Former residents of the buildings mourned a loss of the iconic institution.

Between 2009 and 2010, as an agricultural student, Jen O'Ryan lived in the block that sustained extensive damage during the blaze.

"I met some life-long friends that I lived with in that particular building for a year," told The Daily Advertiser at the time.

"We came from a diverse range of degrees, and many remain in contact now."

The site is still set to be transformed into an aged care facility, and police have released no further leads into that investigation despite a second fire in the same location later in the year.

May was well and truly a month of ups and downs for Wagga's local businesses.

On the one hand, it was a month of new beginnings for many new business owners setting up shop in Central with exciting new ventures.

A young family opened a new franchise in the community to meet a gap in the market and provide an easy solution to creating a sustainable lifestyle.

Jenny and Rick Storrier started the Source Bulk Foods and filled a vacant corner shop on Forsyth and Best streets to offer the community an alternative to grocery shopping with a zero-waste concept.

But unfortunately, May also saw the Mill Residence lose another business as the Asian Supermarket confirmed its closure.

Owner Denis Xiao confirmed with The Daily Advertiser had closed down but did not reveal why.

It was a weekend of green and gold as thousands celebrated the city's biggest race day and cheered on a fierce NRL match.

Thousands piled into the Murrumbidgee Turf Club dressed to the nines and ready to bet on their favourites.

Staying true to her sense of fashion saw Viera Macikova take out Lady of the Day.

"I wanted to showcase fur, even though it is a beautiful and sunny day and I am a bit hot," she told The Daily Advertiser at the time.

"I like the unmatched outfits, which is why I went with different colours and patterns.

"I thought the deep orange shirt was well suited to an autumn race, and the hat is mismatched, but I love the style."

While on the racecourse, imported stayer Abdon provided champion Sydney trainer Chris Waller with back-to-back victories in the $170,000 Wagga Gold Cup (2000m).

In the second chapter to an epic weekender the city's tourism, Canberra's rugged defence added more headaches for Penrith as the Raiders stormed to a 30-12 win at Equex Centre.

In front of a near sell-out crowd of 10,079 in Wagga, the Raiders made the most of their opportunities while the Panthers didn't.

Canberra opened the scoring after 10 minutes when an early Sam Williams grubber kick was pounced on by Michael Oldfield, a late replacement for Joey Leilua who woke up with a stiff neck.

And to top off the month, the Riverina welcomed snow in parts of the region as the days became colder.

Batlow, Tumbarumba and Laurel Hill were transformed into winter wonderlands with five to 10cm of snowfall in the last few days of May.

The owners of Bethungra's Shirley Hotel found themselves the centre of national attention after their unusual proposal to sell the Shirley Hotel for just $100.

But it was revealed in May their plan was waylaid. Owner Robyn Cox and her husband Allan chosen a system that required interested applicants to pay $100 for a processing fee.

Then a neutral party would have chosen the successor based on who had the best idea for the hotel's future. However an investigation by NSW Fair Trading found the couple were in breach of the Lotteries and Art Union Act 1901, because applicants were not required to have a skill set to qualify.

In May, Mrs Cox told The Daily Advertiser that they had to refund 450 applicants, but they still hoped to find another method to sell their hotel, without burdening future owners.

"I'm really proud that we brought this to the public's attention in a big way," she said.

"The public had no idea that 90 per cent of people can't afford to run these old properties and something has got to change."

The region wearily headed into polling booths for the third time in less than a year - this time for a federal election - with Michael McCormack declaring victory in the Riverina seat by 9.30pm on the May 18 election night. Interestingly, this electorate was the only one in NSW where voters delivered double-digit numbers to Clive Palmer's party.

Wagga punters were found to be pumping - and losing - more than $781,000 a week through the city's poker machines. Wagga RSL ranked in the top 100 clubs in NSW for net profit, at 94, while the Rules Club sat at 150.

It might start off beautifully, but could end in a crisis. And despite the uncertainty of what could happen, registered midwife Allie Reid believes helping babies into the world is the most rewarding career she could hope for. She shared what a day in the life as a midwife looks like.

It was more than brisk in Wagga on May 27 - and that's because it was snowing up in the hills. Batlow, Tumbarumba and Laurel Hill recorded up to 10cm of snow over a Sunday and Monday, days out before winter even officially began.

The announcement that from May 20 drink-drivers who are first-time, lower range offenders would receive an immediate three-month licence suspension and a fine of $561 drew plenty of debate.