From rubble to rebuilding: A year in Joplin, Mo.

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JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) -- The tornado that hit Joplin, Mo., a year ago took 161 lives, injured hundreds more and destroyed thousands of homes and buildings. It also fractured the landscape of the city, and opened the door to a massive rebuilding and recovery operation.

A year later, much of the debris has been cleared and damaged homes wiped from their foundations. Some have been rebuilt, some never will be. Groundbreakings are being planned to rebuild schools. Around the community, the devastation from a year ago has been replaced with plans to rebuild, renovate and recover.

Here are some snapshots of how life has changed around Joplin:

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1. Joplin commemorates anniversary of deadly tornado

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) -- A day of solemn remembrances and forward-looking celebrations is planned Tuesday as Joplin commemorates the anniversary of a tornado that ripped the city in half.

The May 22, 2011, twister was the nation's deadliest in six decades, killing 161 people, injuring hundreds more and destroying thousands of buildings, including the city's only public high school. Groundbreaking ceremonies are scheduled at three sites for replacement buildings, including Joplin High School's future home.

Gov. Jay Nixon, who joined President Barack Obama on Monday night as a Joplin High School graduation speaker, plans to attend a sunrise service and "journey of healing" at Freeman Hospital honoring the city's medical workers and volunteers who have aided the recovery. The hospital has seen a surge in use after the tornado destroyed St. John's Regional Medical Center, which has since occupied a succession of temporary facilities but is being rebuilt at a new location - and renamed as Mercy Hospital Joplin.

A 4-mile unity walk through some of the city's hardest hit neighborhoods begins at 2 p.m. in neighboring Duquesne, where more than one-fourth of the community's 750 homes were destroyed and nine people died. The Joplin portion of the walk begins past a Wal-Mart where 200 people survived the storm by huddling together in employee break rooms, bathrooms and other designated safe zones. Three people, though, were killed inside that store.

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