Autumn-Rain Stephens scores for the Kiwi Ferns. Photo / Photosport
The Rotorua Daily Post is looking back at the stories of 2021. Here's what made headlines in October.
Autumn-Rain Stephens was living the dream - she'd secured an NRL contract playing women's league professionally in Australia for the Newcastle Knights.
But then Covid-19 returned, her competition got postponed and she got stranded in Australia unable to secure a MIQ spot to get home.
The days of trying turned into weeks.
But as she headed into her sixth week of uncertainty Stephens got the good news she'd hoped for.
Alongside her fellow Kiwi Ferns teammates also stranded, Katelyn Vaha'akolo and Maitua Feterika, they checked the MIQ website.
The ecstatic celebration was captured on video as the trio realised they were going home.
Using one motel for transitional housing could cost Rotorua businesses $3.4 million a year and lead to job losses and business closures, a new report said.
It further found tourism losses would hit $14.8m if another six in-progress resource consent applications to use Rotorua motels for public housing were granted.
The report was prepared by NERA Economic Consulting for Restore Rotorua Inc, a new group of Rotorua citizens "deeply concerned" about the state of the town.
The group invited Rotorua Lakes Council to "engage with us in the best interests of all who live in Rotorua" but said it would consider taking legal action as a last resort.
It was a sunny afternoon on Fathers' Day September 1, 2019 when a drugged-out Mongrel Mob member with a face full of tattoos jumped out of a car at a busy Rotorua intersection with a large gun and opened fire on a police officer.
Bullet fragments hit a nearby taxi driver.
The agitated mobster carjacked a Pāpāmoa woman at gunpoint and drove off in her car before demanding a second vehicle from a mum who was in the front yard of her Te Ngae Rd home with her young daughter.
Three victims of Te Kuti Tahana's violent rampage opened up publicly for the first time to journalist Kelly Makiha.
A judge said the Rotorua Lakes Council was trying to minimise its offending in relation to the discharge of a dangerous substance from the city's dump - and he has a feeling there is little remorse.
Rotorua District Court Judge Jeff Smith is to decide the punishment of Rotorua Lakes Council after it admitted a charge of discharging a dangerous substance from the city's dump.
The council says the effects of its offending have been overemphasised. It says there is no evidence to suggest it caused "measurable adverse effects" on the environment and claims to the contrary are "wrong and misleading".
Judge Smith, who is yet to deliver his final decision, made the comments during the second day of a sentencing hearing.
Super Saturday saw 3056 Covid-19 vaccinations being administered in the Lakes District Health Board region, with "a huge number" of people getting their first dose.
It was also a record number for vaccines administered in one day in the region.
The Ministry of Health data was accurate as of 9.36pm on Saturday, however Lakes DHB says the figure could be higher due to manual entries being added to the immunisation register.
The DHB's programme manager for Covid-19 vaccinations Heather Lang said the day was "a huge success" and offered a "massive thank you" to the community and staff.
Rotorua's "hospo" scene is changing as the world adapts to Covid-19 times. Despite the upheaval, there are some who are still loving every single day and wouldn't change a thing.
Reporter Kelly Makiha met a Rotorua waitress who had worked at the same cafe for 20 years and talks to those in the industry about why hospitality can still be a great career.
Despite Covid-19 alert level restrictions, this year's Crankworx aimed to reach an audience of millions.
The Rotorua-based international mountain biking event was broadcast live globally via Red Bull TV, a channel with more than 1.5 million subscribers and videos surpassing 140 million views.
Crankworx event organiser Ariki Tibble said the broadcast was an opportunity to showcase Rotorua's culture and local talent to millions across the world.
"People who are accustomed to being front and centre around the country will still be able to tune in and catch the action," Tibble told the Rotorua Daily Post.
The event was closed to spectators.
Millions of dollars were pumped into Rotorua's car dealerships as people spend extra cash upgrading their vehicles instead of on overseas holidays.
However, shipping delays meant people wanting new cars not in stock for Christmas may have to wait until almost mid-next year. [2022]
Figures from Rotorua Lakes Council showed a building consent valued at $2.5 million was issued for a new showroom and service centre at 105 Old Taupo Rd and a consent valued at $650,000 for a Toyota showroom at 146 Lake Rd.
The two consents made up the lion's share of the $3,480,000 worth of commercial consents issued by Rotorua Lakes Council in September.
The news came as the Ebbett Group announced it was building a multimillion-dollar car dealership at 270-276 Te Ngae Rd, which would create more than 75 jobs for the city.
The wishing tree appeal is in its 31st year and the need for it 'has never been greater'.