There continues to be strong area representation in the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association / MoSports.com high school basketball poll for week number five, released on Tuesday, January 8th. To see the state rankings, with area teams in BOLD, click on "read more":

The North Mercer girls survived a strong test from Hannah Sanders and the Milan Lady Wildcats on Wednesday night, winning a Milan Tournament semifinal game by a final score of 63-50. The win pushes the second-ranked Lady Cardinals into Saturday night's championship game against the winner of Thursday night's Brookfield/Green City semifinal game.

In Elks District Hoop Shoot competition held Saturday in Cameron, Ashley Tolson of Trenton placed first in the girls ages 12 and 13 category to qualify for state competition.

Local maintenance crews will be working on U.S. Highway 36 in Linn County this week. According to the Missouri Department of Transportation, crews will be doing drainage work from HIGHWAY 130 to Business 36 through FRIDAY. One lane will remain open throughout the project.

Sophomores and juniors from 26 area high schools will have the opportunity to win all expense paid trips this summer. Members of the junior class will be competing to win one of two trips to Washington D.C.

Missouri's corn and ethanol industries are adding to the state's bottom line according to a study released today by the Missouri Corn Growers Association (MCGA) and Missouri Corn Merchandising Council (MCMC).

There is a new U-S attorney serving as the top-ranking law enforcement official in the western half of Missouri. Tammy Dickinson has taken the oath of office to become the United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri. Dickinson was nominated by President Obama in July and confirmed by unanimous consent of the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, January 1st.

Losing weight is the focus of the 6th annual wellness challenge conducted for Grundy County citizens and others from around the area.

Open Line Moderator Dan Maxey, with guests Elizabeth Gibson and Abby Overman of the Grundy County Health Department spent time on KTTN Radio discussing The Wellness Challenge.

Click To Listen To The Entire Open Line Interview

A Cameron man was injured late Saturday morning when a car hit the rear of a northbound U-Haul trailer on Interstate 35 near Winston. Thirty-four year old Timothy Malone of Cameron was taken to Cameron Regional Medical Center, with injuries described as MODERATE by the Highway Patrol.

The Highway Patrol says a van hit a house in Grant City on Friday afternoon, after the driver suffered a medical condition. The driver, 35-year old Melissa Moutray of Grant City, was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Maryville, with what the Patrol described as MODERATE injuries. No one else was hurt.

Princeton sophomore Brant Faulkner led the Tigers with a dominant 40 point outing, as Princeton picked up its second victory of the season, downing Cainsville 69-43 in a South Harrison Tournament boy's consolation semifinal on Wednesday night in Bethany.

The North Central Missouri College basketball teams suffered a pair of losses in Kansas City on Wednesday night, with the Penn Valley Scouts sweeping the Region 16 openers between the rivals at the A. Fred Pohlman Fieldhouse.

The annual "Greenhand Motivational Conference" for Area 2 FFA Chapters will be hosted by North Central Missouri College in Trenton on WEDNESDAY. The conference is co-sponsored by NCMC and MFA Incorporated.

It appears a Chillicothe man — Mark Woodworth - has won his appeal on a Livingston county murder case dating back to the 1990’s. Woodworth, convicted of murder, assault, burglary and armed criminal action for the killing of his neighbor Katherine Robertson and the serious assault of her husband Lyndel— sought relief from the Supreme Court of Missouri.

Registration for the First Annual Poker Tournament, sponsored by the North Missouri Sportsman's Alliance (NMSA), is going well, with over half of the allotted seats already filled.

The February 1st deadline is approaching for high school seniors interested in applying for a Missouri State Fair Youth in Agriculture scholarship. Thirty-six $1,000 scholarships and one supreme $2,500 scholarship will be awarded to qualified applicants pursuing higher education degrees in the field of agriculture.

The Trenton girls and boys basketball team each advanced into the South Harrison Basketball Tournament semifinals, with Monday evening victories in the quarterfinals of the tournament in Bethany.

The Milan Lady Wildcats, in a Milan Tournament quarterfinal game broadcast Monday evening on Hot Country Z 101.7, rolled past the Linn County Lady Mustangs by a score of 67-29, giving the Lady 'Cats a shot at the top-ranked, once-beaten North Mercer girls, who beat Novinger on Monday afternoon by a score of 82-21.

The auditions for the Missoula Children's Theatre (MCT) production of "Blackbeard the Pirate" will be held this (Monday) afternoon from 4 to 6 o'clock at the Gary Dickinson Performing Arts Center at 2801 Hornet Road in Chillicothe. There are roles for students in Kindergarten through the 12th grade.

Effective on Tuesday, January 8th, and going through Tuesday, February 26th, the Driver's Examination Station in Gallatin will be relocated temporarily. The temporary new location will be the Daviess County Library at 306 Grand Street in Gallatin. Testing hours will be from 9 o'clock to 12 noon and 1 o'clock to 4 o'clock in the afternoons.