One reporter's top 10 Minneapolis stories for 2011

Here's one reporter's list of the top 10 new stories affecting Minneapolitans in 2011, plus a bonus pick for Minneapolis personality of the year. The North Side tornado tops the list but the rest are in no particular order. Feel free to add your nominations in the comments section. :

*The May 22 North Side tornado ripped down suddenly across a swath of neighborhoods and the recovery mobilized many from within the area and across the city.

*City finances stabilized with no tax increase for 2012, thanks to a successful fight at the Legislature to maintain the city's state aid and a pensin plan merger that cuts the city's annual bill sharply.

*Plans for a Northside Achievement Zone to nurture children from cradle to college, along with their families got a federal boost of $28 million over five years.

*Two North Side youth were shot within days of each other in spasm of violence that shocked the city.

*The city jumped back into the Vikings stadium hunt with the Metrodome emerging as the preference among city leaders.

*School Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson awarded $270,000 in retroactive raises to administrators when the district was laying off teachers, catching a school board dominated by rookies off guard.

*The demise of the Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program.

*Enrollment rose slightly for Minneapolis schools after years of decline, prompting the district to lay plans for a $45 million building program.

*The One Minneapolis, One Read program drew native daughter Michele Norris back to the city to discuss her memoir of growing up in Minneapolis, and launching groups to stimulate discussion of the racial histories and views of participants, building some bridges after a bruising battle over a dog park proposed for Dr. Martin Luther King Park in King Field.