Hannah Williams, left, jokes with her twin sister Morgan Williams as she fills up a water bucket for their three horses outside the barn at the Central Missori Events Center on Thursday, June 12, 2014. The sisters, who just finished their sophomore year of high school, have been training for rodeos since they were 5. Both competed in the Missouri High School Rodeo State Finals over the weekend.
Hannah Williams pins down a goat before the Missouri High School Rodeo State Finals at the Central Missouri Events Center on Thursday in preparation for the actual event. Each goat that is used in competition must be tied down seven times. “Some goats are calmer so we have to tie them to get them all to be the same,” Williams said.
Jimmie Ray, left, pauses while feeding his herd with his daughter Suzie Naeger, right, and granddaughter Morgan Naeger. When Suzie Naeger was in school, she used to show livestock competitively throughout the country, inspiring Ray to expand his herd to more than 100 animals. Now Ray’s herd is down to 60 heads and Suzie Naeger has a herd of her own.
Morgan Naeger replenishes the water in the pen that houses the calf she is raising at her farm on Route HH near Hallsville, Mo., on July 9, 2014. In order to participate in the show, 4-H members must own and hand feed their calves and be able to answer questions about proper animal care.
Morgan Naeger and her grandfather, Jimmie Ray, tend to Ray’s herd on July 10, 2014 on land he rents near Hallsville, Mo. Calves like the one Morgan showed at the Boone County Fair are becoming too expensive for some farm families, so their children are showing less expensive animals such as hogs and sheep, said Morgan’s grandfather, Jimmie Ray.
A man unlocks a door next to a painting of Diego Maradona, a famous Argentine soccer player, on July 6, 2013 in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of La Boca. La Boca is one of the city's oldest neighborhood and is where Tango originated.
An Embera man guides the front of a canoe up the Chagres River in near Gamboa, Panama on June 21, 2008. At the forefront of sustainable ecotourism in Panama, the Embera allow tourists to pay to visit their villages, ensuring the preservation of their culture and the surrounding rainforest on which they depend.
Embera women teach high school students from Wisconsin a traditional dance in Emberá Druá, Panama on June 21, 2008. Cultural education such as this is a key part of the ecotourist experience provided by the Embera.
Emma Wilson directs Boone Dawdle participants around Flat Branch Park on Saturday. Wilson moved to Columbia from Springfield, Mo., last year for graduate school at MU. She says the True/False Film Fest has been a great way to get involved in the community. "It's just a blast," Wilson said. "I get to dress up in ridiculous outfits and yell at people."
Millie Moyer, 16, prepares to throw a ball to first base during fielding practice at tryouts for the Missouri Stealth fast-pitch softball team. "I need a new team with better competition," Moyer said of her decision to try out for the team.
Hickman junior Nick Oetting catches a pass during preseason practice at Hickman High School on Tuesday. The Kewpies' first game will be against Christian Brothers College High School on Aug. 22 at Hickman.
Sophomore Andrew Patton practices with the other Hickman quarterbacks during practice at Hickman High School on Tuesday. The football team will open its season with a scrimmage at 7 p.m. Friday at Rock Bridge High School.
Greg Cook, a member of the Columbia Rogues, takes a break while teammates skate behind him during practice at Empire Roller Rink in Columbia. "He scored the first goal in the tournament last year," said Willie Trent (in red behind him) of Cook's performance in the 2013 Bronze Division Rink Hockey National Championship.
Construction crews work into the night Tuesday in the southbound lane of Providence Road near Business Loop 70. The asphalt is being replaced as part of a preventive maintenance project that will increase the longevity of the concrete road bed below, said Kirsten Munck, assistant to the resident engineer at MoDOT.
Melinda Hemmelgarn (left), a nutritionist, and Gary Windmann, a lifelong hog farmer, discuss antibiotic resistance in livestock after a forum in the Hatton-McCredie Elementary School gymnasium that was held to discuss a proposed hog farm. Hemmelgarn, like several others in attendance, was concerned about the safety of waste disposal at the facility, as well as the health of the animals raised on the farm.
(Photo Illustration - studio work): The Evil Queen Grimhelde poisons an apple she plans to give to Snow White.