Well, it is done.
The infamous Top 10 News Stories of the Year is included inside this issue of the Faribault County Register.
No one knows (or cares) about the insane number of hours I devote to this list. I spent lots of time at home over the past several weekends going over every issue of the Register produced in 2021, looking at all the stories we ran throughout the year.
And making lists of them, which go on and on, page after page of a legal notepad. Then I color-code all the entries by topic.
Then comes the very tough decision of what are the top 10 stories and in what order should they be. It is one of those cases where I change my mind constantly, both as to which ones should be on the list, and in what order.
Let me just say, the order you see here in the newspaper is not the order I started with. It has changed…many times. It might change again just moments before this issue goes to press.
Once again, I issue my annual disclaimer. The list is arbitrary, both in content and order. It could be totally different (see paragraph above). You may look at it and say, “What about this other important story, why is it not on the list?” or, “Why is this story number four and that one number five? It should be the other way around, you doofus!” OK, you could be right. I sure won’t argue with you.
Why is COVID-19 back as the No. 1 story for 2021? It deserved it in 2020, and after looking at all the impact it had, and continues to have, in 2021, it edged out the other contenders.
There are other anomalies, as well, in this 2021 list.
For the second year in a row the weather was not on the list. Sure, sure, we had a really hot summer, a few storms here and there and a 64 degree day and high winds in December. But, it just wasn’t enough to crack the top 10.
However, the Three Sisters buildings in Blue Earth did return to the list.
They were our No. 8 story in 2019, the No. 1 story in 2018, and in both 2017 and 2016, they were our No. 6 story.
Those Three Sisters have a long history. This year the big story was that the Blue Earth City Council went against the recommendation of the EDA and voted to hand over the Sisters to Project 3 Sisters with no contingencies.
It makes one wonder if the Sisters will be on the Top 10 list in 2022…perhaps because something good will be happening there.
There are several other stories that did not make this year’s list, and you may wonder why. I guess I wonder a little too, and some were on the list at one time but came off.
Take the stories we did on the new Golden Spike Go-kart Raceway opening. It ended up on the list of top sports stories of the year.
How about the proposed new tennis courts in Blue Earth? Well, they are still in the proposed realm as this year comes to a close. Decisions are still being made as to where and how courts will be built.
Perhaps they will hit the Top 10 list next year.
Perhaps the same could be true of the new dinosaur fossil discovery center being created at the Blue Earth Community Library.
While it is certainly in the works, it is not quite a “done deal” as they say. And an agreement has not been completed and signed on the dotted line.
But, it is expected to be completed in January.
What about the story of Riverside Town and Country Golf Club turning 100 years old? Yep, it was a strong contender to be on either the Top 10 story list or the Top 10 sports list. We did not get it on either one, and those who think it should have been are probably right.
The census numbers for Faribault County also did not make the list – and a case for them to have been there can easily be made.
But, the numbers were expected to show a decline in overall population in the county, and they did. Every town lost population, too, except for Wells and Frost.
Our schools might also have lobbied for them to make the list, as their enrollment numbers are actually up this year, despite COVID and despite the fact that overall population in the county has gone down.
I could probably go on and on and list some other things that might have – or should have – made our list. But, I think you get the general idea.
It is, after all, a purely arbitrary list.
One I would personally have liked to have added to the list was the story about the creation of the Buccaneer, the new student operated newspaper at Blue Earth Area High School.
It was on the first overall list before the list was cut down to 20, then 15, then 10.
So, for 2022, we wish everyone a very happy and healthy and wonderful and prosperous new year.
And may there be no bad news and nothing but good news to put on our Top 10 Stories list a year from now.
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December 26, 2021 at 02:10PM
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