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Morning headlines: Tuesday, December 27, 2011

An overturned car sits where a house once stood in Joplin, Mo. on May 24, 2011. The Associated Press has named the Joplin tornado the top story of 2011.
UPI/Tom Uhlenbrock
An overturned car sits where a house once stood in Joplin, Mo. on May 24, 2011. The Associated Press has named the Joplin tornado the top story of 2011.

Joplin tornado top story in 2011

The May 22 tornado that killed 161 people and left much of Joplin in ruins was a unanimous choice for The Associated Press' top story in 2011 by editors across the state. That was followed by the intentional breach at Birds Point, which sent water rushing over southeast Missouri farmland in a bid to save the upstream Illinois town of Cairo. 

The third-ranked story was lawmakers' failure to pass an economic development bill during a special session. The No. 4 story of the year was the St. Louis Cardinals win over Texas to claim the franchise's 11th world championship.

St. Louis's first snow of the season causes trouble overnight

Accumulating snow moved through much of the St. Louis region early Tuesday morning. Snow accumulated on area highways causing accidents in the St. Louis metropolitan area. 

I-55 northbound at I-44 westbound downtown was closed starting at 1:30 a.m. because of a fatal car wreck. The lanes remained closed for about four hours.

Five Mo. schools seek to block transfer of students from Kansas City district

Five Missouri school districts want a judge to block transfers of students from the Kansas City district when it loses accreditation Jan. 1. Missouri law allows children from unaccredited districts to transfer to accredited districts within the same or an adjoining county.

The unaccredited district is required to pay tuition and transportation for students who transfer. KCTV reportsthat five neighboring districts announced Monday they filed suit late last week to bar transfers from Kansas City until questions about tuition and transportation costs are answered. They argue the Kansas City district's policy on the payments is illegal. The districts are Blue Springs, Independence, Lee's Summit, North Kansas City and Raytown.

The Kansas City district offices are closed for the holidays. A message seeking comment Monday night was not returned.