[6] On July 10, 1981, Ken McElroy was shot to death with at least two different guns while sitting in his truck in front of the D&G Tavern in town.

[7] McElroy had a reputation as the "town bully," and he had fended off over 20 charges for acts of theft, rape, and other violence (often by means of witness intimidation).

In the months before his death, he was appealing a light sentence for shooting a 70-year-old grocer, Bo Bowenkamp, in the neck.

Author Harry N. MacLean recounted the incident and its background in a bestselling and award-winning book, In Broad Daylight.

[8] In 1991 the incident was portrayed in a made-for-TV movie starring Brian Dennehy and Cloris Leachman (although filmed in Texas).

[9] The Ken McElroy shooting was also the focus of the A&E Network program City Confidential, season 2, episode 22 entitled, "Skidmore: Frontier Justice".

On October 16, 2000, Greg N. Dragoo beat and dragged his girlfriend, Wendy Gillenwater, down several country roads outside of Skidmore, causing her to die.

[10][11][12] On April 11, 2001, Branson Perry vanished under mysterious circumstances from his residence at 304 West Oak Street in Skidmore.

Perry's grandmother, Jo Ann, stopped by his home and found the house unlocked and deserted.

Ground search parties were organized by Nodaway County Sheriff's Office within a 15-mile (24 km) radius of the Perry residence.

On August 14, 2022, Nodaway County Sheriff Randy Strong announced their department had identified a suspect, but still needed more evidence before making an arrest.

[13] On December 16, 2004, Skidmore was once again the focus of national attention when Bobbie Jo Stinnett, a cousin of Branson Perry, was murdered in her home located at 410 W. Elm Street.

She had her unborn baby cut from her womb,[14] which was found alive two days later in Topeka, Kansas, and delivered to the father by police.

The killer, Lisa Montgomery, received a federal death sentence, and was executed early in the morning on January 13, 2021.

[15] Skidmore is located at on Missouri Route 113 approximately two miles north of the Nodaway-Holt county line.

[16] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.33 square miles (0.85 km2), all land.