Crime, snow, tulips and animals among Whatcom County’s most-read stories for 2019
Some of The Bellingham Herald’s most-read stories came late in 2019 with the tragic death of Sunnyland Principal Lynn Heimsoth. Also well-read was the end of the trial about the 1989 death of Amanda “Mandy” Stavik.
We also sorted stories by those most driven by social media — readers sharing with others. Those stories included the potential for snow and “More than 75 animals rescued from Bellingham fire. A big snake remains missing.” (Nobody ever came forward to say they found the snake and it was presumed dead.)
Another popular share on social media, “Here’s what to do if you run into the invasive Asian giant hornet found in Blaine.”
When it comes to top stories found using (mostly Google) search, stories including “Here’s when tulips should be at their peak for the 2019 Skagit Valley Tulip Festival” and “It’s been a humdinger of a ride, but Deming company that landed in ‘Shark Tank’ has closed” led the way. Every time “Shark Tank” reruns the Henry’s Humdinger story on television, Dave Gallagher’s stories on the young entrepreneur become popular again.
And, let’s not forget video. The most-watched local news video was “These are the bugs to watch for in Washington state.” Also popular, “Watch as the bomb squad detonates suspicious object on sidewalk.”
Here are the top 25 most-read stories, according to Adobe Analytics, and how many times they were viewed, at bellinghamherald.com for 2019:
“Sunnyland Elementary School principal shot to death at home near Bellingham,” 79,445. (The story was updated during the day and the headline changed to “Husband identified as accused killer of Sunnyland principal; in hospital under guard.” When you add the 25,335 views under the new headline, the story had 104,780 views — making it the top story of the year.)
“Man accused of fatally shooting Bellingham principal may have admitted it on Twitter,” 90,444.
“Bomb threat leads to evacuation, closure of Bellingham Regal Cinemas theater Sunday,” 65,476.
“Parents need to know about Washington’s new car-seat rules going into effect Jan. 1,” 56,388.
“Timothy Bass serving a three-decade prison term for 1989 murder of Mandy Stavik,” 54,839.
“ ’48 Hours’ examines 1988 murder in South Korea and reported ties to a WWU adviser,” 43,675.
“Three-alarm fire burns two landmark businesses in downtown Bellingham,” 41,838. It was the top story read by subscribers.
“Downtown landmark business burns early Monday,” 38,038.
“It’s been a humdinger of a ride, but Deming company that landed in ‘Shark Tank’ has closed,” 35,322.
“17-year-old Bellingham High student killed in hit-and-run incident on I-5 Tuesday,” 33,806.
“Single-car crash into tree kills 21-year-old woman along Mount Baker Highway,” 33,253.
“Life after ‘Shark Tank’ busy for Henry’s Humdingers,” 32,094 in 2019. This story was written in 2015, but continues to be popular each year with an overall 124,092 views.
“Whatcom County jury finds Timothy Bass guilty of murdering Mandy Stavik in 1989,” 31,269.
“Two dead, child injured in late-night crash on Interstate 5 near Sunset in Bellingham,” 29,722.
“Husband allegedly shoots and kills wife and pets Thursday morning west of Bellingham,” 27,961.
“Lynden police chief dies from injuries suffered Tuesday after being struck by truck,” 27,532.
“Whatcom deputies arrest a man who called to say he’d killed a friend at Baker Lake,” 27,153.
“Here’s what’s up with Whatcom County’s Monday snowfall, and what Tuesday is looking like,” 26,979.
“Here’s what seismologists are saying about the flurry of Northwest earthquakes,” 26,110.
“It’s ‘not a hoax’ — Bellingham Safeway workers find 23 kilos of cocaine with bananas,” 26,042.
“ ’If we had a sense that Mount Baker was waking up, the local threat would be considered severe,” 25,981.
“Husband identified as accused killer of Sunnyland principal; in hospital under guard,” 25,335.
“Man killed and woman injured in early-morning shooting in Bellingham,” 24,337.
“Bellingham couple suspected of child rape and incest over past four years,” 23,622.
“Male pedestrian dies after being hit by dump truck near Bellingham Costco,” 22,921.
This story was originally published December 31, 2019 at 12:02 PM.
