You came, you saw, you clicked.
These are the eleven most-read stories published at The River City News in 2011:
11. Cat Cafe Opens in Covington
Readers loved our preview of Purrfect Day Cafe’s plans to open in downtown Covington, with the original article published in March, and then a photo slideshow from its grand opening published in November.
10. Man Files Suit Against Newport Hooters Over Large Tip
A large tip in Newport led readers to our tenth-most popular story of the year: a man who ate at Hooters contends that he only meant to tip five bucks, but was ultimately charged for a $5,000 gratuity. That led to a lawsuit.
9. Two People Found Dead Inside Kenton Co. Home
A double tragedy in Morning View was our ninth-most clicked-on story of 2020.
8. Kenton County sees Northern Kentucky’s first COVID-19 case
March 18 seems like so long ago but the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic were full of uncertainty and none of us knew exactly what this novel coronavirus would do to our lives. On that date, the virus arrived in Northern Kentucky when a 66-year old Kenton Co. woman was confirmed to have contracted it.Â
Since then, there have been 8,997 cases in Kenton Co. and 22,736 across the four counties of the Northern Kentucky Independent Health District, including 165 deaths.
7. Joe’s Crab Shack Closes
The pandemic hit the local economy hard, as it has across the country. Restaurants pivoted to focus on carry-out, delivery, and outdoor dining, but some did not survive. In May, The River City News reported the closure of Joe’s Crab Shack in Bellevue, and it became the seventh-most popular story of the year.
6. Two Killed When Car Crashes Into the Licking River
It was a shocking scene back in June: a fence in Covington’s Licking Riverside neighborhood destroyed, and emergency responders on the scene searching for a vehicle that crashed through it and into the waters of the Licking River below.Â
Readers were gripped by the tragedy, in which two men were ultimately found dead inside the car.
5. State Senator John Schickel’s Op-Ed About State Constitutional Amendments
Opinion/Editorial (op-ed) pieces are a common feature in newspapers, but rarely do they drive readership the way this one did (though another op-ed, posted below, actually delivered more traffic). The Union Republican lawmaker’s position on two proposed constitutional amendments on the Kentucky ballot ranked fifth in readership clicks this year.Â
4. Nick Sandmann Announces Settlement with Washington Post
In 2019, RCN’s coverage of the infamous encounter on the National Mall between Covington Catholic students, Native American activists, and Black Hebrew Israelites was far and away the most clicked-on stories of that year. This year, the story returned as one of those students, now a Cov Cath graduate, Nick Sandmann, continued his legal fight against national media outlets for their coverage of it. In July, Sandmann, now a student at Transylvania University in Lexington, announced a settlement with the Washington Post for an undisclosed amount. It was our fourth-most popular story of the year.Â
3. Why One Michigan City Flies Kentucky Flags
This exploration of Monroe, Michigan and its connection to Kentucky history returns to our most-read list for the third consecutive year. First published in 2018, the story of the Battle of the River Raisin, and the legacy of Kentucky fighters who fell there, somehow manages to be passed around the internet, attracting readers from all over, again this year.Â
2. Op-Ed: I Am a White Officer Who Can No Longer Sit Idly By
The second op-ed to make our most-read list this year was written by a white Covington Police officer in response to the nationwide response to racial injustice and policing. Specialist Doug Ullrich’s op-ed was shared across the country and is RCN’s second-most read piece of 2020. “I will never know what it is like to be black, to be a woman, to be disadvantaged, to be in a place where I felt the need to fear the police,” he wrote. “I hope that I can continue to grow, but know that I can’t ever fully comprehend what it is like for someone who is not me.”
1. Walton Mayor: Listen Up, Dipshits, It’s a Big (F***ing) Deal
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to many comments on The River City News‘s articles and social media channels, but our reporting on comments made on a local mayor’s Facebook page became our most-viewed story of 2020. Walton Mayor Gabe Brown was fed up in March when he took to Facebook and wrote, “Listen up dipshits and sensible people. I might not have the best bedside manor. I might not put you at ease like the Governor does, but I don’t care. You need to realize that this is a serious ordeal. In fact, it’s a big f**cking deal. Stay at home.”
Mayor Brown appeared on national television as his post went viral across the country.
We look forward to covering the stories of Northern Kentucky in 2021. Thanks for hanging out with us during a very challenging 2020.
-Michael Monks, editor & publisher