By Sara Shipley Hiles  – AlterNet – July 12, 2012

The Missouri River stretches more than a quarter-mile from shore to shore here, its muddy water the color of coffee with a shot of cream. The river carved this valley hundreds of thousands of years ago, and in the 1830s, it deposited the German settlers who founded this city. Today, visitors who sip local wine in hillside gazebos can gaze down at the water and imagine being on the Rhine. For full story, click here.