Ozarks

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.

Ozark troubadour Willi Carlisle brings his small-town love and queer themes into the folk music tradition. Based in Arkansas, Carlisle has found an impressive audience in Kansas City and beyond. Plus: How a prehistoric fish in the Missouri river could signal trouble for the Big Muddy.

The outsider troubadour, who’s based in the Ozarks, has steadily gained a following in Kansas City and abroad. His songs about Wal Mart and small-town America are bringing new themes into the folk music tradition.

The Osage Beach Board of Aldermen has approved a redevelopment plan for the lakefront project near the Grand Glaize Bridge. Plans for the 25-acre property include restaurants, a Ferris wheel, a waterpark with a retractable roof and a 400-room Marriott hotel.

A male Ozark hellbender was raised at the St. Louis Zoo and released into the Current River in July 2019. Researchers found it protecting128 eggs in October and a later visit confirmed the eggs had hatched.

Missouri’s Ozark Mountains are known for their lush wilderness and popular tourist destinations. But what about the food? Like much of Ozark culture, the cuisine remains deeply misunderstood and shrouded in stereotypes. From deep in the forest to upscale restaurants, these food lovers are preserving the Ozarks' past and charting its future.

Missouri’s Ozark Mountains are known for their lush wilderness and popular tourist destinations. But what about the food? Like much of Ozark culture, the cuisine remains deeply misunderstood and shrouded in stereotypes. From deep in the forest to upscale restaurants, these food lovers are preserving the Ozarks' past and charting its future.

The drought affecting the Midwest has revealed an extra 1,100 feet to a cave in the Missouri Ozarks at Smallin Cave, a registered National Historic Place.

Workers in a small Missouri alterations shop watch from afar as a humanitarian crisis unfolds in Ukraine, even though their home countries are on opposing sides of the conflict.

Southwest Missouri’s most popular tourist areas — from Branson to the Lake of the Ozarks — are the epicenter of a COVID-19 outbreak linked to the Delta variant.

Earlier this month, Misty Traver of Willow Springs, Missouri, heard a sound she won't likely forget.

The number of black bears in Missouri has more than doubled in seven years, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation. There are now as many...