I’m from Joplin, which is the intersection of East Kansas & Northeast Oklahoma (actually Northeast North Texas). 
Really, Iowa is freakin’ monolithic compared to Missouri. But we end up following their ( & NH’s) lead, just like 75% of the country.
The primary process needs to be long, & stay open longer. If staying in to say, “Hey, John Kerry/W. Bush/Bob Dole/Bill Clinton/whoever is an decent guy, but we can do better” is too expensive for too many candidates, we should go back to caucuses.