He put together the initial funding and began building roads, railroads, and infrastructure necessary to begin construction of a dam, with a plan to impound a much smaller lake.

In 2011, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) renewed the lease for the power plant operated by Ameren Missouri.

In the process, the FERC determined that numerous homes and structures were encroaching on utility land in violation of federal regulations.

According to the Boston Globe, this issue "has triggered panic in the area's lakefront communities and led to a growing battle among regulators, a utility company, land attorneys, and the state's congressional delegation.

Those were the structures remaining in limbo after Ameren was given approval to redraw the project lines encompassing Lake of the Ozarks.

[19] The reservoir is impounded at its northeastern end by Bagnell Dam, and the Osage River is both its primary inflow and outflow.

[19] Long and winding in shape, the lake consists of the main, 93-mile-long (150 km) Osage River channel and several arms, each fed by a different tributary.

With a population of 4,570, the largest city is Osage Beach, which sits where the lake's southeastern arm joins the main channel.

Other, smaller communities along or near the lake include (from east to west): Kaiser, Lakeside, Linn Creek, Village of Four Seasons, Rocky Mount, Sunrise Beach, Hurricane Deck, Gravois Mills, Laurie, and Lakeview Heights.

[28] Originally built in 1930, the bridge crosses the Grand Glaize Arm of the lake in Osage Beach, Missouri.

Missouri Route 5 runs generally north–south along the lake's western shoreline, crossing the main channel at Hurricane Deck.

Missouri Route 134 runs southeast from U.S. 54 north of Osage Beach to its southern terminus in Lake of the Ozarks State Park.

[19] Bagnell Dam is operated and maintained by Ameren Missouri, the successor of Union Electric, under the authority of a permit issued by the FERC.

Any improvements to the shoreline, including docks, seawalls, and other structures, require permission from Ameren Missouri prior to construction.

Lake of the Ozarks State Park is home to Party Cove, a gathering spot that a The New York Times writer called the "oldest established permanent floating bacchanal in the country.

[35] On April 1, 2012, biologist and TV personality Jeremy Wade visited the lake and filmed an episode on the large catfish that could be caught there.

[38] A house joint resolution has to be passed allowing a casino to be built near the Osage River has to signed before construction can began.

Annual powerboat races, known as the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout, take place at the end of every summer typically the weekend before Labor Day.

[42] On the last Saturday of February of every year, the Lake of the Ozarks holds a polar bear plunge event as a fundraiser for Special Olympics in Missouri.

In November 2017, it was reported that the series helped increase tourism and notoriety of the Lake of the Ozarks, but did not have a significant economic impact.

[46] In June 2024, Lucky 8 productions, LLC announced plans to make a documentary about the police officers and show will be done in Osage Beach, the title later revealed ''Ozark Law," premiered on January 8, 2025, on A&E.