Douglas Dispatch (The Daily Dispatch)

.When you look back on the year, there are many stories that could be in the Top 10 in local news. Today, we offer thoughts on the local stories we think are memorable from the past year.

Douglas Dispatch (The Daily Dispatch)

Minimum wage in Arizona increased 5 percent today PHOENIX (AP) — The minimum wage in Arizona rises 5 percent to $7.25 an hour on New Year’s Day, the third annual increase since voters approved the minimum-wage initiative by a 2-1 ratio in 2006.

Douglas Dispatch (The Daily Dispatch)

he Douglas Masonic lodge of Douglas and the Douglas Shrine club of Douglas is supporting the House of Hope this year with a HOPE tree. The first name and age of the child whom are the House of Hope are listed on the HOPE tree.

Sign up for direct deposit, VA suggests (The Providence Journal)

Every month, 730,000 veterans or survivors look for their Department of Veterans Affairs compensation, pension checks or educational assistance payments in their mailboxes. Nearly all receive them, but theft and mail delays cause problems for some veterans.

County buildings hold place in history (The Topeka Capital-Journal)

The most impressive feature of St. Joseph's Catholic Church is its "two identical steeples towering over all the neighborhood buildings and trees," said the nomination submitted in 1970 to get it onto the National Register of Historic Places.