Ed Thomas murder, same-sex marriage among our top stories of the year

Two Iowa stories, both of which became national news, were the top news stories of 2009, based on balloting by journalists in the Gazette and KCRG-TV9 newsrooms.

The top story was the June 24 murder of legendary Aplington-Parkersburg High School football coach Ed Thomas as he worked with students in the school's weight room. Former football player Mark Becker, 24, who'd been hospitalized with mental health issues, faces trial on a first-degree murder charge on March 9.

Thomas was Aplington-Parkersburg's football coach for 34 years, leading his teams to two state championships and 19 playoff appearances. He held leadership positions in his church and in Parkersburg, particularly in helping rebuild the town after a devastating tornado in 2008. About 2,500 people attended his funeral.

Iowa also became national news in April after the Iowa Supreme Court held that the state's 1998 law defining marriage as solely between one man and one woman was unconstitutional.

Iowa became the third state to allow same-sex unions, joining Connecticut and Massachusetts, with Vermont quickly following suit. Same-sex couples lined up for marriage licenses, with some coming from out of state to be married.

The issue promises to be debated in next year's legislative and gubernatorial campaign.

The other top 10 news stories, in order, were:

3. The process of flood recovery continued in Iowa and the Corridor. The first buyouts of flooded residential properties were completed in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. Cedar Rapids hired a flood recovery coordinator. Flooded businesses reopened. Decisions are expected in early 2010 on where to rebuild the Cedar Rapids Public Library, Hancher Auditorium in Iowa City and whether city government returns to the Veterans Memorial Building on May's Island.

4. A projected billion dollar state budget deficit prompted layoffs, closures and reorganizations, as courts laid off employees, schools cut budget 10 percent, the University of Iowa added a mid-year $100 tuition surcharge. The budget - and lack of money - is expected to be of major concern in the legislative session that begins in January.

5. Cedar Rapids police Officer Tim Davis was seriously injured while investigating an armed robbery on First Avenue East in later March. The attack led to public forums and fundraisers on Davis' behalf; the opening of police substation on First Avenue East; and a city crackdown on problem properties. Davis continues to recover from a head injury and is working part-time. Three teens are charged in the robbery and attack, with court hearings set in 2010.

6. The University of Iowa Hawkeye football team went 9-0 for the school's best start ever before erratic and entertaining quarterback Ricky Stanzi was injured. The Hawks lost two games before ending the season with a victory and being invited to the Jan. 5 Orange Bowl in Miami.

7. H1N1 flu reaches pandemic proportions, killing at least three dozen Iowans, most of them with underlying health conditions that made them especially vulnerable to the virus. Public health clinics were set up to administer vaccines to the most vulnerable - children, pregnant women, health-care workers - before the vaccine becomes generally available. Some schools surpassed a 20 percent absentee rate at the height of the epidemic in the fall, but none had to close. Officials fear another outbreak after the holidays.

8. Former legislator and chamber of commerce president Ron Corbett is elected mayor of Cedar Rapids after a campaign in which he criticized a “culture of delay” in making decisions about flood recovery. Corbett takes office Jan. 2 with a majority of the council that says it wants to “break huddle” and make decisions.

9. Former Agriprocessors plant manager Sholom Rubashkin is found guilty of financial fraud in a federal trial in Sioux Falls, S.D. He is to be sentenced in December. The federal government dropped the immigration charges against Rubashkin, angering some who wanted a trial to explore the government's role in the largest on-site immigration raid in U.S. history.

10. It was year for wacky weather - the coldest day ever recorded in Cedar Rapids of minus 29 on Jan. 15; the coldest July on record in Iowa; the wettest August on record, with 14.4 inches of rain at The Eastern Iowa Airport; and a blizzard on Dec. 8-9 that left behind 10 inches of snow, the third highest total for a snowstorm in Iowa weather history.

And, on that stormy note, we look ahead to the news in 2010.

VOTE: What's your top news story of 2009?