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Missouri's First Poet Laureate

By Scott Spilky   As the state’s first poet laureate, Ashland native Walter Bargen has crisscrossed the state speaking, reading his work, and championing the power of words to move the imagination.   “Poems are more relevant than they have ever been,” he says.   Walter, the award-winning author of eleven books, has been writing for nearly thirty years. His work has appeared in more than one hundre…... Read more >

Journey

The Great River Road Delivers Scenic Byways, Eagles, City Lights, River Heritage, & Adventure By James Bondank For nearly four hundred miles, the Missouri portion of the Great River Road meanders along the west bank of the Mississippi River. It visits charming small towns, a big city, locks and dams, fine architecture, well-known restaurants, and more on its path from the Iowa border to the Arkansas state line, and while it could be driv…... Read more >

River Revival

By Brett Dufur

As day turns to dusk, the restless winds subside, leaving me afloat on an undulating river of liquid glass.

My paddle strokes provide a soft soundtrack as nature’s evening performance begins. Barn swallows and chimney swifts descend in orchestrated chaos to harvest the invisible layer of insects close to the river’s surface. Soon, the silent, darting shadows of grey bats appear from Rocheport Cave to join in the feast.

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Nordies at Noon

By Anita Neal Harrison

When Kim Carlos, a native of Hallsville, found a lump in her breast at age thirty, she called Patti Balwanz, a friend she made at Missouri State University at Springfield. Patti, who’s from Columbia, could empathize because she had found a lump at age twenty-four. She could also introduce Kim to two more young women fighting breast cancer: Jana Peters and Jennifer Johnson, both diagnosed at age twenty-seven.

Kim…... Read more >