Background of Idaho murder suspect tops list of most-read stories in 2022

January 2, 2023 12:15 PM

Melissa Luck,

Posted: January 2, 2023 12:15 PM

Updated: January 2, 2023 6:36 PM

by Melissa Luck

SPOKANE, Wash – The arrest of a suspect in the murder of four University of Idaho students came on the second to last day of 2022. A story on the suspect’s background was the most-read story of the year on kxly.com.

Here are the top five stories on our website and apps in 2022, based on pageviews.

What we know about Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger If you add up all the stories we wrote about the University of Idaho murders, it was clearly the story most people were interested in for 2022. But, a basic story on the limited background information we had about the suspect drew the most attention and was far and away the most-read story on our website last year.
31 members of white nationalist group arrested near Coeur d’Alene Pride event The second most-read story on our website also made national headlines. Coeur d’Alene Police were tipped off about a U-Haul carrying 31 members of the Patriot Front group, which was heading to a Pride event. Police pulled over the truck before it reached its destination. All 31 people were charged with crimes and are now making their way through the legal system.
‘A nightmare’: Family living without a roof after theirs was removed by a contractor they never hired The third most-read story on kxly.com in 2022 was about a contractor mishap in Priest River, Idaho. A family came home to find a contractor removing their roof, but it was maintenance they never asked for. The contractor showed up to the wrong house. The mistake led to costly damage not only to the roof, but also the inside of the home because of a wet spring. The damage was estimated at more than $70,000.
Scrap metal shops already seeing drop in catalytic converter sales due to new law Maybe this story struck a chord because of how many people were having their vehicles vandalized, but the fourth most-read story of 2022 on kxly.com was about a change in state law. It made it harder for thieves to make money by selling stolen catalytic converters. We did a follow-up story last week and Spokane Police said they’ve seen an 80% decline in calls from people reporting these thefts.
Alaska Airlines planes departing from Seattle and Portland canceled Rounding out our list of most-read stories last year was one that impacted so many travelers over the holidays. On December 23rd, Alaska Airlines stopped all flights from Seattle and Portland due to ice. That was the start of a messy holiday travel week, which climaxed with Southwest Airlines canceling thousands of flights nationwide, leaving people and their luggage stranded.