Taking a look at the top stories of the first quarter of 2011

Tonight we take a look back at the big stories that made headlines in the valley over the year.

The valley rang in 2011 with snow, and lots of it. The F-M area saw back-to-back snowstorms, both dumping 5 inches of snow on the metro. The first blizzard caused a 100 car pile-up on Interstate 94 near Mapleton on December 30th. One man died in the massive crash.

Also in January NDSU researcher Kurt Johnson was killed in Cooperstown. Daniel Wacht has been charged in connection with his death after authorities found Johnson's severed head in Wacht's basement. His body still hasn't been found. Wacht is scheduled for trial in April.

In February Perham High School Basketball player Zach Gabbard captured attention around the region after collapsing during a basketball game and being rushed to the hospital. He spent four months in the hospital in the Twin Cities, undergoing several heart surgeries. Gabbard is now back on the bench for Perham. He hasn't been cleared to play yet, but is suiting up.

Also in February, sandbag central operations ramped up in Fargo in anticipation of another spring flood. 12,600 volunteers helped to fill 2.5 million sandbags in just 22 days.

Tags: news, updates