Dorene Weinstein

dweinste@argusleader.com

Stew Magnuson could have started writing his latest book when he was in grade school. Maybe he did and just didn’t know it.

Born and raised in Omaha, he has affectionate memories of U.S. Highway 83 — his grandparents lived along a stretch of the road in Stapleton, Neb., where his dad grew up — and Magnuson remembers his visits with them.

“Every time I rode my bike, my grandmother would say, ‘Look out! That highway runs from Canada to Mexico.’ ”

“I guess she was warning me to be on the lookout for Canadian kidnappers,” says Magnuson during a phone interview from his home in Arlington, Va. His latest book is, “A Journal Through Time Down U.S. Route 83: The Dakotas,” a nonfiction travel-history book that’s the first in a series uncovering stories from north to south.

U.S. Highway 83 bisects the United States, running 1,885 miles from Westhope, N.D., to Brownsville, Texas. It is one of the oldest and longest federal highways that hasn’t been replaced by an interstate. It runs down the middle of South Dakota.

Magnuson has traveled the length of the highway two different times for two weeks at a time gathering research. He found a lot of interesting stories — but no kidnappers.

“The scenery is beautiful, but it was the people I met that made this a fascinating journey. Everyone and every town had a story to tell.”

When Magnuson started the book, the logistics seemed confounding. How could he see it all, research it, write about it and present historical information, too?

To make the job more manageable, he broke the project into three chronicles. The first comes out this month and follows the stretch of highway that runs from North Dakota to Nebraska. The next installment, due out in 2015, covers the highway from Nebraska to Kansas. The final portion of the book documents the road from Oklahoma to Texas and comes out in 2016.

To help Magnuson’s research, he had two ironclad rules: “To see it all in the daylight and stop in every town to at least take pictures.” Those stops often included an encounter with a colorful local and a stop at the town library.

The stories are written in narrative style.

Magnuson probably has been working up to this book since he was in elementary school riding his bike along the road, knowing there were engaging stories just waiting to be told. “The book is a love poem to the natural beauty of the prairie and the fascinating people — both past and present — found along the road.”

In the first book, he includes stories of Chief Spotted Tail, Lawrence Welk, Casey Tibbs, Lewis and Clark and Pierre de la Verendrye.

Other books by Stew Magnuson• “The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder: And Other True Stories from the Nebraska-Pine Ridge Border Towns”• “Wounded Knee 1973: Still Bleeding”“The Song of Sarin”

About the series• “A Journal Through Time Down U.S. Route 83: The Dakotas,” a nonfiction travel-history book by Stew Magnuson, is available at Amazon.com in paperback and eBook formats. • Magnuson will speak at the Dakota Conference from 11:10-11:40 a.m. and sign books from 12:20-1 p.m. April 26 at the Center for Western Studies Fantle Building on the Augustana College campus. Before that, he’ll be on a book tour on Highway 83, starting April 19.• Magnuson maintains a Facebook page and blogs about his Highway 83 chronicles. He also set up a U.S. Route 83 Travel page which gives tips to those who are interested in a taking a road trip. Visit www. facebook.com/stew.magnuson or ushighway 83.blogspot .com/2014/02/new-book-traces-history-of-dakotas. html.