Here are the most-read Arizona stories on KTAR.com in 2021

Dec 31, 2021, 4:45 AM

BY DANNY SHAPIRO

KTAR.com

January:

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey came under heavy criticism at the start of the year when the state became a "hot spot of the world" for COVID-19 cases. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

January:

Phoenix was deemed as the No. 2 sunniest city in the United States. In an unsurprising twist, another city -- Yuma -- took home the spot for the sunniest with a whopping 242 days of sunshine per year. (Pexels Photo)

January:

Arizona's horned rioter from the Jan. 6 attacks at the U.S. Capitol made his first court appearance. Jacob Chansley was eventually sentenced to 51 months. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

February:

Retiring in Arizona isn't uncommon but doing so affordably can be a challenge. Phoenix, Tucson and Yuma were all ranked in the top 20 cities to retire and not break the bank. (Facebook Photo/Visit Phoenix)

February:

Is it possible you're the rightful owner of unclaimed property in Maricopa County? The Arizona Department of Revenue was looking to find owners of around $45 million in assets from old bank accounts, safe deposit boxes and other sources belonging to more than 159,000 people. (Arizona Department of Revenue Photo)

February:

Drivers no longer were required to leave the house to get their license renewed, the Arizona Department of Transportation announced. People are now able to renew both a standard and a commercial driver's license online. (Arizona Department of Transportation Photo)

March:

Gov. Doug Ducey rolled back the state's remaining COVID-19 mitigation requirements, including local face mask mandates. Under the new executive orders, the state's business requirements were changed to recommendations. (Twitter Photo/@uarizona)

March:

GOP state Rep. John Kavanagh of Fountain Hills reportedly said one reason he supports bills some have criticized as voter suppression is that "everybody shouldn't be voting." (Facebook Photo/John Kavanagh)

April:

Those with a 480 area code had to start dialing the area code plus the phone number for the call to go through beginning in October. The FCC change was made after 988 was approved as the three-digit abbreviation to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. (Pixabay Photo)

April:

Forbes released its annual list of world billionaires and Arizona was well represented. DriveTime Automotive and Carvana shareholder Ernest Garcia II was the state's richest with an estimated net worth of $15.9 billion. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

April:

A poor monsoon season followed by a weak winter left 55% of Arizona in the exceptional drought category and 87% of the state in either extreme or exceptional drought. (AP Photo)

May:

St. Joseph’s Hospital and a corporation located on the Phoenix medical center’s campus agreed to pay $10 million over allegations of submitting false claims to Medicare. (Facebook Photo/St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center)

May:

HelloFresh announced plans to open its largest distribution center in Phoenix by the end of the year. The nearly 440,000-square-foot facility located at 1850 S. 71st Ave. was set to provide as many as 1,200 jobs and become the meal kit company’s largest shipping and fulfillment center globally. (Photo courtesy of Colliers in Arizona)

May:

Fanatics of Mexican restaurant Chino Bandido had access to the company’s food truck while the original restaurant moved to its new location at Third Avenue and Bell Road in Phoenix. (Facebook Photo/Chino Bandido)

June:

The hand recount of 2.1 million ballots from the 2020 Maricopa County election was completed. The audit process dragged on for several more months before a final report was produced. (AZ Audit Screenshot)

June:

Chris Paul's breakthrough COVID-19 case was a rarity and made Suns fans nervous during the playoff run. At the time of his case, only about 2,000 breakthroughs had been documented from the 3 million vaccinated people. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

June:

More than 500 pages of Arizona Senate President Karen Fann’s emails related to the ongoing audit of the 2020 Maricopa County election were made public, revealing new insight into the Republican’s thought process. (AP File Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

July:

Arizona Senate President Karen Fann scheduled a briefing about the Maricopa County audit, an event that had plenty of eyes locally and nationally. (Arizona Capitol TV Screenshot)

July:

Arizona Senate President Karen Fann told KTAR News 92.3 FM's The Mike Broomhead Show the number of 2020 general election ballots tallied during the audit she authorized doesn’t match the total documented by Maricopa County. She didn't know how far off the counts were. (electkarenfann.com Photo)

July:

A monsoon storm dropped more than two inches in some places in the West Valley, causing flooded roads and drivers to be stranded. (KTAR News Photo/Martha Maurer)

August:

A strong round of showers put Phoenix on pace for one of its wettest monsoon seasons since the turn of the century. It finished as the third-wettest season since 2000. (Twitter Photo/@StreetsPHX)

August:

Four people were hospitalized after a natural gas leak led to an explosion at a printing shop in Mesa. (Twitter Photo/@ChandlerPolice)

August:

Former Phoenix City Manager Ed Zuercher said he was comfortable giving Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams a one-day suspension in connection with sham gang charges filed against people arrested last year at a Black Lives Matter protest and a controversial challenge coin. (AP File Photo/Matt York)

September:

Phoenix broke a 30-year-old daily heat record on Sept. 9 when the mercury reached 111 degrees. The previous record of 110 degrees for the day was set in 1990. (Guido Calamosca/LaPresse via AP)

September:

Arizona was set to welcome the fifth-most Afghan refugees in the country. Gov. Doug Ducey’s office was notified by the Biden administration that the state was expected to receive 1,610 Afghan evacuees in the coming weeks. (Guido Calamosca/LaPresse via AP)

September:

Toxic toads? Poison experts warned the Sonoran Desert toads that release a toxin through the glands behind their eyes could come out during the rain. (Flickr photo/Alan Schmierer)

October:

Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced a 2022 run for mayor of Fountain Hills, where he has lived for more than 20 years. (File Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

October:

The annual Arizona State Fair returned in 2021 with its share of peculiar tastes, smells and thrills, all of which were missing last year outside of occasional drive-thru festivities due to COVID-19. (Facebook Photo/Arizona State Fair)

October:

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey announced the investment of $30 million to keep more water in Lake Mead as water levels in the reservoir continued to decline. (Photo by Bill Clark/Getty Images)

November:

Arizona wildlife officials announced they were discontinuing their community fishing program licenses at the end of the year due to declining popularity. (Facebook Photo/Arizona Game & Fish Department)

November:

Kyle Rittenhouse said he was studying nursing at Arizona State University while testifying at his Wisconsin murder trial, but the school said that wasn’t exactly the case. Rittenhouse was enrolled as a non-degree seeking online student. (Mark Hertzberg /Pool Photo via AP)

November:

An Andy Warhol painting owned by Valley resident Alice Cooper went unsold at a Scottsdale art auction despite a potentially record-breaking estimated value of $2.5 million-$4.5 million. (Chris Loomis Photo)

December:

Border officers arrested a man for attempting to smuggle more than 3,000 pounds of methamphetamine into Arizona. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations Photo)

December:

A Walmart in Surprise closed temporarily to sanitize the store to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. (Walmart Photo)

December:

Phoenix Police Officer Tyler Moldovan continues to fight for his life after he was shot up to eight times by an alleged suspect during an early morning confrontation. (Phoenix Police Department, Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Photos)

PHOENIX — The 2021 news cycle in Arizona was rarely quiet with the continued COVID-19 pandemic, the audit of Maricopa County election results, border issues and more.

Readers became educated on a variety of topics, but some captured the attention and interest more than others.

Click through the slideshow above for a recap of the most-read stories on KTAR.com in 2021.

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