Ron Soodalter

Lawman Wyatt Earp is immortalized in books and movies, but he first wore a badge in the Missouri town of Lamar. When he left town a couple of years later, there was a warrant out…

In the mid-to-late 1800s, Missouri was known as the Outlaw State, with considerable justification. Missouri contributed far more than its share of bushwhackers, stock thieves,…

You will be surprised by some of the songs about Missouri and some of the celebrities who sang them. Our state, its people, and their stories are reflected in these six songs from…

Two groups with distinct cultures emerged from our region’s first residents to dominate this land. Worshipful and warlike on an untouched landscape, the Osage and the Missouria…

Fur played a vital role in the early Anglo settlements. It was animal pelts, not tobacco, that the early Virginia colonists first exported. The North American fur trade had a…

In the stories told about them during their careers the Youngers were often cast in the classic Robin Hood mold. It was an image they worked hard to cultivate, but it was only…

The Butterfield Overland Mail route traversed prairies, mountains, deserts, and valleys on its way from St. Louis to San Francisco.

The iconic western duel traces its roots to Springfield.

Although the shootout between the Dooley and Harris clans at a Doe Run picnic did occur and was indeed a bloody affair, the causes of the conflict are considerably murkier, go…

Missouri’s famous feuds comprise bloody chapters in the story of our state.