The coronavirus was a dominating storyline of 2020. Articles about the first community transmission of COVID-19 in Utah, church services being canceled and Queen Elizabeth possibly contracting the virus were among the top-read Deseret News stories this year.
Perhaps because of the pandemic, with more people hunkered down at home, articles featuring recipes were extremely popular this year — the most-read Deseret News story of 2020 was an explainer on how to make Disneyland’s Dole Whip. Close behind that was a recipe for Disney Parks’ churros.
During a divisive election cycle, people were also drawn to stories about cancel culture — specifically, the drama surrounding Chris Pratt not attending a fundraiser in support of Joe Biden and “Mandalorian” star Gina Carano citing voter fraud in the 2020 election.
In an already unusual year, stories highlighting the bizarre resonated with our audience — everything from the mystery of the Utah monolith to a Utah man’s six-minute encounter with a cougar.
Our readers also mourned the loss of notable people this year — from business giant Clayton Christensen to Kobe Bryant to Alex Trebek.
As 2020 comes to a close, here’s a look at 20 of the biggest stories on Deseret.com.