Our Top Five Stories of 2025, Updated! Part Two
Updates on stories #3 - Ofland and #2 - the fertility clinic bomber in 29, as we count down to our #1 story of the year
Thanks to our dedicated readers, Desert Trumpet stories received more than 245,000 views in 2025 — that’s a 43% increase over 2024!
Below is part two of our three-part recap of articles that garnered more than 2,000 views each over the course of the last year.
Coverage of the potential Ofland resort development, the potential sale of public lands, and protests against federal policies were popular with our readers while a raucous town hall and the search for a bomber led the list.
The top five were determined by a combination of views and reader interactions such as likes and comments, with our top story receiving 3,260 views, 25 likes and 11 comments. Our runner-up in the sixth slot was our coverage of Three Minutes That Could Have Led to Tragedy, Averted.
And now to our countdown…
#3 The Potential Ofland Development
Lawsuit Filed Against the City of Twentynine Palms to Challenge the Approval of the Ofland Resort
Today the Center for Biological Diversity and Indian Cove Neighbors filed a lawsuit in the San Bernardino County Superior Court against the City of Twentynine Palms over the City Council’s approval of the proposed Ofland resort project without a full environmental review …
While the filing of the lawsuit against Ofland by the Center for Biological Diversity and Indian Cove Neighbors made our top five for 2025, resident interest in this story has remained high since it first surfaced in November 2023—our report on a lively public meeting held in March 2024 remains one of our all-time top stories, while the project’s approval by the Planning Commission and City Council also garnered more than our average number of views.
Since the filing of the lawsuit, all parties have remained mum as the project inches toward its day in court.
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#2 The Fertility Clinic Bomber in Twentynine Palms
Breaking News, Possible Fertility Clinic Bomber Located in Twentynine Palms, Extended Downtown Area Evacuated
UPDATE, 7:20 AM, SUNDAY, 5/18, There is a press conference in Palm Springs at 10am, it will be broadcast by KESQ. The area surrounding Adobe and White Sands is still barricaded. The City has set up the gym at Freedom Plaza for those who are displaced.
Our reporting consisted of mapping the area surrounding a home in Twentynine Palms believed to be associated with Guy Edward Bartkus, the man responsible for detonating a bomb the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic on May 17. It was later discovered that Barkus, 25, died in the explosion.
In June 2025, authorities arrested Daniel Park, 32, who was accused of planning the attack with Bartkus and supplying explosive materials. Both were members of a movement that believe the unborn are unable to consent to birth and that ending suffering can be achieved by the elimination of human beings. Park died in custody in Los Angeles shortly after his arrest in what was reported as a suicide.
NOTE: Desert Trumpet staff members Cindy Bernard, Kat Talley-Jones and Heidi Heard live in the Indian Cove neighborhood, adjacent to this proposed development project, and are on the executive committees of Indian Cove Neighbors and Say No to Ofland.
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