Articles > Missourians

Java Joints

Missouri Life readers share their favorite coffee shops By Sara Shahriari Coffee gathers people together in public spaces where they share news, food, art, and ideas over a cup. The drink first made its way out of Ethiopia and into the Middle East in the 1400s, and more than six hundred years later, many in the United States consider it a daily necessity. Missouri is no exception to coffee obsession and is home to 146 Starbucks stores alone…... Read more >

The Lords of Efficiency

Meet the hypermilers—getting 40 to 72 MPG

By Sara Shahriari and Callina Wood   Seventy-two miles per gallon?! It sounds like a beautiful fantasy. Or a hybrid car. But there are people across the country getting this mileage and even more from average cars, by modifying their cars or adjusting their driving style. Meet a few of Missouri’s hypermilers and see how they drive and modify cars to boost fuel efficiency.

1994 Honda…... Read more >

Eight Seconds

By Jeremy Goldmeier

DUSTIN HALL EARNS his paycheck eight seconds at a time. Think that sounds easy? Ask his coworker: two thousand pounds of bucking, snorting rage. Making a living as a professional bull rider has its perks—plenty of downtime, exotic travel, and hearty prizes for placing at an event. But for those eight pivotal seconds, it’s the least desirable position in the world of sports: hanging on tight as a wild bea…... Read more >

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 >