5 Good & Bad Changes in Missouri Over the Past 40 Years

I'm gonna risk sounding like the old man in the room, but I have seen a lot of changes in Missouri over the past 4 decades. Some good, some bad and some...well just the natural process of things. I've narrowed them down to 5 good and 5 not so good things about Missouri that have changed over the past 40 years.

Not to bore you with my life story, but for full disclosure, I was born in Hannibal, Missouri quite some time ago. If I'm being truthful about my age (I don't plan to), I could do the good and bad changes in Missouri for the past 50 years, but I won't. Since I've more or less (Editor's note: Less) been an adult for the past 40 years, here are some observations of how life in the Show Me State has changed. Let's get the bad out of the way first.

5 Things That Have Changed in Missouri for the Worse Since 1984

The Mississippi River is a mess

Perhaps I'm looking at the Mississippi River I grew up with in the 1970's and 1980's with rose-colored glasses, but I don't remember it being nearly as polluted 4 decades ago as it is now. In the past 40 years, it's also been responsible for several major flood events that haven't helped the cause. I still love the mighty river I grew up near, but it's not nearly the majestic beast it used to be.

Traffic on Highway 61 has gone from bad to a nightmare

Highway 61 was a busy place 40 years ago and it's several times worse now. It doesn't matter if you're driving through rural parts of Lewis County or even on the way to a St. Louis Cardinals game. Driving on highway 61 is an attempt at survival and not enjoyment. Don't even get me started on what McMasters Avenue in Hannibal is like during lunchtime or the dinner time drive either.

Tornadoes have become more severe

Tornadoes have always been a part of life in Missouri, but it seems the intensity has increased greatly especially over the last two decades. In the 1980's, I recall the occasional mild twister dropping in northeast Missouri, but nothing too tragic. In the past 15 years alone, we've seen the EF-5 in Joplin and the killer twister that hit the Amazon warehouse in St. Louis. Blame this on reports that Tornado Alley has moved to sit squarely over Missouri now.

St. Louis and Kansas City have become gang land killing fields

It seemed that much of the crime in the Missouri big cities 40 years ago were more or less random violence. Now, it's gangs in St. Louis and gangs in Kansas City. No wonder both cities are now in the top 10 most dangerous places in America. Sad.

Missouri used to be more welcoming and neighborly

Is it just me or has Missouri changed from "welcome, neighbor" to "don't tread on me"? I'm fortunate to live in a friendly small town part of Missouri that still is very nice, but I've also driven past many "get off my lawn" type of places, too. Can't we all just get along?

Enough negativity. Let's get to the parts of Missouri that are getting better.

5 things that have changed for the better in Missouri since 1984

There are more places to experience in Missouri and it's easier to get there

When I was a kid, my parents took me on vacation to Silver Dollar City and Six Flags and...that was about it. Now, thanks to Johnny Morris and other entrepreneurs in Missouri, there's Top of the Rock, Big Cedar Lodge plus all the fancier Branson options now. I've also lost count of how many new tourist options there are in western Missouri near Kansas City, too.

Missouri has used technology to make learning and entertainment easier

Missouri used to have a reputation for being backwards place where technology was slow to be embraced. Now, even in the small rural Missouri town where my family lives we have super high-speed internet. It's fast and reliable and virtually everyone I am either related to or know in the state are impressed with how available broadband is these days. You might claim that's the case everywhere, but it's not. Try living in the middle of Wyoming and tell me how fast your internet is there. Missouri has done a good job of modernizing (most) things.

Most can still afford to buy a home in Missouri

It's sadly not true for everyone, but most can still find a home they can afford to buy in Missouri. Even St. Louis has over 70% home ownership which is surprising. Try living in any of the western states where even a half million dollars won't buy you anything. Missouri still has some affordable homes out there.

Look at how much better the Kansas City Chiefs are

When I was a kid, the Kansas City Chiefs were Len Dawson and Otis Taylor and eventually Derrick Thomas. They were good, but never really contenders in the 80's, 90's and 2000's. Look at them now. Repeat Super Bowl Champions. The Kansas City Chiefs have improved a lot over the past 40 years for sure.

Most in Missouri have not lost their kindness

You might wonder how "not losing all of our kindness" is an improvement. In the world we live in for 2024, the fact that I can share the story of a cleanup crew in Missouri that adopted a puppy they found in the trash is unusual. You could fairly say "well, the fact that someone threw away a puppy is proof we're mean". I would say let's focus on the heroes and not the villains. The fact Missouri still has every day heroes is something worth talking about.