State officials raided a polygamist ranch. A long-shot presidential candidate became a fundraising phenomenon. And the governor's mansion burned, a mystery that remains unsolved.

But it was a deadly series of hurricanes, climaxing with a Texas-sized storm named Ike, that dominated state news like no other story in 2008.

In retrospect, Dolly, Edouard and Gustav seemed like warm-up acts to Hurricane Ike. Though the storm came and went in far less than 24 hours, this was no one-day story. Ike wiped out coastal towns, damaged stadiums and skyscrapers, killed dozens of Texans, caused billions in property damage and led to thousands losing their jobs.

But it wasn't the only story that led newscasts, made headlines or received clicks in 2008.

The state ran out of time to execute a death row inmate, whose case is now under review. One of the reasons: a romance between his prosecutor and the presiding judge.

Federal regulators nailed a pair of Texas-based airlines with record fines. A politician with great hair who waltzed into the job when his predecessor received a big promotion became the longest-serving governor in Texas history. And two Democratic presidential candidates waged an electrifying battle for Texas delegates.

Some of these stories will bleed into 2009. Recovery efforts from Ike continue, appeals from the death row inmate are pending and battles over the border fence remain stuck in court.

Those stories can wait for 2009. For now, here's a look back at the top Texas stories of 2008:

* HURRICANE IKE: Ike blasted ashore around Galveston just after 3 a.m. on Sept. 13 and had already moved out of Texas by day's end. But it was a costly day: Thirty-seven dead, entire communities swallowed by storm surge, at least $8.1 billion in insured damage. Ike claimed more victims in November when the UT System Board of Regents announced 3,800 layoffs at a hurricane-damaged medical facility in Galveston.

* OBAMA AND CLINTON: In the Democratic primary, Texas was supposed to be Hillary Clinton country. It was -- sort of. Clinton narrowly won the popular vote in the state's primary. But because of the party's Byzantine process of awarding delegates, Barack Obama could later count Texas as a win. Though Clinton picked up the most delegates from the primary vote, Obama's superior field organization helped him win more delegates than Clinton through the caucus system. The final delegate count: Obama 99, Clinton 94.

* POLYGAMIST RETREAT: In April, child welfare officials raided a Schleicher County ranch that is home to a breakaway Mormon group. They placed 438 children in foster care and accused the group of forcing underage girls into marriages and sex. But the state overreached, and the Texas Supreme Court ordered the children returned to their parents. Amazingly, this saga began with an abuse hotline phone call now being investigated as a hoax.

* CHARLES DEAN HOOD: Hood, an ex-bouncer at a topless club, was sentenced to die for killing a former dancer and her boyfriend. Numerous last-minute appeals failed but delayed his June execution by several hours. Then the warden nixed it altogether, deciding he couldn't meet a midnight deadline. Hood received a new date, only to see his execution stayed after his lawyers successfully raised the complaint that the presiding judge and district attorney in his original trial were having an affair.

* GOVERNOR'S MANSION FIRE: It might be the state's most notorious unsolved mystery. A suspect tossed a Molotov cocktail into the governor's mansion, which was empty while undergoing a $10 million renovation. The blaze destroyed the roof, damaged the walls and scorched the picturesque front columns of the two-story Greek Revival-style house, whose most famous residents include Sam Houston and President George W. Bush.

* DR. MICHAEL DEBAKEY: It's no overstatement to say DeBakey was one of the best doctors in the world. He treated kings and princes and presidents. He invented a major component of the heart-lung machine, ushering in the era of open-heart surgery; developed artificial hearts and heart pumps; and created more than 70 surgical instruments. When he died in July at age 99, he was given an honor unique in Houston: His body lay in repose at city hall. Fittingly, he was clad in surgical scrubs and a white lab coat.

* BORDER FENCE: The federal plan to erect a fence along the border played out in the courts in 2008. One of the snags: hundreds of property owners upset about having their land seized. So far, the feds have filed more than 300 condemnation lawsuits, leaving the courts to decide how land owners should be compensated.

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