Nineteen high schools across Northwest Missouri battled it out last fall in a statewide seat belt use competition to see who could increase their student's seat belt usage rate the most.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) will offer a free workshop for landowners on how to effectively and safely use prescribed fire to boost wildlife habitat and reduce less desirable plant species.

The 2013 class is headed to southwestern Missouri for a hands-on look at careers in agriculture. Applications are available for the Missouri Agribusiness Academy, with the deadline set for Friday, February 1st.

In the first of at least TWO matchups between #2 ranked Trenton and #9 ranked Hamilton, the outstanding play of senior guard Elsie Greenwood proved too much for the Lady Bulldogs on Saturday night, with the Missouri S&T bound Penney product sizzling the nets for 35 points, with Hamilton earning their own tournament title with a 51-45 win.

Trenton and Chillicothe men were killed late Friday night when a pickup truck overturned off Highway 190 northwest of Chillicothe and hit two utility poles. Fatally injured were the driver, 27-year old Byron King of Chillicothe and a passenger, 19-year old Dakota "Codi" Nichols. The accident was eight miles northwest of Chillicothe on Highway 190. The Highway Patrol said the eastbound pickup crested a hill at high speed, became airborne, landed on the pavement, then skidded off the right side of the road.

The Highway Patrol reports that two Cameron boys were in a car that apparently experienced equipment failure and went off Clinton County Route T on Thursday afternoon. A passenger, 12 year old Wyatt Stone, received what were described as minor injuries and was taken to Cameron Regional Medical Center.

The Chillicothe Hornet wrestlers won five matches to Trenton's four in 'on-the-mat' competition on Tuesday night at Trenton High School. However, Chililcothe won four other weight classes by forfeit while giving up just one forfeit to the Bulldogs. The end result was Chillicothe winning the dual, 48-24.

The North Central Missouri College men's basketball team has won FOUR games in a row, including two in a row at home against their biggest region rivals. On Wednesday night at the Ketcham Community Center, the Pirates played consistently strong basketball in defeating the visiting Penn Valley Scouts by a score of 88-73.

LIvingston County Sheriff Steve Cox, in an update to a story reported earlier this week, says at least "one person" has been identified as a possible suspect stemming from an investigation into recent burglaries in the northwestern part of the county, where multiple firearms have been stolen from two residences.

The Jamesport Tri-County School District will not have classes on Thursday and Friday because of illness to students and staff. Superintendent Phil Fox said 29% of the students were absent today (Wednesday). That number is up from 25 percent on Tuesday. Four to five staff were also absent, with another two to three reporting "feeling poorly".

A Maysville couple has died at the scene of a single vehicle wreck in DeKalb County. The highway patrol identified the victims as 30 year old Nicole Browden and her husband, 27 year old Michael Browden.

Great Central U.S. ShakeOut earthquake drill on February 7 is a way for Missourians to get involved in earthquake preparedness. More than 350,000 Missourians are already registered to participate in the Great Central U.S.

In a statistical comparison from the end of 2012, compared with the end of the previous year 2011, figures provided by the state indicate Grundy County has 220 fewer people working while there are 280 fewer jobs in the civilian labor force.

The Milan Lady Wildcats rallied in the fourth quarter for an important Tri-Rivers Conference win against Scotland County on Friday night, part of a varsity doubleheader broadcast on KTTN FM 92.3 and 'Internet TV'.

The State Milk Board has announced that the plant license for Homestead Creamery of Jamesport has been reinstated. The facility was re-inspected by the Missouri State Milk Board on Tuesday. As a result, the license to process manufacturing grade dairy products was reinstated.

The Trenton boys lost an overtime thriller, while the girls rolled to their 16th victory of the season, in the Hamilton Tournament semifinals, played Thursday night and broadcast live on Hot Country Z 101.7 and 'Internet TV'.

The Trenton girls and boys basketball teams were challenged by squads from Bethany and Lathrop on Tuesday night, but strong fourth quarter surges by the Bulldogs sent both THS teams into Thursday night's semifinal round, with quarterfinal wins in the Hamilton Basketball Tournament.

The Livingston County Health Center will be offering its Adult Wellness Blood Draw Clinic on Wednesday morning, January 30th from 7 o'clock to 10 o'clock. The clinic will be held at the health center office at 800 Adam Drive in Chillicothe. The clinic is an effort to encourage adults to recommended preventative screenings conveniently, and at an affordable charge.

A Carrollton resident was hurt when the car she was driving traveled off a Carroll County road, hit a road sign, went airborne, hit a ditch embankment, and overturned, coming to rest on its wheels in the ditch. Twenty-six year old Angela Grimes was taken to Carroll County Memorial Hospital (in Carrollton) with injuries described as MODERATE by the Highway Patrol.

U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) announced that Chris Chinn (Clarence, Mo.), has been selected as one of the winners of its Faces of Farming & Ranching program. This nationwide search was launched by USFRA in June 2012 as a way to identify farmers and ranchers who are proud of what they do and are eager to share their stories.