news - Lily Dozier

Peryn Rutter, 2, reads a book about dragons while dressed up as a dragon on Saturday, March 11, 2023 at the Knights of Columbus event hall in Jefferson City, Mo. His parents said he is a big fan of the mythical creature.

A group of students, all wearing black suits, sit in a circle in a cafeteria. A boy kicks his foot up while laughing while another girl smiles at him.

From left, Blue Springs South students Lilly Nutter, Hayden Robertson, Colby Garcia and Alex Saddler laugh between competition on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023 at Lewis & Clark Middle School in Jefferson City, Mo. Nutter said she was feeling “fantastic” about the event.

A woman with short brown hair wearing a blue denim shirt with a black tank top underneath sits in a wooden church pew.

Lizzie Kalinka sits in her family's pew on Friday, May 6, 2022, at the church she attended growing up in Dalton, Mo. The church closed in 2019 due to a flood, but Lizzie bought it and is hoping to fix it up by August so the community can continue using it.

Two men wearing tan firefighter uniforms with red helmets stand in the grain bin of a combine. Smoke clouds the firefighters. A man wearing a blue firefighter shirt and blue jeans stands at the front of the combine. Burned soybeans spill out the combine.

Cooper County Fire Captain Nathan Brandes, left, and Lieutenant Jeff Jackson, top right, stand in the grain bin of a combine and work with firefighter David Schmidt to put out the fire in the bin on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022, in Wooldridge, Mo. A fire that started in this combine on Saturday burned over 3,000 acres of land. The fire razed 23 buildings, or approximately half of Wooldridge, a small village that sits along the Missouri River. “We have smaller natural cover fires, but normally we don’t have to deal with sustained winds like this,” Brandes said. He said they would probably have another few days working in Wooldridge if the wind did not calm down.

Two men sit on dirt bikes side by side on a dusty road. Behind them are tall, dark green pine trees and a blue sky with clouds.

My brother, Tanner, left, and my dad take a break from dirt biking for a portrait near Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. They've been trying to get me on a bike for years, but I'm still too afraid to join.

Third graders play with chicks on Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021 at Blue Ridge Elementary School in Columbia, Mo. “I’m sad they are leaving, but they will have a better life on the farm when they can be with their friends,” student Mhegan Smithee said.

A group of children standing in a grassy path look up with binoculars over their eyes.

A group of children birdwatch during the Missouri River Adventure Camp on Wednesday, July 27, 2022 at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area in Columbia, Mo. The camp also included stream exploration, river clean-up, fishing and motorboat rides.

Three pairs of people, each with one carrying the other on his or her back, wade through a yellow creek in the woods. The people are wearing gray shirts and black shorts.

The Missouri Swim & Dive team participates in a bonding activity on Monday, Sept. 5, 2022 at Rock Bridge State Park in Columbia, Mo. The bonding event takes place every year. The team is divided into groups, which then participate in six stations to learn how to work together.

A girl wearing a green cheerleading uniform with a bag of ice saran wrapped around her arm sits on a bench and puts her leg up. She is wearing a boot. A boy across from her wearing gray sweatpants and a black shirt adjusts her boot for her.

Rock Bridge sophomore Zack Steding helps freshman cheerleader Natalie Hayes adjust her medical boot on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, at Rock Bridge High School in Columbia, Mo. Hayes, who needs six weeks off of cheer for her foot, said "it's horrible" being injured.

From left, Jackie Sample, Dawn Plank, Adrian Plank and Dylan Plank embrace after Adrian won the State Representative District 47 race with 52% of the vote on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, at The Roof in Columbia, Mo. Four of the five Democratic candidates who ran for Boone County’s state House seats won their races. “This is insane to me,” said Dawn, who is Adrian’s wife. “We are over the moon right now.”