KITCHENER -- As 2020 draws to a close, CTVNewsKitchener.ca is looking back on some of the stories that made headlines this year.
Here are 10 of our the most read stories from 2020.
After testing positive for COVID-19 seven times, a Cambridge, Ont., woman was relieved to hear that her eighth test came back negative.
“I cried because I was so happy,” says Tracy Schofield.
But that feeling didn’t last long.
In order to be considered recovered from the virus, patients must receive two negative results within a 24-hour period.
Schofield was swabbed for a ninth time, and once again she tested positive for COVID-19.
Kitchener student's duct tape prom dress in the running for $10K scholarship
A student at Eastwood Collegiate Institute is the only Canadian to be represented in a contest to make prom attire out of duct tape.
The Duck Brand Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest challenged students around North America to create their best prom outfit out of duct tape.
Lena Hart, who was one of about 400 applicants in Canada and the U.S., spent 146 hours and 12 rolls of tape to create her dress.
Restaurant, owners and staff charged under Ontario's Liquor Licence Act after fatal crash
A Cambridge restaurant and four people associated with it are facing charges in connection to a fatal impaired driving crash.
St. Louis Bar and Grill, two of its owners and two staff members are facing a combined 21 charges under the Liquor Licence Act, police said.
The charges are in connection to a fatal crash in November 2019 that left 67-year-old Kenneth Scott dead.
Ontario researchers developing COVID-19 vaccine delivered by nasal spray
Researchers from the University of Waterloo are working on a COVID-19 vaccine to be delivered through nasal spray, and used to both treat and immunize against the virus.
While there is still plenty of testing left to be done and the work has not been peer-reviewed, the non-invasive vaccine is being designed to both treat and immunize against the virus.
Mother-daughter duo wins $1,000 a week for life, opts to take the cash
A mother-daughter team plan on buying houses near one another after they won Cash for Life.
Amanda McInnis said she was at the store when the clerk suggested she buy the ticket.
She got home and scratched the ticket, which is when she saw the LIFE symbol three times. She said she thought she was "hallucinating" or "dreaming" when she saw them.
Man killed in car explosion outside Kitchener courthouse, police believe IED involved
A man was killed in a car explosion outside the Kitchener courthouse in August. Police initially believed a suspected improvised explosive device was responsible for the explosion, but later said it was an incendiary device.
Police confirmed that a man died in the explosion, and that he was connected to two Kitchener residences where investigators were conducting searches - on Hearthwood Drive and Grand Flats Trail.
The fire was intentionally set, police said.
Fires at three Walmart locations in Kitchener-Waterloo now being investigated as arson
The Waterloo Regional Police Service is investigating three overnight fires that happened at Walmart locations in Kitchener and Waterloo.
Police had said that the fires were considered suspicious and announced they were investigating the fires as arson.
Two people were charged in connection to the fires.
Waterloo Region man, 41, dies of COVID-19, public health says
A Waterloo Region man who was sick with COVID-19 died from the disease on March 31.
The man, who was hospitalized at St. Mary's Hospital, is the first death related to COVID-19 recorded in Waterloo Region.
Public health officials say that the man had pre-existing health conditions.
Kitchener, Ont. native dies following international health care battle
A Kitchener, Ont. native, who returned home from a trip to Thailand late last year to have a serious brain tumour removed, has died.
Alex Witmer’s wife Jennifer shared a post on Instagram on that read "Alex Witmer. February 26, 1989 to June 14, 2020."
A Gretzky family friend and a senior OPP officer have been identified as the two people arrested in a months-long investigation into the theft of Wayne Gretzky memorabilia from the house of Walter Gretzky.
According to the Brantford Police Service, 58-year-old Ken Hadall of Oakville was arrested and charged in the case. Police confirm to CTV Kitchener that Hadall was a friend of the Gretzky family.
