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Roxie Yonkey, Secret Kansas

Posted on by Pat Melgares
Portrait picture, Roxie Yonkey
Roxie Yonkey

Can I tell you a secret? How about 84 of them?

That sounds like a lot. In this case, I’m referring to a new book that intentionally shares such little known stories. The book is titled Secret Kansas. It is chock-full of fascinating and little-known stories about our state.

Roxie Yonkey, who we have profiled before, is an author, blogger and travel writer. A Nebraska native, she became a staff writer at a college in Virginia. She came back to the Midwest for her career in journalism, married a Kansan in Goodland, and worked in tourism for years. She found she enjoyed writing about Kansas attractions.

In 2019, Yonkey launched a website and travel blog called www.roxieontheroad.com, of which she is the CEO: that is, Chief Exploration Officer.

She continues to write and post about Kansas attractions. In 2021, Yonkey published her book titled “100 Things to Do in Kansas Before You Die,” as we have previously profiled.

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Roxie Yonkey, 100 Things to Do in Kansas

Posted on by Pat Melgares

“Is there anything to do in Kansas?”

“Oh, yes. There are a HUNDRED things to do in Kansas!”

Woman smiling, Roxie Yonkey
Roxie Yonkey

If you don’t believe me, take the word of author Roxie Yonkey. She recently wrote a book titled “100 Things to Do in Kansas Before You Die.”

Roxie was born and raised in Nebraska and always enjoyed writing. At college in Virginia, she became a staff writer.

Roxie came to Kansas for a job opportunity at the Goodland newspaper. Her plan was to stay for a year. More than 30 years later, she’s still here.

When Roxie took the job in Goodland, she met a good-looking guy at the next desk. Four years later, they would be married. Roxie and Eric bought a newspaper in Syracuse and sold it in 2000.

They came back to northwest Kansas. Roxie found that she enjoyed writing about Kansas attractions. She designed the regional travel guide called the Ultimate Guide to Northwest Kansas, worked for the Sherman County Convention and Visitors Bureau, and became administrator for the Kansas I-70 Association.

When those positions ended, she was not sure what to do next. “I was sitting and staring at my computer, asking myself, `What do I do now?’ Then it was as if a voice said to me, `What do you have in your hand?’ I answered, `A computer mouse…’ I realized I could become a travel writer and blogger,” Roxie said.

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