We hope no one expected 2021 to be a slower news year than the shitshow that was 2020. Because it wasn’t.

Amid all the chaos, Current readers parsed our site for vital info on Texas’ near-total abortion ban and the firing of a popular local TV news anchor who happens to share a name with an Egyptian goddess and superhero.

But it’s also clear that folks craved something lighthearted, which explains why so many read a story on a local family winning ABC’s Great Christmas Light Fight. Or why so many clicked on a piece about Tussaud’s Waxworks removing its Trump figure because people just couldn’t resist its punchable face.

Buckle up and get ready for a ride through the serious, the silly, the sad, the sublime and the strange that comprised the Current‘s biggest news stories of 2021. 

20. Texas Governor signs new law requiring strip club employees and patrons to be at least 21
19. Just days after grand opening, San Antonio’s first Mochinut location closes temporarily
18. Site compiles stories of outspoken anti-vaxxers, including Texans, who died preventable COVID deaths
17. Here’s where you can see fireworks in and around San Antonio on the Fourth of July
16. Black Rifle Coffee denounced extremists — and the far right is pissed
15. San Antonio’s mural celebrating Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon has been painted over
14. San Antonio family wins $50,000 prize on ABC’s Great Christmas Light Fight
13. Ted Cruz falls asleep during presidential address, and Julián Castro can’t resist jabbing him for it
12. After crushing women’s right to choose, Greg Abbott says Texans have ‘right to choose’ not to get vaxxed
11. All kindergarten teachers at a North San Antonio elementary school have tested positive for COVID-19
10. Court orders San Antonio Dairy Queen operator to pay $358,000 in back wages to its managers
9. A Texas Republican leader who repeatedly mocked masks and vaccines has died of COVID-19
8. Ted Cruz says leaked texts about his Cancun trip show how ‘nasty’ politics has become. Cry us a river.
7. San Antonio high school graduation walk goes viral after student shows off revealing dress under robe
6. Tussaud’s Waxworks in San Antonio removes Trump figure because people keep punching it
5. San Antonio delivery driver gets fired after being caught on doorbell cam throwing pizza
4. There’s so much poop along the Texas Coast, swimming could make you sick, new report says
3. ICU doctor says Gov. Abbott’s reaction to COVID diagnosis shows he’s ‘scared’ of virus he downplays
2. The Satanic Temple begins legal maneuver to skirt Texas’ new abortion ban
1. Isis Romero, 10 p.m. anchor for San Antonio’s KSAT 12, announces her firing on Facebook

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