About Discover the Heartland
A regional invitation to explore, connect, and experience the tri-state Heartland.
What Discover the Heartland Is
Discover the Heartland (DTH) is a regional storytelling platform built to help locals and visitors understand the richness of the tri-state Heartland. To share its landscapes, small towns, cultures, and the people who give the region its character.
We highlight the places that shape lives here:
- Outdoor spaces
- Local food and makers
- Small communities
- Regional traditions
- Heritage sites and scenic experiences
DTH isn’t travel hype or generic tourism copy.
It’s a grounded, local-first lens on the tri-state region you actually live in, travel through, and return to.
It’s a grounded, local-first lens on the tri-state region you actually live in, travel through, and return to.
The Heartland is one of the richest cultural landscapes in America — shaped by river towns, small communities, deep heritage, and landscapes you can’t find anywhere else. It’s a place defined by connection, history, and local character. Discover the Heartland exists to help residents and visitors experience that richness more easily, more fully, and more meaningfully.
Our Mission
To reconnect the Heartland by making it easier for people to see, appreciate, and explore the region they call home.
People can’t appreciate what they can’t see.
Communities can’t connect when they don’t share the same map.
Discover the Heartland gives the tri‑state a clear, recognizable identity — honoring the uniqueness of its towns while showing how they fit together.
Our aim is simple: make the Heartland feel knowable, navigable, and worth rediscovering.
A Connected Tri-State Region
The Heartland isn’t defined by a single county or state line.
It’s a multi-regional area shaped by:
It’s a multi-regional area shaped by:
- River culture
- Shared history and migration
- Overlapping economies
- Interconnected small towns
- A blend of Midwest and Southern identity
DTH reflects this reality by organizing the region into three main regions and their subregions, each with its own character:
- Southeast Missouri
- Southern Illinois
- Western Kentucky
Every guide, journey, and story fits into this structure, making it easy to see how places relate to one another.
Why We Built This
The Heartland is full of places worth noticing — but they’ve been hidden behind fragmented information, inconsistent maps, and scattered local websites.
Discover the Heartland exists to solve that.
We bring clarity, structure, and storytelling to a region that deserves to be understood in full.
What You’ll Find Here
Discover the Heartland features:
• Regional Guides
Clear overviews of each region and subregion.
• Journeys & Experiences
Outdoor routes, scenic drives, day trips, seasonal itineraries.
• Local Spotlights
Stories about towns, attractions, parks, farms, museums, trails, and people.
• Seasonal Highlights
Spring bloom hikes, summer water trips, fall leaf routes, winter indoor experiences.
• Trusted Listings
Verified information for places to eat, stay, explore, and visit.
Everything is organized so you can quickly understand where something is, what it offers, and how it fits into the bigger picture of the Heartland.
Founder
Discover the Heartland was founded by Jonathan Fritzler, a regional storyteller, media producer, and systems architect focused on connecting communities and making the Heartland easier to explore.
Jonathan’s role in DTH is simple:
build the architecture, protect the clarity, and make the Heartland’s identity accessible.
build the architecture, protect the clarity, and make the Heartland’s identity accessible.
For a deeper look at the founder’s story, vision, and background, visit the Founder Page (unlisted), linked from this section.
“Discover the Heartland is an invitation — not to someplace new, but to see the places we’ve always had with a clearer lens.”
— Jonathan Fritzler
How to Use This Site
- Start with the Regions page to get the full map.
- Browse Subregions to see how the Heartland is structured.
- Explore Guides and Journeys for trip ideas and themed routes.
- Read Spotlights to discover small towns, parks, and unique experiences.
- Use Visitor Essentials (coming soon) for practical travel information.
Whether you’re planning a weekend, researching local history, or exploring your own backyard — this is your starting place.
Join the Journey
If you represent a local business, attraction, or organization and want to be part of the Heartland’s regional identity, visit our Professional Services page to see how we support local partners across the tri-state region.
Discover the Heartland is built for locals, visitors, and communities — but it grows strongest when we build it together.
The Heartland is bigger, richer, and more connected than most maps show.
This is your new map.
Welcome to the Heartland.
