2011 Joplin tornado
Overall, the tornado killed 158 people (with an additional three indirect deaths), injured some 1,150 others, and caused damages amounting to a total of $2.8 billion. It was the deadliest tornado to strike the United States since the 1947 Glazier–Higgins–Woodward tornadoes, and the seventh-deadliest overall.
Joplin High School
After three years in temporary campuses as a result of the 2011 tornado, Joplin High School opened at 2104 Indiana Ave. on September 2, 2014. The new facility combines a college, career and technology focused education along with Franklin Technology Center. The formal ribbon cutting ceremony was held on October 3, 2014. Vice President Joe Biden and Education Secretary Arne Duncan attended the ceremony and spoke to the crowd. A ribbon representing the destructive path of the 2011 tornado was a part of the ceremony. Joplin High School Student Council President Sadie Wallner cut the ribbon.