Every mile is an adventure, and the 8th season of Heartland Highways promises to be no different. Follow host Lori Casey and co-host Kate Pleasant as they bring viewers to new places along the rural roads and highways of the Midwest.

Come along as Casey and Pleasant visit nearly 30 different people and places in Illinois, Indiana and Missouri on their usual adventures, but with a few twists.

Season 8 is dotted with several themed shows. Viewers will enjoy a show all about talented women including Sugar Artist Buffy Vance from Urbana, Illinois, Accomplished Fisherwoman Mary Satterfield from Shelbyville, Illinois, and Feather Artist Suzanna Fairley of Lerna, Illinois.  

“It was almost too easy to group theses three talented ladies together for a show,” said Pleasant. “Each of their crafts are so unique and will catch the eye of any viewer, male or female.”

Another show will feature a collection of Illinois country opry sites including the Bement Country Opry, the Edgewood Opry and the Altamont Living Museum.

“We started out with shooting just one opry,” Casey said. “Soon after we visited there we began hearing about all of these other oprys on the circuit and decided we had to do a whole show.”

For the car lovers out there, make sure to catch Heartland Highways’ car-themed program that will highlight a Chevrolet Museum in Decatur, a Model T Car Club and Tour in Indiana’s covered bridge country and Classic Country Cars in Staunton, Illinois. In another show we’ll take you to Dana, Indiana; a small town with a lot going on! We’ll visit Brooke’s Candy Company, the Ernie Pyle State Historic Site and the nearby Brown Barn General Store just down the road.

There are plenty of other stories too! Just a few include a trip to the Myers Dinner Theater in Hillsboro, Indiana, a visit with Larry Shobe, Eastern Illinois University’s grounds gardener, a special look at St. Louis’s Forest Park, a feature on Olney, Illinois, white squirrels, a trip to a shrimp farm in Newton, Illinois, and a day spent with the Gammi Phi Circus at Illinois State University in Normal.

Heartland Highways is also proud to announce our 100th episode which will come later in our season. This episode will take a look back at the past eight seasons, feature interviews and behind the scenes features with Lori Casey and a special guest interview from Rachel Wikoff, former co-host.

“A lot has changed over the years and this will be a really nice way to take a look back at some of the people and places we’ve seen over the past eight seasons,” said Casey.

Pleasant and Casey will also be coming to viewers from various locations on Eastern Illinois University’s campus, their home base. Watch as they feature the beautiful Doudna Fine Arts Center, campus ponds, Booth Library and Old Main, among other locations across campus.

We hope you enjoy the show!

Lori and Kate