The Butler Eagle team looked at the numbers and learned what stories were most read on the website over the past year.

These “most read” pieces reflect the reporting that most engaged our readers throughout the year. They are often the stories told about loss, about celebration and about the people, places and causes that brought people together over 2025.

The most popular stories are below:

Two people died in a two-vehicle, head-on collision Friday morning, Oct. 17, on Evans City Road in Forward Township.

Marcia D. Carnahan, 80, of Slippery Rock, and Kathryn J. McGown, 69, of Evans City, were pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of a Mars Area School District bus died after the bus crashed into a tree March 6 along Three Degree Road in Adams Township.

In the aftermath, several lawsuits were filed on behalf of students.

Among the “No Kings” protests planned across the nation on Saturday, Oct. 18, was one at the intersection of Route 228 and Route 19. It was still important to have one in Butler County, the organizers said.

When he founded Denny Offstein Auto Sales & Service in 1992 on Hazel Avenue in Butler’s Island neighborhood, the well-known entrepreneur didn’t just open a business. Offstein also set about building a legacy of love for his hometown.

Offstein announced plans to close his business earlier this year.

A 27-year-old Fombell woman was sentenced Aug. 21 for causing a May 2023 drunken driving crash that claimed the life of a Butler Eagle press operator who was driving home from work less than two weeks before he planned to retire.

Kassandra M. Clyde was sentenced in Butler County Common Pleas Court to serve a mandatory sentence of 3 to 10 years in state prison related to the death of 65-year-old James Barge, of New Castle.

Some Cranberry Township homeowners expressed concerns after receiving a letter indicating their property falls within a potential area of oil and gas development between Butler and Beaver counties.

The letter, sent from Moody and Associates on behalf of PennEnergy Resources, requested information about any known oil or gas wells — active, inactive, abandoned or orphaned — on or near private properties. It states the survey is part of a requirement under Pennsylvania’s environmental code to prepare for possible future development.

The Department of Government Efficiency might have saved $749,773 with the cancellation of three annual leases for Office of Personnel Management locations in Butler County, according to the department’s website on Wednesday, March 5.

But as the year went on, these properties were removed from the department’s website.

A Butler man died in a March 29 motorcycle crash along Route 422.

Ronald E. Litzinger, 43, died after the Harley-Davidson motorcycle he was driving along Route 422 crashed just east of East Butler Road.

His fiancée, Cassidy Nixon, said he didn’t believe in sitting at home and made her “live life to the fullest with him, whether I liked it or not.”

A 26-year-old woman died Nov. 22, after being electrocuted at Sonneborn in Petrolia.

Victoria Zachrich, of Hadley, Mercer County, died of an accidental low-voltage electrocution, according to the Butler County Coroner’s Office. State Police said the woman was electrocuted while working at her job site around 10:28 a.m. near Nesbit Avenue.

The Ms. North America Beauty Pageant took place in mid-July in Orlando, Fla., near where Brittany Scott currently lives in Tampa. Scott said she made her return to pageantry because everything lined up perfectly for her to compete in the pageant.

She was crowned Ms. North America in July.

Just weeks after a second Chick-fil-A location received approval from Adams Township supervisors to open at the Adams Corners shopping center on Route 228, it became apparent the chain was seeking to open a Butler Township location, too.

A Mexican restaurant located just outside Cranberry Township, Tepache, temporarily closed after it said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers raided the business over lunchtime June 25.

Another Mexican restaurant, Emiliano’s, was raided by ICE later in the year.

Since new management of Moraine Pointe Plaza was announced earlier this year, at least two businesses have moved out or are making plans to do so.

The shopping plaza — home to Giant Eagle, Sam’s Club and wide variety of smaller, sometimes locally-owned businesses — saw Northwest Thermax close on July 31. Pets in the Park also closed.

Since Oak Springs mobile home park in Cranberry Township was handed over to new management nearly two years ago, the remaining residents say rising costs at the 55-plus community have forced many of their former neighbors to seek new homes.

Those who have stayed put their faith in proposed state legislation to improve their standard of living — House Bill 1250, which would tie any increases in lot rent at manufactured home communities to the consumer price index as a measure of inflation.

The legislation stalled in the Senate.

Dora B. Hovis, 48, of St. Petersburg, Clarion County, died in a March 10 crash on Route 38 in Concord Township.

The head-on crash was reported around 4 p.m. along Route 38, just north of its intersection with Rider Road, according to a crash report from state police.

A passenger on a motorcycle, Betty E. Campbell, 66, of Butler, died after the 2011 Can-Am Spyder she was riding on crashed into a creek along Oneida Valley Road in Washington Township.

The driver was taken from the scene by medical helicopter and later reported to be in stable condition.

Even a year after the death of her father, Corey Comperatore’s youngest daughter, Kaylee Comperatore, said life still doesn’t feel real.

“Everything I knew for the 24 years of my life got taken away in an instant. It’s been very hard trying to pick up the pieces and accept that my life will never be normal again,” she said.

On July 13, 2024, the Buffalo Township firefighter, his wife and his two adult daughters joined thousands of people at the Butler Farm Show grounds for a rally for then-candidate President Donald Trump, who was campaigning for a second term. The four went ready to enjoy the outing and show support to their candidate of choice.

Corey Comperatore was killed shielding his wife, Helen, and two daughters, Kaylee and Allyson, from gunfire. The three women spoke with the Eagle earlier this year leading up to the anniversary of Corey’s death.

Two new businesses were on the verge of opening their doors following a supervisor’s agenda preparation meeting on July 31 in Cranberry Township.

One of those is an Amish Yard, set to be located on 1.5 acres at 1331 Old Freedom Road between the Sheetz convenience store and Drake’s Carwash.

Meanwhile, another business described its plans during a public hearing. Owners of Crash Champions, an automotive repair shop, have plans to construct a 20,000-square-foot building on 4.35 acres at 21239 Route 19 near Seven Seas Pools & Spas.

A Butler man who crashed into a tractor trailer while driving the wrong way on Route 422 in Summit Township and saw more than $3,000 raised via a fundraiser had methamphetamine in his system during the crash, police said.

Jason Curry, 48, was charged Oct. 8, with one misdemeanor count each of driving under the influence and reckless endangerment following the April 15 crash.

More than 50 firefighters from 11 fire stations worked for hours early Nov. 2, to battle a three-alarm blaze that destroyed the former Bantam Jeep building in Butler.