An eighth-grade student from St. Joseph, Natalie Burnett, won the Northwest Missouri Regional Spelling Bee to advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in May.
Miss Burnett was second last year at the regional bee but qualified for the national contest a year ago as an alternate.
A Maryville sixth grader, Raymond Zhao, placed second this year in the regional competition sponsored by St. Joseph News-Press Now.
