I will kick your ...

Anyway. Matt, Missouri is in no way "northerly". We're definitely central. Just about as central as you can get. In fact, there's a retreat center in south St. Louis called the White House, because apparently it was originally built to be a replacement for the building of the same name in D.C. (although they look nothing alike) during a time when politicians were considering moving the US capital out more to the center of the country. ("Cooler" heads prevailed, or something, and our federal government was left in the malarial swamp of the Potomac River, so....)

Som's right. Hot and humid in summer, followed by the potential for miserable cold in the winter. The worst of both worlds.

Two big rivers most people would have heard of, the Mississippi and the Missouri, and there's also the Meramec River which flows in at St. Louis and makes up one of the three rivers on the city's flag.

As far as other towns, besides St. Louis and Hannibal (and Rolla, and Columbia, and Springfield, and Joplin), they're obviously unfamiliar with the fact that what most people think of when they say Kansas City is actually Kansas City, MO. (I've been told that the Missouri "side" of the city is the "good" side, but I can't back that up.)

And since when is Iowa more popular? They have what, the Field of Dreams and a college football team, and that's about it. (Okay, okay, I may be mistaken, but it may have Steff as well, so that's another plus in it's favor :D)

-There's someone in my head, but it's not me.-