Missouri Valley Sundays

Infamous characters and sensational incidents abounded in the Ozarks immediately after the Civil War and well into the 20th century. The mining district around Joplin, Missouri, saw perhaps more murderous violence than any comparably populated area in the country. Gunplay erupted with alarming regularity, and specta...

The latter half of the 20th century saw a boom in the construction of arenas as cities recognized the value of multipurpose venues. That included Kansas City’s Kemper Arena, which opened in 1974. Designed by renowned architect Helmut Jahn, the innovative structure in the city’s old stockyards district drew visitors...

To the delight of local beer aficionados, Kansas City has seen a recent proliferation of new breweries, building on a history that dates to the 1850s. In a discussion of his new book Kansas City Beer: A History of Brewing in the Heartland, author Pete Dulin explains how adv...

In 1894, when women’s lives and choices were restricted and their influence was limited, a group of Kansas Citians answered a call to “stand shoulder to shoulder in the uplifting of the mental, moral, and physical status of our city.” They established the Kansas City Athenaeum women’s club, which advocated in ensuing d...

African-Americans have served proudly in every great American war, including the Civil War, where their verve and valor led to the establishment of all-black regiments in 1866. These “Buffalo Soldiers” played a significant role in the military campaigns and settlement of the American West, and paved the way for Afri...

Decades before women in the U.S. could vote, hold public positions, or choose from a full range of occupations, young women and girls in the Kansas City area were pushing for recognition and rights. Students at Central and Lincoln high schools, Miss Barstow’s School, and the Haskell Institute challenged assumptions...

As it did throughout America, World War II affected every facet of life in Franklin County, Kansas, from 1941-45. The experience there was captured by a local photographer, J.B. Muecke of Ottawa, whose images have been preserved by the Franklin County Historical Society and supplemented with newspaper articles, oral hi...

While some cities owe their existence to lumber, oil, or steel, Kansas City is arguably – or perhaps not so arguably – built on food. From its earliest days as a provisioner for pioneers and traders headed west, KC evolved into a major marketer of the nation’s meat and wheat. Thousands also have made a living pr...

In 1966 – three years before New York’s Stonewall riots – Kansas City was the scene of the first national gathering of gay rights groups. From that meeting arose the city’s first organization devoted to gay and lesbian rights, the Phoenix Society of Individual Freedom. Initial President Drew Shafer was a driving for...

President Truman’s American Housing Act of 1949 empowered cities to replace blighted structures with safe public housing, and soon was altered to allow the rezoning of cleared areas for commercial development. Along with legislation to expand the nation’s interstate highway system, it gave Kansas City leaders the to...