Photo Illustration by Justin A. Hinkley This collage of News archive photos shows, in the background, firefighters battling the John A. Lau blaze in July, and, foreground, from left to right, Style Wherehouse owner Jessica Krueger in June after J.C. Penney announced its closure, Alpena nurse Katherine Watts in May while helping the coronavirus fight in Detroit, and Lucas Moquin, then artistic director of Thunder Bay Theatre, after examining damage to the theater from the adjacent fire at John A. Lau.

ALPENA — When this year’s New Year’s revelers belt out “Auld Lang Syne,” they’ll gladly call 2020 an old acquaintance best never brought to mind.

That’s because they’ll be holed up in their homes, sipping champagne by themselves or only with the most immediate family, instead of out on the town or with a house full of friends.

The coronavirus changed everything.

There were some good things in 2020. This was, after all, the year the Alpena hospital broke ground on a new patient tower and manufacturing hub I2P thrived at the long-vacant former Kmart.

But 2020 was the year of the virus.

Here’s a look back at some of the biggest news of the year:

CORONAVIRUS ROARS

Hitting first in April and roaring anew in November, the virus didn’t just sicken and kill. It canceled parades and festivals that were the lifeblood of small businesses. It stretched entrepreneurs to near or past their breaking point.

As of Wednesday, 1,988 Northeast Michiganders had been infected since the pandemic’s start, 51 of whom died.

The virus inspired the community, such as the army of mask-makers who stepped up to handmake face masks for hospitals when supplies were scant and residents who rallied around local restaurants that were forced to close their doors.

But, rather than universally bringing countrymen together against a common enemy, the virus only seemed to further widen the already yawning political chasms between us as neighbors took sides over whether government mandates were tyranny or good public health policy.

A vaccine is now rolling out to health care workers and others on the front line of virus defense, but it could be spring or even summer before the general population in Northeast Michigan gets its first dose.

A VIOLENT YEAR

Four violent deaths pockmarked the year as Alpena County recorded two murder-suicides, one in August and another in October. It was the first time since 2010 police in Alpena County had to open multiple murder investigations.

Police, too, came under attack when two officers had to take cover from gunfire on Thanksgiving Day as they attempted to serve an arrest warrant.

I2P RISES, RETAIL RECOILS

Alpena made strides in manufacturing footprint while suffering losses in retail stores in 2020.

I2P, which stands for Ideas to Production, boomed in its material handling production business, announcing in September it planned to expand from its current location at the old Kmart building on U.S.-23 into the Alpena Mall, which it purchased.

That sent many mall tenants — already worrisome after anchor store J.C. Penney announced in June it would close — wondering about their futures. I2P said it would honor month-to-month leases through the end of the year and renegotiate leases after that, while economic development officials were trying to relocate some mall stores into vacant properties downtown.

The same month I2P set its sights on the mall, the retail decline was magnified when longtime grocery store Neiman’s Family Market announced its closure after 37 years in the city.

I2P expects its business to continue to thrive, and is still seeking other locations where it can further expand.

THEATERS COME, THEATERS GO

It wasn’t just the virus. Fire and entrepreneurship remade the Alpena entertainment scene in 2020.

In July, iconic restaurant John A. Lau Saloon caught fire and burned to the ground. Thousands of dollars were raised by the community for owner Jon Benson, a frequent benefactor to Alpena nonprofits.

However, the fire caused significant collateral damage to the adjacent Thunder Bay Theatre, which was unable to reopen this year after state-mandated closures meant to prevent the virus’s spread. In October, the theater board parted ways with artistic director Lucas Moquin and said the theater’s rebuild was in a “holding pattern.”

Meanwhile, the State Theater cinema, also shuttered by coronavirus restrictions, sat dark.

Then, in August, local developer Jeff Konczak announced plans to purchase and renovate the State and the former Royal Knight Theater (closed since 2018), turning the State into a live performance venue and the Royal Knight into a working cinema.

KING NOT CHARGED, COUNTY SETTLES

In mid-2019, former Alpena County undersheriff Terry King resigned in the face of termination by Alpena County Sheriff Steve Kieliszewski, who accused King of improperly interfering with an Alpena Police Department investigation and improperly billing the state for the county’s contracted work providing security at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center.

King sued, saying he was wrongfully ousted for pointing out others’ wrongdoing in county government.

In August, King lost the Republican primary election to Kieliszewski, who was unopposed in November.

But, in November, the Michigan State Police and state Attorney General’s Office said King would face no charges over the base security contract, though the state did withhold money from the county over the supposed misbilling.

This month, the county settled with King, agreeing to pay $125,000 to end the lawsuit without either side claiming victory or admitting wrongdoing.

COUNTY SAVINGS DRAINING

Alpena County will be forced to pull about $2 million from savings to cover all of its 2021 expenses as costs rise and revenue stagnates.

Similar withdrawals in recent years are hurting the county’s savings, which is projected to shrink to nearly $1.3 million at the end of 2021 without drastic action.

Such withdrawals are “only a Band-Aid, but, once this Band-Aid is gone, it’s gone,” Treasurer Kim Ludlow said in October.

County officials will have to make tough decisions in the near future.

NEW SUPERINTENDENT

Alpena Public Schools in July bid adieu to then-superintendent John VanWagoner, who took the top job in Traverse City’s school district.

In September, the district welcomed new Superintendent David Rabbideau.

The school board selected Rabbideau, former assistant superintendent of Harper Woods Schools, just as district administrators were finalizing back to school plans amid the pandemic. Rabbideau had to hit the ground running, figuring how to implement a mix of in-person and online classes earlier in the school year before repeatedly transitioning to online-only learning as the coronavirus surged in November.

GROUND BROKEN ON HOSPITAL TOWER

Construction began this summer on a new, $63.5 million patient tower at MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena.

The three-story tower will feature 60 new patient rooms, including 20 surgical rooms, 22 progressive care rooms, eight intensive care rooms, eight labor recovery rooms with a cesarean section suite, five operating rooms, and 18 private recovery rooms.

Hospital officials previously told The News completion is expected in spring 2022.