Missouri

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State of Missouri
Flag of Missouri Seal Nickname(s): The Show Me State Motto(s): Salus populi suprema lex esto
Official language(s)	English
Capital	Jefferson City
Largest city	Kansas City
Largest metro area	St Louis[1]
Area	Ranked 21st
- Total	69,709 sq mi (180,693 km²)
- Width	240 miles (385 km)
- Length	300 miles (480 km)
- % water	1.16
- Latitude	36° N to 40° 37′ N
- Longitude	89° 6′ W to 95° 46′ W
Population	Ranked 18th
- Total (2000)	5,817,211
- Density	80.27/sq mi  31/km² (27th)
- Median income	$37,934 (31st)
Elevation
- Highest point	Taum Sauk Mountain[2] 1,772 ft  (540 m)
- Mean	800 ft  (240 m)
- Lowest point	Saint Francis River[2] 230 ft  (70 m)
Admission to Union	August 10, 1821 (24th)
Governor	Matt Blunt (R)
U.S. Senators	Kit Bond (R) Claire McCaskill (D)
Congressional Delegation	List
Time zone	Central : UTC-6/-5
Abbreviations	MO US-MO
Web site	www.mo.gov

Missouri (pronounced /mɪˈzʊri/ or /mɪˈzʊrə/) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States of America^[3] bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. Missouri is the eighteenth most populous state and is made up of 114 counties and one independent city. Missouri's capital is Jefferson City, it's largest city is Kansas City, and four largest urban areas are, in descending order, St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, and Columbia.^[4] Missouri was originally purchased from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase and part of the Missouri Territory was admitted into the union as the 24th state in 1821.

Missouri mirrors the demographic, economic and political makeup of the nation as a mixture of urban and rural culture and has long been considered a political bellwether state.^[5] It is a state with both Midwestern and Southern cultural influences, reflecting its history as a border state between the two regions. It is also a blend between the eastern and western United States as St. Louis is often called the "western-most eastern city" and Kansas City the "eastern-most western city." Missouri's geography is also highly varied, the northern part of the state lies in dissected till plains while the southern part lies in the Ozark Mountains, with the Missouri River dividing the two. The confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers is located near St. Louis.^[6]

Contents 1 Etymology and Pronunciation 2 Geography 2.1 Topography 2.2 Climate 3 History 4 Demographics 4.1 Religion 5 Economy 6 Transportation 6.1 Air 6.2 Rail 6.3 River 6.4 Road 6.4.1 Interstate highways 6.4.2 United States highways 7 Law and government 7.1 Framework 7.2 Status as a political bellwether 7.3 Laissez-faire alcohol and tobacco laws 8 Counties 9 Important cities and towns 10 Education 10.1 Missouri State Board of Education 10.2 Primary and secondary schools 10.3 Colleges and universities 11 Sports 11.1 Minor leagues 11.2 Former Professional Sports Teams 12 Miscellaneous topics 13 See also 14 References 15 External links

[edit] Etymology and Pronunciation

The state is named after the Missouri River which in turn is named after the Siouan Indian tribe whose Illinois name, ouemessourita (wimihsoorita^[7]), means "those who have dugout canoes".^[8]. The etymology lies behind Bob Dyer's tribute, "River of the Big Canoes."

The "proper" pronunciation of the final syllable of "Missouri" is a matter of controversy, with significant numbers insisting on a relatively tense vowel (as in "meet") or lax ("mitt" or "mutt"); the most thorough study of the question was done by dialectologist Donald Max Lance. From a linguistic point of view, there is no "correct" pronunciation, but rather, patterns of synchronic and diachronic variation according to such divisions as geography, age, education, rural/urban location.

[edit] Geography

Main article: Geography of Missouri

Missouri's borders physically touch a total of eight different states, as does its neighbor, Tennessee. No state in the U.S. touches more than eight states. Missouri is bounded on the north by Iowa; on the east, across the Mississippi River, by Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee; on the south by Arkansas; and on the west by Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska (the latter across the Missouri River.) The two largest Missouri rivers are the Mississippi which defines the eastern boundary of the state and the Missouri that flows west to east through the state connecting the two largest cities, Kansas City and St. Louis.

Although today the state is usually considered part of the Midwest,^[9][10] Missouri is also occasionally historically considered a Southern state,^[11] the institution of slavery in the state contributing in no small part to this. Residents of cities farther north and the state's large metropolitan areas, including those where most of the state's population resides (Kansas City, St. Louis, Columbia), typically consider themselves Midwestern, while in rural areas and cities farther south (Cape Girardeau, Poplar Bluff, Springfield, and Sikeston), people typically consider themselves more Southern.

[edit] Topography

North of the Missouri River lie the Northern Plains that stretch into Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas. Here, gentle rolling hills remain behind from a glacier that once had extended from the north to the Missouri River. Missouri is made up of many large river bluffs along the Mississippi, Missouri, and Meramec Rivers. The Ozark foothills begin around Rolla, and the Ozark plateau begins around Springfield and extends into northwestern Arkansas, southeast Kansas, and northeast Oklahoma. Springfield in southwestern Missouri lies on close to the northernmost part of the Ozark plateau. Southern Missouri is the home of the Ozark Mountains, a dissected plateau surrounding the Precambrian igneous St. Francois Mountains.

The southeastern part of the state is home to the Bootheel, part of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain or Mississippi embayment. It is in this part of the state as well as the South Central part that speech patterns comparable to those of Kentucky, Arkansas, and Tennessee still exist. This region is the lowest, flattest and wettest part of the state, and among the poorest.^[12] It is also the most fertile. Cotton and rice production are prominent in this area. The Bootheel area was the location of the epicenter of the New Madrid Earthquake of 1811–1812.

[edit] Climate

Main article: Climate of Missouri

Missouri generally has a humid continental climate (Koppen climate classification Dfa), with cold winters and hot and humid summers. In the southern part of the state, particularly in the Bootheel, the climate borders on a humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa). Due to its location in the interior United States, Missouri often experiences extremes in temperatures. Not having either large mountains or oceans nearby to moderate its temperature, its climate is alternately influenced by air from the cold Arctic and the hot and humid Gulf of Mexico.

Monthly Normal High and Low Temperatures For Various Missouri Cities
City	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Columbia	37/18	44/23	55/33	66/43	75/53	84/62	89/66	87/64	79/55	68/44	53/33	42/22
Kansas City	36/18	43/23	54/33	65/44	75/54	84/63	89/68	87/66	79/57	68/46	52/33	40/22
Springfield	42/22	48/26	58/35	68/44	76/53	85/62	90/67	90/66	81/57	71/46	56/35	46/26
St. Louis	38/21	44/26	55/36	67/46	76/57	85/66	90/71	88/69	80/60	68/48	54/37	42/26
[1]

See also: List of Missouri state parks

[edit] History

Main article: History of Missouri

See also: Missouri in the American Civil War

Missouri state insignia
Motto	Salus populi suprema lex esto (Latin, "The welfare of the people shall be the supreme law")
Slogan	Show Me
Bird	Bluebird
Animal	Missouri Mule (1995)
Fish	Channel Catfish (1997)
Insect	Honey bee (1985)
Flower	Hawthorne (1923)
Tree	Flowering Dogwood (1955)
Song	"Missouri Waltz" (1949)
Quarter	Released in 2003
Dance	Square dance (1995)
Fossil	Crinoid (1989)
Dinosaur	Hypsibema missouriensis (2004) [2]
Gemstone	Aquamarine
Mineral	Galena (1967)
Rock	Mozarkite (1967)

Originally part of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, Missouri was admitted as a state in 1821 as part of the Missouri Compromise. It earned the nickname "Gateway to the West" because it served as a departure point for settlers heading to the west. It was the starting point and the return destination of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Originally the state's western border was a straight line, defined as the meridian passing through the Kawsmouth,^[13] the point where the Kansas River enters the Missouri River. The river has moved since this designation. This line is known as the Osage Boundary.^[14] In 1835 the Platte Purchase was added to the northwest corner of the state after purchasing the land from the native tribes, making the Missouri River the border north of the Kansas River. This addition made what was already the largest state in the Union at the time (about 66,500 square miles to Virginia's 65,000 square miles (which included West Virginia at the time) even larger.^[15]

Many of the early settlers in western Missouri came from the southern states, and along with them came the institution of slavery. In the area of Independence and areas just north of there, Mormon settlers began arriving in the early 1830s. It wasn't long before conflict arose between the 'old settlers' (mainly from the south originally) and the Mormons (mainly from the north and Canada). The 'Mormon War' erupted and by 1839 the Mormons had been expelled from Missouri. In 1838-1839 a border dispute with Iowa over the so-called Honey Lands resulted in both states calling up militias along the border.

After many incidences with Kansans crossing the Western border (including a fire in the historic Westport area of Kansas City), a border war began between Missouri and Kansas. The tradition continues between the University of Missouri - Columbia and University of Kansas. The rivalry is mainly focused on football between the two colleges. It is the oldest college rivalry west of the Mississippi River and the second oldest in the nation. Each year when the universities meet to play, the game is coined "Border Showdown." An exchange occurs following the game where the winner gets to take a historic marching band drum which has been passed back and forth for decades.

After the secession of Southern states began, the MO legislature called for the election of its own special convention on secession. The convention voted decisively to remain within the Union, but pro-Southern Governor Claiborne F. Jackson ordered the mobilization of several hundred members of the state militia who had gathered in a camp in St. Louis for training. Union General Nathaniel Lyon struck first, encircling the peaceful camp and forcing the state troops to surrender. Lyon then directed his soldiers, largely non-English-speaking German immigrants, marched the prisoners through the streets then opened fire on the largely hostile crowds of civilians who gathered around them, killing unarmed prisoners as well as men, women and children of St. Louis in an incident that became known as the "St. Louis Massacre."

These events caused greater Confederate support within the state. Governor Jackson appointed Sterling Price, president of the convention on secession, as head of the new Missouri State Guard. Jackson and Price were forced to flee the state capital of Jefferson City on June 14, 1861, in the face of Lyon's rapid advance against the state government. In the town of Neosho, Jackson called the state legislature into session where they enacted a secession ordinance that was recognized by the Confederacy on October 30, 1861. With the elected governor absent from his capital and the legislators largely dispersed, Union forces installed an unelected pro-Union provisional government with Hamilton Gamble as provisional governor. President Lincoln's Administration immediately recognized Gamble's government as the legal government, which provided both pro-Union militia forces for service within the state and volunteer regiments for the Union Army.

Fighting ensued between Union forces and a combined army of General Price's Missouri State Guard and Confederate troops from Arkansas and Texas under General Ben McCulloch. After winning victories at the battle of Wilson's Creek and the siege of Lexington and losses elsewhere, the Confederate forces had little choice but to retreat to Arkansas and later Marshall, in the face of a largely reinforced Union Army. Though regular Confederate troops staged large-scale raids into Missouri, the fighting in the state for the next three years consisted mainly of guerrilla warfare conducted by citizen soldiers such as Colonel William Quantrill, Frank and Jesse James, the Younger brothers, and William T. Anderson. Such small unit tactics pioneered by the Missouri Partisan Rangers were also seen elsewhere in occupied portions of the Confederacy during and after the Civil War.

[edit] Demographics

In 2006, Missouri had an estimated population of 5,842,713; an increase of 45,010 (0.8 percent) from the prior year and an increase of 246,030 (4.4 percent) since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase of 137,564 people since the last census (480,763 births less 343,199 deaths), and an increase of 88,088 people due to net migration into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 50,450 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 37,638 people. Over half of Missourians (3,145,584 people, or 56.2%) live within the state's two largest metropolitan areas–St. Louis and Kansas City.

The center of population of Missouri is located in Osage County, in the city of Westphalia [3].

As of 2004, the population included 194,000 foreign-born (3.4 percent of the state population). {{US DemogTable|Missouri|03-29.csv|= | 86.90| 11.76| 1.08| 1.37| 0.12|= | 1.96| 0.12| 0.07| 0.03| 0.01|= | 86.54| 12.04| 1.03| 1.61| 0.13|= | 2.49| 0.14| 0.07| 0.03| 0.01|= | 3.23| 6.15| -0.57| 21.83| 10.71|= | 2.57| 5.94| -1.34| 21.81| 10.99|= | 32.07| 26.42| 10.52| 22.82| 8.09}} The five largest ancestry groups in Missouri are: German (23.5 percent), Irish (12.7 percent), American (10.5 percent), English (9.5 percent), French (3.5 percent). "American" includes those reported as Native American or African American.

German Americans are an ancestry group present throughout Missouri. African Americans are a substantial part of the population in St. Louis, Kansas City, and in the southeastern bootheel and some parts of the Missouri River Valley, where plantation agriculture was once important. Missouri Creoles of French ancestry are concentrated in the Mississippi River valley south of St. Louis. The State has a Small Bosniak community mostly living in the St. Louis area

In 2004, 6.6 percent of the state's population was reported as younger than 5 years old, 25.5 percent younger than 18, and 13.5 percent was 65 or older. Females were approximately 51.4 percent of the population. 81.3 percent of Missouri residents were high school graduates (more than the national average), and 21.6 percent had a bachelor's degree or higher. 3.4 percent of Missourians were foreign-born, and 5.1 percent reported speaking a language other than English at home.

In 2000, there were 2,194,594 households in Missouri, with 2.48 people per household. The homeownership rate was 70.3 percent, and the mean value of an owner-occupied dwelling was $89,900. The median household income for 1999 was $37,934, or $19,936 per capita. There were 11.7 percent (637,891) Missourians living below the poverty line in 1999.

The mean commute time to work was 23.8 minutes.

[edit] Religion

Of those Missourians who identify with a religion, three out of five are Protestants. There is also a moderate-sized Catholic community in some parts of the state; approximately one out of five Missourians are Catholic. Heavily Catholic areas include St. Louis and Kansas City.

The religious affiliations of the people of Missouri according to the 2001 American Religious Identification Survey:

• Christian – 77%
  • Protestant
    • Baptist – 22%
    • Methodist – 7%
    • Episcopal – 4%
    • Lutheran – 4%
    • Other Protestant – 12%
  • Roman Catholic – 19%
  • Latter-Day Saint – 1%*
  • Other or unspecified Christian – 8%
• Other religions – 2%
• Not religious – 15%
• No answer – 5%

Several religious organizations have their headquarters in Missouri, including the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, which has its headquarters in Kirkwood, as well as the United Pentecostal Church International in Hazelwood, both outside St. Louis. Kansas City is the headquarters of the Church of the Nazarene. Independence, outside of Kansas City, is the headquarters for the Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), and the Latter Day Saints group Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This area, and other parts of Missouri is also of significant religious and historical importance to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which maintains several sites/visitors centers, and whose members comprise about 1 percent of Missouri's population. Springfield is the headquarters of the Assemblies of God and the Baptist Bible Fellowship International. The General Association of General Baptists has its headquarters in Poplar Bluff. The Pentecostal Church of God is headquartered in Joplin.

[edit] Economy

The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Missouri's total state product in 2003 was $195 billion. Per capita personal income in 2003 was $29,464, ranking 27^th in the nation. Major industries include aerospace, transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, printing/publishing, electrical equipment, light manufacturing, and beer.

The agriculture products of the state are beef, soybeans, pork, dairy products, hay, corn, poultry, and eggs. Missouri is ranked 6th in the nation for the production of hogs and 7th for cattle. Missouri is ranked in the top 5 states in the nation for production of soy beans. As of 2001, there were 108,000 farms, the second largest number in any state after Texas. Missouri also actively promotes its rapidly growing wine industry.

Missouri has vast quantities of limestone. Other resources mined are lead, coal, Portland cement and crushed stone. Missouri produces the most lead of all of the states in the Union with most of these mines in the central eastern portion of the state. Missouri also ranks first or near first among the production of lime.

Tourism, services and wholesale/retail trade follow manufacturing in importance.

Personal income is taxed in 10 different earning brackets, ranging from 1.5 percent to 6.0 percent. Missouri's sales tax rate for most items is 4.225 percent. Additional local levies may apply. More than 2,500 Missouri local governments rely on property taxes levied on real property (real estate) and personal property. Most personal property is exempt, except for motorized vechicles. Exempt real estate includes property owned by governments and property used as nonprofit cemeteries, exclusively for religious worship, for schools and colleges and for purely charitable purposes. There is no inheritance tax and limited Missouri estate tax related to federal estate tax collection.

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Air

The state of Missouri has two major airport hubs: Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and Kansas City International Airport.

[edit] Rail

Kansas City is still a major railroad hub for BNSF Railway, Norfolk Southern, Kansas City Southern, and Union Pacific. Kansas City is the second largest freight rail center in the US. Like Kansas City, St. Louis is a major destination for train freight. Amtrak passenger trains serve Kansas City, Jefferson City, St. Louis, Lee's Summit, Independence, Warrensburg, Hermann, Kirkwood, and Sedalia. The only light rail/subway system in Missouri is the St. Louis Metrolink which connects the City of St. Louis with suburbs in Illinois and St. Louis County. As of 2007 preliminary planning is being performed for a light rail system in the Kansas City area.

Springfield remains an operational for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway.

[edit] River

The Mississippi River and Missouri River are commercially navigable over their entire lengths in Missouri. St. Louis is a major destination for barge traffic on the Mississippi River.

[edit] Road

Several highways, detailed below, traverse the state.

Following the passage of Amendment 3 in late 2004, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) began its Smoother, Safer, Sooner road-building program with a goal of bringing 2,200 miles of highways up to good condition by December 2007. In 2005. the number of traffic deaths in the state increased by 10 percent to 1,241.

[edit] Interstate highways

• Interstate 29, Interstate 229
• Interstate 35, Interstate 435 (Perimeter around Kansas City), Interstate 635
• Interstate 44
• Interstate 55, Interstate 155, Interstate 255
• Interstate 57
• Interstate 64
• Interstate 70, Interstate 170, Interstate 270 (the Perimeter around the Missouri side of St. Louis), Interstate 470, Interstate 670
• Interstate 72
• Interstate 49 (Proposed)
• Interstate 66 (Proposed)

[edit] United States highways

North-south routes	East-west routes
U.S. Route 59 U.S. Route 159 U.S. Route 61 U.S. Route 63 U.S. Route 65 U.S. Route 67 U.S. Route 69 U.S. Route 169 U.S. Route 71 U.S. Route 275	U.S. Route 412 U.S. Route 24 U.S. Route 36 U.S. Route 40 U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 54 U.S. Route 56 U.S. Route 60 U.S. Route 160 U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 62 U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 166 U.S. Route 400

See also: List of Missouri state highways and Missouri Supplemental Route

[edit] Law and government

[edit] Framework

Main articles: Law and Government of Missouri and List of Missouri Governors

Missouri Government
Governor of Missouri	Matt Blunt (R)
Lieutenant Governor of Missouri:	Peter Kinder (R)
Missouri Attorney General:	Jay Nixon (D)
Missouri Secretary of State:	Robin Carnahan (D)
Missouri State Auditor:	Susan Montee (D)
Missouri State Treasurer:	Sarah Steelman (R)
Senior United States Senator:	Kit Bond (R)
Junior United States Senator:	Claire McCaskill (D)

The current constitution of Missouri, the fourth constitution for the state, was adopted in 1945 and provides for three branches of government—the legislative, judicial and executive branches. The legislative branch consists of two bodies—the House of Representatives and the Senate. These bodies comprise the General Assembly of the State of Missouri.

The House of Representatives has 163 members that are apportioned based on the last decennial census. The Senate consists of 34 members from districts of approximately equal populations. The judicial department consists of a supreme court consisting of 7 judges. Superior and inferior courts are also provided. The executive branch is headed by the governor and includes five other state-wide elected offices.

[edit] Status as a political bellwether

Main article: Missouri bellwether

One interesting fact about Missouri is its status as a bellwether of national politics. Missouri has a longer stretch of supporting the winning presidential candidate than any other state, having voted with the nation in every election since 1904 with the exception of Adlai Stevenson in 1956. In 2004, George W. Bush won the state's 11 electoral votes by a margin of 7 percentage points with 53.3 percent of the vote. Missouri has a very notable urban-rural split, as Democrat John Kerry only won four of the state's 115 counties: St. Louis City, St. Louis County, Ste. Genevieve, and Jackson County (which contains most of Kansas City).

Missouri has previously been considered a Democratic state, with its most prominent Democrat being Harry S. Truman. However, since the late 1970s the state has trended to Republicans, yet neither party is dominant. Democrats are generally strongest in the inner cities of Kansas City and St. Louis and Columbia, home of the University of Missouri–Columbia. Republicans are strongest in the southwestern areas near Springfield (home of Governor Matt Blunt) and Joplin and southeastern areas near Poplar Bluff and Cape Girardeau (home of Rush Limbaugh) of the state. Many of the rural areas throughout have recently trended to vote Republican.

Missouri is also viewed as a bellwether on hot-button issues such as same-sex marriage and embryonic stem cell research. In 2004, Missouri voters overwhelmingly (71%) passed an amendment to the Constitution of Missouri defining marriage as being the union of one man and one woman. Over twenty states have followed Missouri's lead and effected the same through constitutional referenda. In 2006, a ballot initiative labeled "Amendment 2" regarding embryonic stem cell research drew widespread attention as to the national sentiment on the issue. It also was a factor in the 2006 U.S. Senate race between Republican incumbent Jim Talent, who opposed embryonic stem cell research, and Democratic challenger Claire McCaskill, who supported it. A television advertisement featuring actor Michael J. Fox expressing his support for the measure drew harsh comments and criticism from talk radio host Rush Limbaugh. The measure narrowly passed by 51%-49%. Claire McCaskill also narrowly defeated Jim Talent for the U.S. Senate seat, a race which was considered crucial as to which party would control the Senate.

[edit] Laissez-faire alcohol and tobacco laws

Main article: Alcohol laws of Missouri

Throughout its history, Missouri has been known for its population's generally "stalwart, conservative, noncredulous" attitude toward regulatory regimes, which is one of the origins of the state's official nickname, the "Show-Me State."^[16] As a result, and combined with the fact that Missouri is one of America's leading alcohol-producing states, regulation of alcohol and tobacco in Missouri is widely known to be among the most laissez-faire in the United States.

Missouri always has had some of the most permissive alcohol laws in the United States. It never enacted statewide prohibition, and Missouri voters rejected prohibition in three separate referenda in 1910, 1912, and 1918. Alcohol regulation did not begin in Missouri until 1934. Today, alcohol laws are controlled by the state government, and local jurisdictions are prohibited from going beyond those state laws. Missouri has no statewide open container law or prohibition on drinking in public, no alcohol-related blue laws, no local option, no precise locations for selling liquor by the package (thereby allowing even drug stores and gas stations to sell any kind of liquor), no differentiation of laws based on alcohol percentage, no prohibition on consumption by minors, and no prohibition on absinthe. State law protects persons from arrest or criminal penalty for public intoxication and also expressly prohibits any jurisdiction from going dry. Missouri law also expressly allows parents and guardians to serve alcohol to their children. Along with the French Quarter in New Orleans, the Power & Light District in Kansas City is one of the few places in the United States where a state law explicitly allows persons over the age of 21 to possess and consume open containers of alcohol in the street, as long as the beverage is in a plastic cup.

See also: List of smoking bans in Missouri

As for tobacco, Missouri has the second-lowest cigarette excise taxes in the United States (behind only South Carolina), at 17 cents per pack, as of November, 2007.^[17][18] The electorate voted in 2002 and 2006 to keep it that way.^[19] No statewide smoking ban ever has been proposed before the Missouri General Assembly, and only 20% of Missourians support such a statewide ban in all public places.^[20] In 2007, Forbes named St. Louis as America's "best city for smokers."^[17] As of November, 2007, only eleven cities in Missouri have any smoking restrictions at all, and only eight smaller cities have smoking bans in effect for all workplaces, including bars and restaurants.

Additionally, Missouri state law renders it "an improper employment practice" for an employer to refuse to hire, to fire, or otherwise to disadvantage any person because that person lawfully uses alcohol and/or tobacco products when he or she is not at work.^[21]

[edit] Counties

See also: List of counties in Missouri

Missouri has 114 counties and one independent city (St. Louis).

The largest county by size is Texas County (1,179 sq. miles), Shannon County second (1,004 sq. miles), and with Worth County being the smallest (266 sq. miles). The independent city of St. Louis City is smaller yet, at only 62 sq. miles.

The largest county by population (2000 U.S. Census) is St. Louis County (1,016,315 residents), Jackson County second (654,880 residents), and with Worth County being the least populous (2,382 residents).

[edit] Important cities and towns

See also: List of cities in Missouri and List of towns and villages in Missouri

The seven largest cities in Missouri are Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield, Independence, Columbia, Lee's Summit and Saint Joseph.

St. Louis is the largest metropolitan area in Missouri and is the principal city of the sixteen-county St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area and includes eight counties in the state of Illinois. As of 2004, it was the 18th largest metro in the nation. Some of the major cities comprising the St. Louis Metro in Missouri include St. Charles, St. Peters, Florissant, Chesterfield, Creve Coeur, Maryland Heights, O'Fallon, Clayton, Ballwin, and University City.

Kansas City is the principal city of the fifteen-county Kansas City Metropolitan Statistical Area and includes six counties in the state of Kansas. Kansas City is Missouri's largest city. As of 2004, it was the 27th largest metro in the nation. Some of the other major cities comprising the Kansas City Metro in Missouri include Independence, Lee's Summit, Blue Springs, Raytown, Liberty, and Gladstone.

[edit] Education

Main article: Education in Missouri

[edit] Missouri State Board of Education

The Missouri State Board of Education has general authority over all public education in the state of Missouri. It is made up of eight citizens appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Missouri Senate.

[edit] Primary and secondary schools

See also: List of school districts in Missouri and List of high schools in Missouri

Education is compulsory from ages seven to sixteen in Missouri, commonly but not exclusively divided into three tiers of primary and secondary education: elementary school, middle school or junior high school and high school. The public schools system includes kindergarten to 12^th grade. District territories are often complex in structure. In some cases, elementary, middle and junior high schools of a single district feed into high schools in another district. High school athletics and competitions are governed by the Missouri State High School Activities Association or MSHAA.

[edit] Colleges and universities

See also: List of colleges and universities in Missouri

The University of Missouri System is Missouri's statewide public university system, the flagship institution and largest university in the state is the University of Missouri campus in Columbia. The others in the system are University of Missouri–St. Louis, University of Missouri–Kansas City and University of Missouri–Rolla (which will become Missouri University of Science and Technology on January 1, 2008). Notable private institutions include Saint Louis University and Washington University in St. Louis.

In 1905 the state established a series of normal schools to teach "teaching norms" at colleges in each region of the state. The initial network consisted of Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Missouri State University (formerly Southwest Missouri State University) in Springfield, Truman State University (formerly Northeast Missouri State University) in Kirksville, Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, and University of Central Missouri (formerly Central Missouri State University) in Warrensburg. There are numerous junior colleges, trade schools, church universities and private universities.

The state also funds a $2000, renewable merit-based scholarship, Bright Flight, given to the top 3 percent of Missouri High School graduates who attend a university in-state.

[edit] Sports

• Baseball: St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals
• Football: St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs
• Hockey: St. Louis Blues
• Soccer: Kansas City Wizards
• Indoor Soccer: St. Louis Steamers and Kansas City Comets
• Arena Football: Kansas City Brigade and River City Rage
• Tennis: Kansas City Explorers, Springfield Lasers and St. Louis Aces
• Cycling: Tour of Missouri

[edit] Minor leagues

• Baseball:
  • Springfield Cardinals (Class AA, Texas League)
  • Mid-Missouri Mavericks (Independent, Frontier League)
  • River City Rascals (Independent, Frontier League)
  • Farmington Firebirds (Independent, KITTY League)
  • St. Joseph Blacksnakes (Independent, American Association)

[edit] Former Professional Sports Teams

• National Football League:
  • St. Louis Cardinals (moved from Chicago in 1960; moved to Tempe in 1987 and are now the Arizona Cardinals)
  • St. Louis All Stars (active in 1923 only)
  • Kansas City (Blues/Cowboys) (active 1924-1926, folded)
  • St. Louis Gunners (independent team, joined the NFL for the last three weeks of the 1934 season and folded thereafter)
• Major League Baseball (American League):
  • St. Louis Browns (moved from Milwaukee in 1902; moved to Baltimore after the 1953 season and are now the Baltimore Orioles)
  • Kansas City Athletics (moved from Philadelphia in 1955; moved to Oakland, California after the 1967 season and are now the Oakland Athletics
• National Basketball Association:
  • St. Louis Bombers (charter BAA franchise in 1946, joined the NBA when it formed in 1949; ceased operations in 1950)
  • St. Louis Hawks (moved from Milwaukee in 1955; moved to Atlanta in 1968 and are now the Atlanta Hawks)
  • Kansas City Kings (moved to Sacramento in 1985 and are now the Sacramento Kings)
• National Hockey League:
  • Kansas City Scouts (1974 expansion team, moved to Denver in 1976 and became the Colorado Rockies, and would move again to Newark; now called the New Jersey Devils)
  • St. Louis Eagles (1934 relocation of the original Ottawa Senators, folded after the 1934-35 season)

[edit] Miscellaneous topics

• The USS Missouri, a U.S. Navy battleship, was named in honor of the state.
• The phrase "I'm from Missouri" means I'm skeptical of the matter and not easily convinced. This is related to the state's motto of "Show Me," whose origin is popularly ascribed to an 1899 speech by Congressman Willard Vandiver, who declared that "I come from a country that raises corn and cotton, cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I'm from Missouri, and you have got to show me." However, according to researchers, the phrase was in circulation earlier in the 1890's.^[22]According to another story, the phrase was originally a reference to Missouri laborers being brought to Colorado to quell a miner's strike and requiring frequent instruction. ^[23]
• Missouri is known as "The Cave State." In fact, Perry County is believed to have 650 caves, more than any other county in the state.

^[24]

[edit] See also

• Missouri River
• Missouri tribe
• Missouri Pacific Railroad
• Music of Missouri
• Henry Shaw Ozark Corridor
• List of people from Missouri and the Missouri Wall of Fame
• Historic houses in Missouri
• List of individuals executed in Missouri
• List of Missouri State Highways
• List of Missouri state parks
• List of television stations in Missouri
• Missouri Day
• Scouting in Missouri
• Missouri Highway Patrol
• Alcohol laws of Missouri

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Missouri Government
• State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia
• Missouri's African American History
• Missouri State Tourism Office
• USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of Missouri
• U.S. Census Bureau.
  • Missouri QuickFacts. Geographic and demographic information.
  • Missouri - Race and Hispanic Origin: 1810 to 1990PDF (71.1 KiB)

• Missouri State Facts
• List of searchable databases produced by Missouri state agencies hosted by the American Library Association Government Documents Roundtable.

State of Missouri Jefferson City (capital)

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Coordinates: 38.5° N 92.5° W

This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Missouri. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.