By: Colson Thayer
Discover the voices behind the Midwest’s emerging travel narrative as bloggers and influencers showcase the region’s hidden gems, vibrant communities, and unique experiences to challenge the “flyover country” stereotype.
Often regarded as “flyover country,” the Midwest is rarely seen as a tourist hotspot. However, a recent surge of online content creators is working to reshape the region’s narrative.
“If you think it’s flyover country, it’s because you haven’t been here,” said Kim Reiner, the creator of the blog Oh My! Omaha.
The Midwest has a lot to offer from beautiful natural landscapes, diverse cultural experiences and endless dining options. It is affordable and easy to access—being located in the center of the country—yet it is still uncharted territory for many coastal residents.
Kim Reiner – Oh My! Omaha
Fresh out of college, Reiner dreamed of becoming a travel writer. After finishing her communications degree, she got her first job as a designer at the Daily Nonpareil in Council Bluffs, Iowa. She hoped to move to their travel section eventually, but it was dropped soon after she joined the team.
Later, she joined the arts and entertainment section and became editor. Her job was attending and writing about events in her area, including Omaha, but she did things differently.
“I had two young kids, and I knew I wanted to write about [arts and entertainment] in a way where others knew, ‘I can take my kids to this too,’” Reiner said.
This prompted her to start her blog, Oh My! Omaha. Initially, it was evenly split: 50% about her family’s travel and road trips, and 50% about openings and exhibits in the greater Omaha area. Over time, she started to gain some traction.
“I stuck to the Midwest, and that’s been successful for me because it’s been kind of an under-covered area for the longest time,” Reiner said. “I think some people are starting to explore more states that have been neglected, so I was able to build up this blog and write about all these neat things that I was seeing on the road before other people might have noticed it.”
And it has worked. Reiner has expanded the Oh My! Omaha brand to social media, where her Facebook account has more than 44,000 followers. She even produces an Oh My! Omaha podcast.
“It makes me excited to know that there are people, younger people with young kids, that are [exposed] to these activities and these really cool events,” Reiner said.
Reiner writes guides, reviews, and travel pieces on her blog for Omaha parents looking for things to do with—and without—their kids. She largely promotes events, restaurants, small businesses, exhibits, parks, and more through first-person photos and videos on her social media.
Reiner’s audience ‘sweet spot’ is women ages 25 to 45 who live in Omaha or are traveling there. Although her main focus is the Omaha metro area, Reiner loves to venture out and show her audience more of the Midwest.
“As much as I love going to bigger Midwest cities… I’ve understood that some of the most memorable moments I’ve had were going to the smaller towns,” Reiner said. “[I] just kind of act as a Midwest explorer. I want to find something new to me that I know will excite other people or other families.”
Mindy Hargesheimer- Kansas City Bucket List
Nine years ago, Mindy Hargesheimer and her family moved from Chicago to the Kansas City metropolitan area. At the time, her friends were skeptical. “What does Kansas City have to offer?” they would ask. But soon, Hargesheimer discovered that Kansas City has more to offer than just a Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift romance.
Hargesheimer and her family tapped into the city’s food, drink, art, fashion, music, shopping, and hospitality offerings. She fell in love with the Chiefs, the Royals, Sporting KC, and KC Current, and soon adopted the pride many of her neighbors had for the city.
“People love Kansas City,” Hargesheimer said. “People wear shirts with a KC heart. People wear shirts that say Kansas City. You [won’t] find many, if any, other cities where you’re just wearing the name of your city unless it’s associated with a team… They say nobody loves Kansas City more than Kansas Citians.”
She became one of those Kansas Citians.
Combining a need for a creative outlet and a love for sharing stories, Hargesheimer started an Instagram account where she posted pictures and videos of her Kansas City experiences. It took off. Since her first post in 2017, @kansascitybucketlist has gained over 87,000 followers.
“I [prefer] experiences over buying things,” Hargesheimer said. “We want to go and explore and support our local businesses and tell that story about how these individuals came to be. I love to find out what’s behind the name, who started it, and why, and spread the word about how you can shop local or eat local.”
When she first started, Hargesheimer’s content largely came from her own research. As her popularity grew, she began creating connections within the city. Now, businesses and agencies will come to her with events and places to promote. Finding enough content is never a challenge. Instead, the challenge is having enough time to cover it all.
“A lot of people ask me, ‘Hey, we’ve never been to Kansas City. What should we do?’’’ Hargesheimer said. “‘Well, tell me more about you. I don’t even know where to begin. Are you into antique shopping? Are you into cocktails? Are you into history?’ I know Kansas City so well and love to break it down for people to understand what inspires or excites them. Then I can give them a multitude of recommendations.”
When it comes to picking a perfect travel destination, Hargesheimer recommends looking no further than the middle of the country.
“You don’t have to go to Nashville. You don’t have to go to Chicago. You can come to Kansas City and tap into all of these things at a much lower price point,” Hargesheimer said.
Morgan Chicchelly- Des Moines Girl
Morgan Chicchelly was born and raised in Iowa but moved to Florida to attend the University of Miami. After graduating, she bounced around a few cities on the East Coast for most of her twenties. During that time, she was drawn to the small businesses in those larger cities.
At the height of the pandemic, Chicchelly decided to move back home. Upon her return, she recognized a huge need in the community.
“We [needed] a way to support the small businesses in Des Moines because [it was] the pandemic,” she said.
Chicchelly reached out to small businesses and promoted them on her Instagram account and blog, Des Moines Girl. At the time, it filled their needs. But over time, Chicchelly realized there was another significant demand amongst her followers.
According to Instagram demographics, at just under 20,000 followers, Des Moines Girl’s community comprises 87% of women ages 25 to 45. This group has a huge demand for things to do, in-person events, and opportunities to make friends. By partnering with small businesses like Wander Women, Teehee’s Comedy Club, and SingleSpeed Brewing, Chichelly can let them do their work as she promotes all that the city has to offer.
“We’ve had many Galentine’s, karaoke, and paddle boarding meetups,” Chicchelly said. “We try to range across hobbies and find community businesses already doing events like this and bringing what they’re good at. My ability through Des Moines Girl is to amplify and get people there.”