NZ@Noon: Visitors from space and a plea for help

This bushfire at Tangahoe on the Whanganui River was reported on February 20

Possible space invaders in Wanganui and a child with a rare disorder in the Bay of Plenty are just two of the stories making headlines around the regions today.

Could a visitor from space be the cause of a series of unexplained bush fires in Wanganui?

Will you help? The family of an "easy to love" little boy with a rare disorder are hoping for the support of the community.

Hawke's Bay and Wairarapa could be turned into a "stadium of 250,000 people" for one of the "world's biggest cultural performance festivals" in two years' time.

Te Arawa kapa haka groups received a rousing welcome home to Rotorua as they returned from Te Matatini.

The debate rages on - should Rimutaka Hill get a name change?

The safety problem of one-lane bridges on Northland's state highways has become "suddenly urgent" to the National government.

And finally, staff at the Northland Age don't have to go far if they want to know whether the judges at Miss Far North NZ 2015 made the right call.