Trump tapped a few Connecticut people to join him in Washington; most notably, former WWE CEO Linda McMahon was named Secretary of Education. Dominick Lombardi, a 22-year-old from Orange, joined the Department of Agriculture and came on This Week in Connecticut with Dennis House beaming with excitement about his first job out of college. Also beaming with joy in 2025 was this group of seminarians from the Archdiocese of Hartford led by Father Anthony Federico. They were at the Vatican for the conclave when Pope Leo was introduced to the world, the first American pope. 

There were other new leaders we celebrated this year in Connecticut as new college presidents took over at Yale University, Connecticut College, Trinity College, University of New Haven, University of Hartford and Quinnipiac University.

There were some cool moments in 2025 such as when Governor Lamont introduced the inaugural Connecticut Governor’s Award of Excellence and presented it to Weston resident Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. Another entertainment legend, Jane Fonda, came to Old Saybrook to receive the annual Spirit of Katherine Hepburn award. For me, one of my fun moments was interviewing Gary Striewski of ESPN! Keep an eye on him; he is a future legend. 

Speaking of sports, the UConn women won their 12th NCAA title in April and the men’s coach, Dan Hurley, came out with a new book. The state and city celebrated 50 years of the Hartford Whalers and Cinestudio at Trinity College hosted the world premiere of “The Whalers” documentary which I was honored to be featured in. And girls flag football is growing in popularity across the state. West Hartford started a league this year and many girls signed up!!

There was some big economic news in 2025, namely a $10 billion contract with Sikorsky Aircraft to build 99 helicopters. According to Commissioner of Economic Development Dan O’Keefe, 42 aerospace companies across Connecticut will benefit. 

There were milestones and notable passings in 2025. WTIC AM 1080 celebrated 100 years on the airwaves, news anchor Darren Kramer retired after 25 years at WTNH, legendary political reporter Mark Davis died at the age of 76, and iconic actor Robert Redford, who lived in Weston years ago, passed at 89. 

As for 2026? We have a gubernatorial election, congressional elections and elections for the entire general assembly and constitutional officers. All the new mayors will be making changes in their communities. The United States of America will celebrate 250 years. Connecticut is one of the original thirteen colonies so expect celebrations across our great state. 

Dennis House has been covering the news in Connecticut for over 30 years. He can be seen weeknights at 6 and 11 p.m. on WTNH and at 10 p.m. on WCTX. He also hosts This Week in Connecticut Sunday mornings at 10 a.m.