I've lived in many states over the years. One thing doesn't change: each state has its pluses and minuses that make it a great place to live or a dud. I'm talking about things like incredible sunrises and sunsets, spectacular cities, the attitude of the people, and that sort of stuff. The Staff at Fashion Final took it one step further and tried to find out what was the worst in each state.

Now, remember, I'm not sharing my opinion. I'm sharing what Fashion Final has deemed the one worst about Missouri and Illinois.

The One Worst Thing About Missouri: Puppy Mills

Fashion Final points out that Missouri has a "dubious reputation" for being home to some of the worst puppy mills in America. Unfortunately, this is true. KSDK 5 reported in April of this year that Missouri is considered the worst in the nation for "problematic puppy mills."

The Humaine Society of the United States writes, "For the 12th year in a row, Missouri has the highest number of dealers in the report." That would be 23 dealers, followed by Ohio, Iowa, and Wisconsin. By my count,16 of the 23 dealers mentioned are repeat offenders and have landed on the report in the past.

There is some good news for animal lovers. There were a couple of bills working their way through the Missouri legislature that would have made it harder for municipalities and counties to ban the sale of dogs and cats in pet stores and also make it hard to create regulations that would safeguard the welfare of animals. These bills failed, according to Bark To Ban Puppy Mills website, which is an excellent resource if you'd like to learn how to find a reputable breeder or wish to avoid accidentally buying a dog or cat from a puppy mill. You can learn more about Bark to Ban Puppy Mills website here.

The One Worst Thing About Illinois: Railroad Accidents

As far as Illinois goes, Fashion Final reports that Illinois leads the nation in railroad accidents. Of course, they also mention that Illinois beat Texas regarding total train accidents. Regarding everything rail from total miles of rail and beyond, Illinois ranks first or second on various lists by the Association of American Rails rankings, although the list is from 2017.

Fashion Final didn't disclose the details of where they got their information. However, Chatgpt told me data for 2024 isn't relatively available. Regarding highway-rail grade crossing collisions, based on stats from the Federal Railroad Administration, Operation LifeSaver says Illinois ranked sixth in the Country for grade crossing collisions in 2023 and fifth for total trespass casualties in 2023.

The numbers aren't great, but they don't necessarily support Fashion Final's assertion that Illinois is the worst in the nation. That said, based on the amount of rail and the railroad business in Chicago, it is still a big part of Illinois today. It's one of the worst states for train crashes, and it shouldn't be unexpected because of how much track and moving trains go through the state.

Conclusion

I don't know if I'd spend much time worrying about either problem. Sure, it would be great not to have puppy mills as a problem in Missouri. It'd also be great to have fewer people impacted by train derailments, crashes, and the like in Illinois.

Yet, there are two things I don't even have to look up to tell you how you can avoid contributing to either problem.

One is to adopt, don't shop. Plenty of shelters and rescues in Missouri are looking for great homes for dogs, cats, and other animals. If you want to add to your pack, support them, not a pet store.

The other is pretty simple. Stay off the train tracks, don't trespass on railroad property, and never try to beat a train. Sure, there will still be accidents in rail yards and derailments for various reasons, but we can reduce the crashes and derailments caused by us trying to beat a train or just acting a fool.

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We'd be lucky if these were the worst issues Missouri and Illinois faced. Yet, I suspect we all have that one thing we think is the worst about living in Missouri or Illinois, and I bet it's not puppy mills and train crashes.