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Washington University in St Louis has consistently been one of the most bicycle friendly universities in Missouri and has gone above and beyond to make it easy for students, teachers, and staff to get to campus and around campus by walking, bicycling, public transit, shuttles, and other environmentally friendly and healthy ways.

Last year Washington University was named a Gold-level Bicycle Friendly University by the League.

Now the Washington University School of Medicine has been named a Silver-level Bicycle Friendly Business:

Transportation, including our daily commutes, is one of the largest global emitters of greenhouse gases. It’s also the emitter that can feel most personal. Many value their morning commute as a rare moment of peace and quiet, others enjoy the ability to hop on a plane to visit relatives, and nothing beats the freedom of taking a spontaneous road trip.  

Great Rivers Greenway in the St Louis metro area sent the following announcement:

Throughout the spring and fall this year, Great Rivers Greenway is once again hosting the Life Outside Challenge! This is an opportunity to do nature, creativity, health, play, and photo challenges on the greenways and win prizes! The spring Life Outside Challenge is happening now and ends May 15. To submit your activities and win prizes, visit www.LiveLifeOutside.org.

American Rails has an excellent summary of the history of the MKT/Katy Railroad - many interesting tidbits for anyone planning a trip on the Katy Trail:

As its name implies, the MKT linked its namesake states with key connections to St. Louis, Kansas City, Dallas/Fort Worth, Waco, San Antonio, and Galveston/Houston.  Much of its growth across Texas occurred during the Jay Gould era, one of the industry's most notorious tycoons.  

After escaping his grasp the Katy spent the 20th century as a well-managed, if not highly profitable, railroad.  Due to its regional nature and many competitors it did not enjoy the success of its larger neighbors but was nonetheless a respected carrier. 

During the late 1960's, legendary railroader John Barriger III took the reins and guided the Katy through a brief bout of prominence.  He had always envisioned it joining a stronger system, which came true in 1988 when it was acquired by Union Pacific. . . .

[I]t was hoped that Fort Riley, Fort Leavenworth, and Fort Gibson could be directly connected by rail. 

Katy Trail riders: Since 2019 the Salt Creek bridge on the Katy Trail between Rocheport and Boonville has been out, destroyed by the Missouri River flooding that year.

State Parks plans to have the new bridge in place and open, perhaps as soon as May 2022.

However, in the meanwhile the question remains: How do you safely ride between Rocheport and Boonville?

State Parks suggests taking Hwy 40 - which is possible, but also narrow with no shoulders and at many times of the week, filled with fairly heavy and very fast traffic.

But there is a better way: MoBikeFed has created a beautiful, scenic low traffic/low stress alternative to that Hwy 40 bypass. The route is a MoBikeFedTriple Star Route, meaning that it is a high quality "Virtual Guided Tour" of the area with the route completely ground-truthed and all cues and turns checked.

Missouri Life magazine is premiering a new documentary and book featuring Missouri's German heritage. 

What does that have to do with bicycling, walking, and trails in Missouri?  Well, Missouri's German heritage area is very much centered in the eastern Missouri Valley - between St Louis and Boonville. The Katy Trail runs right down the heart of that corridor.

So there are strong connections with the Katy Trail and other Missouri bicycle touring routes, and with some of the key communities along the Katy Trail like Hermann and Washington.