It was a year that made us hold our breath, shake our heads, laugh and cry, and shout and pray.
The year of the Zoom call. The year of not taking things for granted.
A year that began with intense scrutiny of the 2020 New Hampshire presidential primary and then veered wildly to the coronavirus. The pandemic sucked the air out of the room - and out of many an office. It changed how we work, how we play, how we greet family, friends and neighbors.
The simplest things, like grocery shopping, became something of a masked undertaking.
Coronavirus coverage quickly emerged as a most-viewed story, or stories, in 2020. It dominated the headlines on NHPR.org starting in February. NHPR’s coronavirus blog had several million page views and counting, but New Hampshire’s news climate offered so many more issues to report.
Scroll down to view some of the most-read and most-engaged-with stories on NHPR.org this year. They are broken down by month, with some of the most-read COVID-19 stories removed from the lists in order to make room for other stories our audience loved - stories we want you to remember.
It wasn’t all bad news, of course - take, for example, Sam Evans-Brown's post, Why Do Hummingbirds Fight Each Other?
In 2020, NHPR also launched Document, a new narrative-driven reporting project; By Degrees, a climate change reporting project; a COVID & The Classroom series; Que Hay de Nuevo, New Hampshire?, a new Spanish language newscast; and Ask Civics 101, a 2020 series led by the Civics 101 Podcast.
Related: From Primary to Pandemic: The Year in NHPR Photos
Do you have a favorite that didn't make the list? Email us or share it on the NHPR Facebook page.
A Year in New Hampshire News
Credit Daniela Allee / NHPR
JANUARY top stories
- One Year Of Andrew Yang’s UBI: How A N.H. Family Spent Their $12,000
- Watch or Listen: 2020 Candidate Forum with Bernie Sanders
- When Ice Castles attraction melts, where does the water go? Neighbor alleges straight to her basement
- EPA proposes long-awaited permit targeting Great Bay Water Pollution
- N.H. Lawmakers Revisit Marijuana Legalization, ‘Home Grow’ for Medical Cannabis
- Sununu’s Net Metering Plan Tees Up Another Renewable Energy Clash in Concord
- Lawsuit Over Breastfeeding Accommodation in the Workplace Heard in N.H. Supreme Court
- After Years of Slow Action on Climate Change, What Sets Offshore Wind Apart for N.H.?
- N.H.’s Paper Ballots Are Hard to Hack, But That’s Only Part of the Election Security Puzzle
- With A Month To Go, N.H. Voters Explain How They’re Making Their Primary Picks
- Biden Gets Local N.H. Assist As He Makes Appeal To The Middle
Credit Sam Evans-Brown / NHPR
FEBRUARY top stories
- 2020 NH Primary voters’ guide: What you need to know casting your ballot
- Tight lines, giant lake trout sets new NH state record
- Marijuana legalization bill passes NH House
- 2020 primary: How NH voted town by town
- Complicated map to victory: NH towns to watch on Primary Day
- Guide: How to prepare your home for coronavirus
- NH Primary Night Blog: Sanders Beats Buttigieg; Klobuchar Surges to Third
- Human trafficking survivor settles lawsuit against motel where she was held captive
- A First Time Voter Casts Her Ballot in New Hampshire
- How One Campaign is Organizing An Often Overlooked N.H. Voting Bloc: Immigrants and Refugees
- Sanders Campaign Goes All Out for High Turnout in Primary’s Last Stretch
Credit Dan Tuohy / NHPR
MARCH top stories
- New Hampshire’s Stay-at-Home Order: What Does It Mean?
- As People Flock to the Woods, N.H. Officials Urge Caution
- As COVID-19 Spurs More School Closures in N.H., Districts Prepare for Remote Learning
- N.H. Marks First COVID-19 Death as Sununu Says ‘Shelter in Place’ Order Not Yet Needed
- In Most Far Reaching MoveYet, N.H. Closes All Schools to Limit COVID-19 Spread
- Now Deemed ‘Essential,’ Some N.H. Grocery Stores Take Additional Precautions
Credit Dan Tuohy / NHPR
APRIL top stories
- Gov. Sununu Says N.H. Schools Will Likely Remain Closed for Rest of Year
- An Unforgettable ‘Field Trip’: N.H. Family Goes on Walk, Finds Forgotten Crypt
- Locals Bristle As Out of Towners Fleeing Virus Hunker Down in New Hampshire
- State Election Officials Say Any N.H. Voter Can Cast Absentee Ballot, Register Remotely Due to COVID-19
- When It Comes To Defining Essential Businesses, N.H. Casts a Wide Net
- As Nursing Homes Bear Worst of Pandemic, Sununu Warns Toughest Days Ahead
- State Rolls Out New Measures to Stem COVID-19 Infections, Deaths at Nursing Homes
Credit Annie Ropeik / NHPR
MAY top stories
- Sununu Lays Out Partial Roadmap to Reopening N.H.’s Economy
- Planet Fitness Sued Over Billing Practices During Pandemic
- Gov. Sununu Talks Plans for Reopening New Hampshire in May
- As More N.H. Businesses Violate Emergency Orders, Sununu Cautions Against ‘Snitching’
- ‘The Queen of Hanover Hill’: The Human Toll of N.H.’s Nursing Home Outbreaks
- N.H. Restaurants May Offer Outdoor Dining May 18, But Not All Can Or Will Take Part
- As N.H. Businesses, Salons and Golf Reopen, Some Say It’s Too Soon
- More Than 3 in 4 N.H. COVID Deaths Occurred in Long-term Care Homes
- Chanting Black Lives Matter, Hundreds March Through Streets in Manchester
Credit Dan Tuohy / NHPR
JUNE top stories
- Historic Manchester Mansion Set To Be Demolished
- ‘N.H. Is Not So Innocent’: In Concord, Students Lead March Against Racial Injustice
- Pandemic Parking Rules Draw Aggression from N.H. Beachgoers as Temperatures Climb
- Task Force on Reopening N.H. Schools Debates Local Control, Safety Guidelines
- As COVID-19 Shifts Life Routines in N.H., Patterns of Death Change, Too
- Dartmouth Study: Rural N.H. Prepared Strong Response to COVID-19
- N.H. AG: Most Common Coronavirus Complaint Concerns Restaurants
- Beaches Reopen in N.H., Offering Sand, Solitude and a Chance of Scene
Credit Annie Ropeik / NHPR
JULY top stories
- Updated: What’s Open and What’s Not Open in New Hampshire
- Why Younger People Are Moving to N.H. and Staying
- N.H. Towns Pay Millions to Settle Claims Against Police Details Often Hidden From Public
- Ghislaine Maxwell, Accused of Grooming Victims for Jeffrey Epstein, Arrested in N.H.
- One Month In, Black Lives Matter Activists Say, ‘We Are Not Going Anywhere’
- New N.H. School Reopening Guidelines Leave Major Decisions to Local Districts
- Some UNH Students Uneasy About Consent Agreement Assuming Risks Around Coronavirus on Campus
- Final Day of a Session Shaped by Pandemic, N.H. Lawmakers Pass Raft of Last-Minute Bills
- Sununu Lifts N.H.’s Ban on Reusable Bags During Pandemic
- Bill Banning Police Chokeholds in N.H. Becomes Law; Some Say More Steps Needed
- Federal Judge Likely to Give Final Approval to Dartmouth Settlement
- Sununu Vetoes Bills for Paid Family Leave, Absentee Voting
- Dangers of Isolation at N.H. Long-Term Care Homes a Source of Concern
- Lebanon Landfill’s 11-Family Compost Pilot Diverts One Ton of Food Scraps
Credit Dan Tuohy / NHPR
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NHPR
AUGUST top stories
- Trouble on the Trails: Forest Service Grapples with Crowds, Trash, and Human Waste
- How One Very Average N.H. Strip Mall is Riding Out The Pandemic
- What You Need To Know About School Reopening in N.H.
- Your COVID FAQs: What Should I Know Before I Leave or Arrive in N.H.?
- What We Know About Coronavirus Contact Tracing in New Hampshire
- One N.H. Nursing Home Has Been Battling COVID-19 Since May. It Was On Watchdogs’ Radar Long Before.
- N.H. Questions Massachusetts Income Tax Collection During Pandemic
- At Trump’s Manchester Rally, Praise for COVID Response, Little Interest in Mask Wearing
- In Newmarket, Calls to Put Up Statue of Black Revolutionary War Hero
- ‘There’s No Right Answer’: N.H. Schools and Families Grapple With Reopening Plans
Credit Dan Tuohy / NHPR
SEPTEMBER top stories
- Ask Sam: Why Do Hummingbirds Fight Each Other?
- AG Investigating N.H.’s Rep’s Facebook Post About Looting, Burning Homes With Black Lives Matter Signs
- Live Blog - N.H. State Primary: Feltes Secures Dem Gubernatorial Nomination
- COVID-19 Mortgage Rates Create N.H. Housing Market Feeding Frenzy
- Drought Now Covers All of N.H., Water Restrictions in 150 Local Systems
- Former Governor Merrill Dies, He Coined Phrase ‘N.H. Advantage’
Credit Sean Hurley / NHPR
OCTOBER top stories
- N.H. Announces It Will Sue Massachusetts Over Cross Border Income Tax Collection
- Update: All N.H. Counties Now on Vermont’s COVID-19 Restricted Travel List
- 2020 Elections Guide: How To Vote in New Hampshire, Whether You’re Voting Absentee Or At The Polls
- UNH Looking Into Claims Chemistry Professor Ran Offensive Twitter Account
- Ask Civics 101: Why Do We Have The Electoral College?
- Behind Gunmaker Sig Sauer’s N.H. Expansion, a $21M State Backed Bond
- As N.H. Sees Continued Rise in COVID-19 Cases, Experts Say Prepare for More
- N.H. High Court Rules List of Police Credibility Issues Not Confidential Document
- ‘Sharpie-gate’ Leaves Some N.H. Voters Worried They Spoiled Their Absentee Ballots
- Inside New Hampshire’s Secret List of Troubled Cops
- Hockey Rinks in N.H. Ordered to Close After Wave of COVID-19 Outbreaks
Credit Todd Bookman / NHPR
NOVEMBER top stories
- Three More N.H. Businesses Fined For Violating Emergency COVID Orders
- New Hampshire’s Schools Weigh Whether To Go Remote Until After The Holidays
- N.H. Supreme Court Hears Case of Couple Who Appeared Unwittingly in North Woods Law Episode
- COVID and Mass. Travel Restrictions Are Not Stopping Holiday Shoppers This Year
- Thanksgiving Travel, More Exposure in N.H. Behind High Demand for COVID Tests
- In the Streets: N.H. Reacts to Biden’s Win
- Election 2020 Live Blog: Recounts Underway in Several Tight State House Races
- U.S. Attorney Urges Voters To Think Carefully About Bringing Guns to N.H. Polling Places
- As N.H. Sets Record COVID-19 Cases, Sununu Issues New Mask Mandate
- New Hampshire’s Was Only State Legislature to Change Parites in 2020
- Nearly a Quarter of Registered N.H. Voters Have Returned An Absentee Ballot as of Election Day
- With Big GOP Wins Down Ballot, One Party Rule Returns to N.H. State House
Credit Jordyn Haime / NHPR
DECEMBER top stories
- Clients, Staff Say Major N.H. Addiction Treatment Center Mishandled COVID Outbreak
- Study: More Young People Moving to New Hampshire
- Follow The Money: Who Got Paycheck Protection Program Loans in New Hampshire?
- First Doses of COVID-19 Vaccine Set to Arrive in New Hampshire
- Nashua Board of Health Weighing Curfew in Response to COVID Surge
- The COVID-19 Vaccine is in New Hampshire. Here’s What We Know So Far
- Sununu: House Speaker Hinch’s Death a ‘Warning Sign’ of COVID-19 Dangers
- Code Violations Force Utopian Community of Tiny Houses in Peterborough To Clear Out
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