PITTSBURG, Kan. — Delia Lister tries to coax Alexander onto her glove, calling him “buddy” and giving him a dead mouse to snack on.

Prosecutors presented their case Monday in the trial of a 33-year-old defendant accused of stabbing another man outside the Watered Gardens rescue ministry in Joplin in a fight two years ago that cost the victim a leg.

Joplin city officials are looking at ways to maintain park gardens and lands after a city volunteer who is a master gardener said the use of spray weedkillers is wiping out flowers and beneficial plants.

Members of Joplin’s Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of a zoning change requested to build an indoor swimming pool where children would be taught survival swimming skills.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The 21st annual “Hungerthon,” a joint effort of Ozarks Food Harvest and iHeartMedia, collected enough money over the weekend to provide meals to more than 500 Southwest Missouri children who live in food-insecure households.

MOUNT VERNON, Mo. — Silgan Containers is going forward with plans to close its Mount Vernon plant early next month as part of what it calls “footprint optimization,” cutting at least 20 jobs.

PINEVILLE, Mo. — McDonald County authorities are reporting that dental records and a tattoo now support their prior, more tentative identification of a woman’s body found along Missouri Highway 59 near Noel as that of 25-year-old Jessica McCormack.

Blood drives are planned by the Community Blood Center of the Ozarks to meet a shortage of all blood types.

NEOSHO, Mo. — Jodean Willoughby, manager of White Oak Station, said she has seen plenty of accidents outside her convenience store near the intersection of Missouri Highway 86 and Hammer Road.

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — A Cyber Citizenship event for parents and guardians who want help understanding teenage involvement in the online world will be held Monday at Carl Junction Junior High School.