Missouri history

Arrowhead Stadium will be rocking tonight with a sellout crowd for the Kansas City Chiefs’ season opener against the Detroit Lions. Some fans remember what it was like before the team became perennial Super Bowl favorites. Plus: If you were planning a party a century ago in Columbia, Missouri, Annie Fisher was the caterer you’d do almost anything to book.

At the turn of the 20th century, a self-taught caterer in Columbia gained national acclaim with her sought-after biscuit recipe. Fisher’s famous beaten biscuits made it onto the plates of presidents and Hollywood stars alike — making her one of the wealthiest Black women around. But her story may have been lost if not for a few determined Missouri women.

For more than 30 years, a Monett Times reporter has held an annual vigil in the southwest Missouri town marking the night that a mob of white residents killed three Black men — Will Godley, Pete Hampton and French Godley — and forced the rest of the town's Black residents to flee for their lives.

With more shoreline than the coast of California, the Lake of the Ozarks in mid-central Missouri is a popular tourist destination for land-locked Midwesterners. But few know the origin of this man-made lake and the communities it displaced. Plus: A Kansas City artist has turned his car into not just a vehicle, but a piece of art.

Summer brings new challenges to making sure kids safe, busy, and away from violence — especially with youth homicides on track to set a record this year. One Kansas City club is trying to keep children and teens occupied with drum lines, movies and games. Plus: A collector who's determined to make Kansas City's antique fans cool again.

With more shoreline than the coast of California, the Lake of the Ozarks in mid-central Missouri is a popular tourist destination for land-locked Midwesterners. For decades, it's provided financial opportunities for locals and outside interests alike — but at what cost? The story of how this man-made body of water came to be involves corruption, jail time, communities torn apart, and displaced families.

With more shoreline than the coast of California, the Lake of the Ozarks in mid-central Missouri is a popular tourist destination for land-locked Midwesterners. For decades, it's provided financial opportunities for locals and outside interests alike — but at what cost? The story of how this man-made body of water came to be involves corruption, jail time, communities torn apart, and displaced families.

In the days before air conditioning, electric fans were how Midwesterners beat the heat. One local collector is restoring a rare set of antique fans that once cooled travelers in Kansas City’s Union Station.

Tucked into the hills above the Missouri River, this picturesque Missouri town carries a complex history. It's one of the fastest growing communities in the region, yet honors its 19th century roots.

In the 1900s, the Neck neighborhood was the center of the Black community in Independence, Missouri. But by 1969, the neighborhood had been demolished — thanks to urban renewal policies put into place by President Harry S. Truman, who lived nearby. A special episode from the KCUR Studios podcast A People's History of Kansas City.

Jack Snelling hit the road with a mission: Visit every historic courthouse in Missouri.

Abraham Josephine Riesman’s best-selling book, “Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America,” recounts how the WWE went through an aggressive expansion in the 1980s, including in St. Louis.