The I-70 reality behind Missouri's TV darlin'
23.05.12
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Truck-stop reality might not strike a lot of people as having TV potential, but when the Travel Channel happened upon a place off Exit 121 along the Interstate Highway 70 corridor just west of here, lightning struck.
TV crews came calling, and everything naturally got amped up. That reality set in over the last several months for Joe Bechtold, general manager of the Midway Travel Plaza, which was made even more famous in "Truck Stop Missouri."
The well-visited stop offers a slice of life — heck, make it two slices — with an interesting cast of characters, the ones visiting and the ones working there.
"You know, it's been a lot of fun and a lot of work," Bechtold said. "It's time-consuming but really cool. ... For us and our customers, it's been great. People come in and they're kind of excited to see people who they've seen on TV."
In its first season, "Truck Stop Missouri" focused on the family-owned travel plaza and
Source: Chicago Tribune