John David Ashcroft is an American lawyer, lobbyist, and former politician who served as the United States Attorney General in the George W. Bush administration from 2001 to 2005. He previously held various positions in Missouri politics; as Auditor of Missouri (1973–1975), Attorney General of Missouri (1976–1985), Governor of Missouri (1985–1993), and as a United States Senator representing Missouri (1995–2001). He later founded The Ashcroft Group, a Washington D.C. lobbying firm.
Taney County is a county in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 56,066. Its county seat is Forsyth. It is included in the Branson, Missouri, Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Springfield is the third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimated population of 487,061 in 2022 and includes the counties of Christian, Dallas, Greene, Polk, and Webster, The city sits on the Springfield Plateau of the Ozarks, which ranges from nearly-level to rolling hills. Springfield is the second-largest urban area in the Ozarks.
Branson is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. Most of the city is situated in Taney County, with a small portion in the west extending into Stone County. Branson is in the Ozark Mountains. The community was named after Reuben Branson, postmaster and operator of a general store in the area in the 1880s. The population was 12,638 at the 2020 census.
The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant portion of northern Arkansas and most of the southern half of Missouri, extending from Interstate 40 in central Arkansas to Interstate 70 in central Missouri.
Music of Missouri has a storied musical history. Missouri has had major developments in several popular music genres and has been the birthplace or career origin of many musicians. St. Louis was an important venue for early blues, jazz, country, and bluegrass. Kansas City has had famous performers such as Charlie Parker, Count Basie, Lester Young, and the distinct style of Kansas City jazz. Ragtime made influence in the city of Sedalia, Missouri, due to Scott Joplin and his publisher John Stark, and through Missouri native James Scott.
College of the Ozarks is a private Christian college in Point Lookout, Missouri. The college has an enrollment of 1,426 and over 30 academic majors in Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science programs.
BPS Direct, LLC, doing business as Bass Pro Shops, is an American privately held sporting goods retailer that offers hunting, fishing, camping, and other related outdoor recreation equipment, marine manufacturing and sales, and outdoor resorts. The company is recognized by its retail stores, Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's, that feature natural outdoor designs and decorations. Bass Pro Shops supports conservation efforts, organizations that support the United States' Armed Services and Veterans, and outdoor education and recreation for youth. The company partners with conservation groups, including Ducks Unlimited, the National Wild Turkey Federation, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The company's headquarters, original store, and the Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium are located in Springfield, Missouri.
Silver Dollar City is a 61-acre (25 ha) amusement park in Stone County, Missouri, near the cities of Branson and Branson West. The park is located off of Missouri Route 76 on the Indian Point peninsula of Table Rock Lake. Silver Dollar City opened on May 1, 1960. The park is an 1880s-themed experience. Silver Dollar City's operating season runs from March until December, with the park closed for two months. Silver Dollar City is owned by Herschend Family Entertainment.
The Diocese of Springfield–Cape Girardeau is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in southern Missouri in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Saint Louis.
The United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri is the federal judicial district encompassing 66 counties in the western half of the State of Missouri. The Court is based in the Charles Evans Whittaker Courthouse in Kansas City.
U.S. Route 65 is a north–south U.S. highway that runs from Clayton, Louisiana to Albert Lea, Minnesota. In Missouri, the highway enters the state from Arkansas, just south of Branson. The highway exits the state into Iowa near South Lineville.
Ralph David Foster was an American broadcasting executive and philanthropist who created the framework for Springfield, Missouri, to challenge Nashville, Tennessee, as the nation's country music capital during the 1950s. His KWTO was a stepping-stone for many top country artists; and with his music businesses, led to creation of Ozark Jubilee, the first U.S. network television program to feature country's top stars.
Leonard Harrison Aleshire was a versatile American vaudeville and later country music performer from the 1920s into the 1960s. A singer, dancer and songwriter, he was also half of a musical comedy duo, Lennie and Goo Goo, with Floyd Rutledge. The pair appeared on local and national radio and television programs originating from Springfield, Missouri, during the 1940s and 50s.
M. Graham Clark Downtown Airport is a county-owned, public-use airport in Taney County, Missouri, United States. It is located one nautical mile (2 km) south of the central business district of Branson, Missouri, one nautical mile (2 km) northeast of Point Lookout, Missouri, and a few yards west of the old downtown area of Hollister, Missouri. It was formerly known as M. Graham Clark Field – Taney County Airport.
Clyde Carol Wilson, better known as Slim Wilson, was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and radio and TV personality who was a cornerstone of country music in the Ozarks for more than 50 years beginning in the 1930s; both in his own right, and as a member of The Goodwill Family and The Tall Timber Trio. Wilson was a mainstay of ABC-TV’s Ozark Jubilee; and hosted ABC's Talent Varieties in 1955 and his own local television show in Springfield, Missouri, from 1964 to 1975.
Herschel Haworth Jr., better known as Speedy Haworth, was an American guitarist and singer who was involved with the golden age of country music broadcasting in the Ozarks. He was a featured cast member of ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee from 1955–1960 and is a member of the Missouri Country Music Hall of Fame.
The Hollywood Wax Museum is a two-story wax museum featuring replicas of celebrities located on Highway 76 in Branson, Missouri.
On the evening of July 19, 2018, a duck boat operated by Ride the Ducks sank on Table Rock Lake in the Ozarks near Branson, Missouri, in the United States. The amphibious vehicle sank with 31 people on board, leaving 17 dead, during high winds associated with nearby severe thunderstorms as part of a significant derecho and tornado outbreak.
The Petersens are an American bluegrass family band from Branson, Missouri. Since the group's inception, they have been a regular feature on Country Music and Bluegrass television specials.
