The Sun Herald’s 10 most-read stories of 2025, from a Powerball near-miss to the shutdown

From government investigations to breaking news and everything in between, visitors to sunherald.com read millions of stories in 2025. These are the 10 that attracted the most readers:

1. Powerball near-win

One lucky ticket sold in South Mississippi missed a billion-dollar Powerball jackpot, but still was a big winner.

The ticket for Wednesday’s $1.4 billion Powerball drawing was sold at Neco’s XP gas station and convenience store at 9301 Kiln Delisle Road in Pass Christian.

The player won $100,000 by matching four out of five white balls and the red Powerball, according to the Mississippi Lottery Corp. The winning numbers were 3, 16, 29, 61 and 69, with a Powerball of 22. Fifteen players nationwide matched the five white balls but not the Powerball to win $1 million. Four of those players doubled their prize to $2 million by paying an extra $1 dollar and choosing the Power Play option.

2. Heather Wyatt sues school district

Heather Wyatt is suing the Ocean Springs School District, alleging that daughter Aubreigh Wyatt was bullied for four years, in and out of school, leading to her death by suicide at age 13.

Wyatt has filed the wrongful-death lawsuit in Jackson County Circuit Court, where she is seeking an unspecified amount in monetary damage over Aubreigh’s suicide on Sept. 4, 2023. Her death, the lawsuit says, has caused her family “immense pain, suffering and loss of companionship.”

Her mother accuses the school district, superintendent, school board and others of negligence, and violating state and federal laws aimed at protecting students from sexual assault and bullying.

3. Side bet becomes biggest jackpot of the year

The biggest recorded jackpot of the year in South Mississippi just hit at Golden Nugget Casino Biloxi.

Santigo S. (no last name provided) was playing at the Biloxi casino on May 9. He played blackjack for about an hour and 20 minutes when he hit the jackpot. He won $402,411.40 on the casino’s 21+3 Blackjack Progressive game.

The 21+3 is a side bet, where you bet your two initial cards and the dealer’s upcard will form a winning three-card poker hand, such as a flush, straight, three-of-a-kind, straight flush or suited three-of-a-kind.

4. No signs of foul play in child’s death

Gracelynn Vick, the 6-year-old girl found dead after her family reported her missing, had no visible injuries to her body to suggest any foul play, Harrison County Coroner Brian Switzer said.

A member of a search crew found Gracelynn, a student at Saucier Elementary School, inside a 58-gallon barrel on the family’s farm in the area of F. Taylor and Saucier Fairley roads about six hours after she went missing Sunday, according to Harrison County Sheriff Matt Haley. The barrel has a top that either screws or snaps shut. Her family usually kept animal feed in it, but the barrel was empty that day and was sitting outside.

“There are absolutely no signs of foul play,” Haley said. “The residents had security cameras that covered the area where the barrel was located.

5. ‘Life-changing’ jackpot hits at Beau Rivage

A player spent 21 minutes courting a slot machine at the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino over the weekend and won by far the biggest jackpot this year at a Biloxi-area casino.

The person from Louisiana, who declined to be identified, started playing Panda Magic at 4:36 p.m. Friday, Aug. 1, and hit it big at 4:57 p.m. The $50 bet on the $2 demon slot machine paid $1,283,085.59. This is the first jackpot this year in South Mississippi to top $1 million and the fourth jackpot in 2025 at the Beau Rivage. Players have scored 14 jackpots of $100,000 or more this year on slot machines, video poker and table games.

6. Popular restaurant closes for good

Location is everything in real estate and the restaurant business, but sometimes it isn’t enough. Flamingo Landing restaurant and bar, off Cowan Road in Gulfport, had heavy traffic passing daily, a waterfront location on Bayou Bernard where customers could arrive by boat, spicy food, icy drinks and some of the favorite music on the Coast.

But on Tuesday, a rental truck was pulled up to the building and being loaded with the decor. A sign on the door said the business is closed, and posts on Facebook confirmed the online speculation.

“With a heavy heart, I’m sharing that Flamingo Landing has officially closed its doors for good,” said Terry McCormack.

7. 2-year-old’s parents suing Biloxi resort

While his mother’s back was turned for 20 seconds, at most, a toddler disappeared at Margaritaville Resort Biloxi, her lawsuit says.

The family had just started their vacation in May 2022 at the resort, a child’s wonderland with an ample indoor arcade, carnival rides perched on an outdoor platform, and swimming pool with water slides and a lazy river.

But the getaway ended abruptly and tragically.

Kasey Thompson, 2, drowned shortly after his family from Louisiana arrived at Margaritaville. His mother Jaspanique Rogers and father Quartnall Thompson, both of Louisiana, have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in Harrison County Circuit Court against Margaritaville.

8. 16 arrested during ICE inspection

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 16 immigrants from Mexico and Central America this week during an inspection of a concrete contracting business in Pass Christian, federal authorities announced Wednesday.

Agents with ICE and local Border Patrol and Drug Enforcement Administration authorities were serving paperwork to inspect Gulf Coast Prestress Partners when they saw a group running from the back of the business, a news release said.

Agents stopped 18 citizens of Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras, according to the release. They released two people with immigration court dates and work authorization.

One of the people arrested was a 16-year-old from Mexico, the news release said.

9. Ex-Klan member running for mayor in Biloxi

A former member of the Ku Klux Klan is running for mayor of Biloxi.

Jordan N. Gollub has qualified to run as a Republican. The only other candidate to qualify so far is incumbent Mayor A.M. “FoFo” Gilich, with a qualifying deadline of Jan. 31 and elections set for spring.

If elected, Gollub said that he hopes to return the old Mississippi state flag with Confederate battle emblem to Biloxi through city proclamation, much as President Donald Trump has done with an executive order to end birthright citizenship.

He also wants to rename Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard downtown because, he said, King was “no good” and not from Mississippi. He said he’s also not a big fan of Biloxi’s casinos because they are “ugly looking.”

10. Will shutdown stop the mail?

The federal government shutdown began Wednesday, Oct. 1, leaving some Mississippians wondering how that could impact mail delivery.

The government shutdown happened after Congress was unable to pass a funding bill for government services before the deadline. As a result, an estimated 750,000 federal employees could be furloughed each day of the shutdown, according to an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office.

The U.S. Postal Service is not funded by tax dollars, so mail delivery is not impacted during a government shutdown.