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State of Kansas

Flag of Kansas Seal of Kansas
State nickname: The Sunflower State
Official languages	None
Capital	Topeka
Largest city	Wichita
Governor	Kathleen Sebelius (D)
Senators	Sam Brownback (R) Pat Roberts (R)
Area  - Total  - % water	Ranked 15th 82,277 mi²; 213,096 km² 0.56
Population  - Total (2000)  - Density	Ranked 32nd 2,688,418 32.9/mi²; 12.7/km² (40th)
Admission into Union	January 29, 1861 (34th)
Time Zone	Central : UTC-6/-5 Mountain: UTC-7/-6 Counties are Central except for 4 counties on western border.
Coordinates  - Latitude  - Longitude  - Width  - Length	37°N to 40°N 94°38'W to 102°1'34"W 211 mi; 340 km 400 mi; 645 km
Elevation  - Highest point  - Mean  - Lowest point	4,039 feet; 1,231 m 2000 feet; 600 m 679 feet; 207 m
Abbreviations  - USPS  - ISO 3166-2	KS US-KS
Web site	www.kansas.gov

Kansas, derived from the Siouan word Kansa meaning "People of the south wind", is a Midwestern state in the United States. The U.S. postal abbreviation for the state is KS.

Contents 1 History 2 Law and government 3 Geography 3.1 Topography 3.2 Landmarks 3.3 Major highways 4 Economy 5 Demographics 5.1 Race and ancestry 5.2 Religion 5.3 "Rural flight" 6 Major cities and towns 7 Education 8 Professional sports teams 9 See also 10 External links 11 References

History

Main article: History of Kansas

Kansas, as part of the Louisiana Purchase, was annexed to the United States in 1803 as unorganized territory. Kansas then became part of the Missouri Territory until 1821. The Kansas-Nebraska Act became law on May 30, 1854 and established the U.S. territories of Nebraska and Kansas. Fort Leavenworth was the first community in the area around 1827. To travelers en route to Utah, California, or Oregon, Kansas was a waystop and outfitting place. On March 30, 1855 "Border Ruffians" from Missouri invaded Kansas during the territory's first election and forced the election of a pro-slavery legislature.

Kansas entered the Union as a free state on January 29, 1861, making it the 34th state to enter the Union. Civil War veterans constructed homesteads in Kansas following the war. On February 19, 1861 it became the first U.S. state to prohibit all alcoholic beverages. On August 21, 1863, William Quantrill led Quantrill's Raid into Lawrence destroying much of the city and killing hundreds of people. Wild Bill Hickok was a deputy marshal at Fort Riley and a marshal at Hays and Abilene.

Kansas has been home to President Eisenhower, presidential candidates Bob Dole and Alf Landon, Amelia Earhart, and Carrie Nation. Famous athletes from Kansas include Barry Sanders, Gale Sayers, Wilt Chamberlain, Jim Ryun, Walter Johnson, Maurice Greene, and Lynette Woodard. Despite its agricultural reputation, Kansas is the home of Walter Chrysler of automotive fame, Clyde Cessna (aviation) and Jack St. Kirby (microchip inventor) and George Washington Carver (educator/African American pioneer)

Law and government

The state capital is Topeka.

The top executives of the state are Governor Kathleen Sebelius and Lieutenant Governor John E. Moore. Both are elected on the same ticket to a maximum of two consecutive 4-year terms. Their current term will end in January of 2007, and they are able to run for re-election in 2006. The current Attorney General is Phill Kline; his office is also up for re-election in November of 2006.

The state's current delegation to the Congress of the United States includes Senators Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts and Representatives Jerry Moran (District 1), Jim Ryun (District 2), Dennis Moore (District 3), and Todd Tiahrt (District 4). Moore is the only Democrat in the delegation; all others are Republicans.

Kansas had a reputation as a progressive state with many firsts in legislative initiatives—it was the first state to institute a system of workers compensation (1910). Kansas was also one of the first states to permit women's suffrage in 1912. Suffrage in all states would not be guaranteed until ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920. The council-manager government was adopted by many larger Kansas cities in the years following World War I while many American cities were being run by political machines or organized crime. Kansas was first among the states to ban the concept of separate but equal schools. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka banned racially segregated schools throughout the U.S.

State symbols

Amphibian: Barred Tiger Salamander Animal: American Buffalo Bird: Western Meadowlark Flower: Sunflower Insect: Honeybee Motto: Ad astra per aspera, or "To the stars through difficulties" Reptile: Ornate Box Turtle Soil: Harney silt loam Song: "Home on the Range" Tree: Cottonwood

Since the 1960s, Kansas has grown more socially conservative. The 1990s brought new restrictions on abortion, the defeat of prominent Democrats, including Dan Glickman, and the Kansas State Board of Education's infamous 1999 decision to eliminate the theory of evolution from the state teaching standards, a decision that was later reversed. In 2005, voters accepted a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, and the Kansas State Board of Education resumed hearings to determine if evolution should once again be removed from state science standards. On November 8, 2005, a 6-4 majority voted in favor of intelligent design. [1]

Kansas has not supported a Democratic presidential candidate since 1964. In 2004, George W. Bush won the state's 6 electoral votes by an overwhelming margin of 25 percentage points with 62% of the vote. The only two counties to support Democrat John Kerry were those containing the city of Kansas City and the college town of Lawrence.

See also: List of Governors of Kansas; U.S. Congressional Delegations from Kansas

Geography

Kansas is bordered by Nebraska on the north, Missouri on the east, Oklahoma on the south, and Colorado on the west. It is located equidistant from the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean. The geodetic center of North America is located in Osborne County. This spot is used as the central reference point for all maps produced by the government. The geographic center of the 48 contiguous states is located in Smith County near Lebanon, Kansas, and the geographic center of Kansas is located in Barton County.

The state is divided up into 105 counties with 628 cities.

Kansas is one of the six states located on the Frontier Strip.

Topography

The state, lying in the great central plain of the United States, has a generally flat or undulating surface. Its altitude above the sea ranges from 750 feet at the mouth of the Kansas River to 4000 feet on the western border. (Mount Sunflower is the highest point.) The rivers flow through bottomlands, varying from ¼ to 6 miles in width, and bounded by bluffs, rising 50 to 300 feet. The Missouri River forms nearly 75 miles of the state's northeastern boundary. The Kansas River, formed by the junction of the Smoky Hill and Republican rivers, joins the Missouri at Kansas City, after a course of 150 miles across the state. The Arkansas River, rising in Colorado, flows with a tortuous course for nearly 500 miles across three-fourths of the state. It forms, with its tributaries, the Little Arkansas, Walnut, Cow Creek, Cimarron, Verdigris (which is the lowest point in Kansas at 680 feet), and the Neosho, the southern drainage system of the state. Other important rivers are the Saline and Solomon, tributaries of the Smoky Hill River; the Big Blue, Delaware, and Wakarusa, which flow into the Kansas River; and the Marais des Cygnes, a tributary of the Missouri River.

Landmarks

• The disputed World's Largest Ball of Twine created August 15, 1953, in Cawker City, Kansas, is still growing.
• Big Brutus, the World's second largest Electric Shovel resides in West Mineral, Kansas. It is 160 feet (49 m) tall and weighs 11 million pounds (5000 t).
• S.P. Dinsmoor created the Garden of Eden in Lucas, Kansas in 1905, and opened it up to tourists in 1908. The garden features sculptures of biblical scenes and political messages. One scene has labor being crucified by a doctor, lawyer, banker, and preacher. Dinsmoor even built his own mausoleum in which you can still see him today in his concrete coffin by paying for the tour. [2]
• Lucas, Kansas is also home to the Grassroots Art Center [3]. The museum features many works of art created by people with no formal training, and it sits only a block or two from the Garden of Eden.
• The John Brown museum is located in Osawatomie, Kansas.
• Monroe Elementary, the school Linda Brown attended when the historic case Brown v. Board of Education was filed, is now a National Historic site in Topeka, Kansas.
• The Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant in De Soto, Kansas opened in 1942 to manufacture gunpowder and munitions propellants for World War II. The closed plant sits on over 9000 acres (36 km²) of land which was made up of more than 100 farms.
• The boyhood home of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Eisenhower Library, and his grave are located in Abilene, Kansas. The Greyhound Hall of Fame is located in Abilene. Abilene, Kansas is also the ending point of the Chisholm Trail where the cattle driven from Texas were rail loaded.
• The house of Carrie Nation, now a museum, is located in Medicine Lodge, Kansas.
• Constitution Hall in Lecompton, Kansas is the location where the Kansas Territorial Government convened and drafted a pro-slavery constitution. (website)
• The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics houses the largest collection of papers for a politician other than a president. The institute is located in Lawrence, Kansas on the campus of the University of Kansas. (website)
• The Boot Hill Museum in Dodge City, Kansas features Old West memorabilia and history.
• The Wizard of Oz Museum in Liberal, Kansas features Dorothy's House, a recreation of the farm house featured in the film The Wizard of Oz.
• The National Teachers Hall of Fame is located in Emporia, Kansas.
• The National Agriculture Center and Hall of Fame is located in Bonner Springs, Kansas.
• The Horace Greeley museum is located in Tribune, Kansas.
• The Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, located in Hutchinson, Kansas is affiliated with the Smithsonian Institute. The museum features the largest collection of artifacts from the Russian Space Program outside of Moscow. It is also home to Apollo 13, an SR-71 Blackbird, and many other space artifacts.
• The Boyer Gallery, a collection of animated sculptures made by Paul Boyer is located in Belleville, Kansas.
• The fifth largest collection of civilian and military aircraft in the United States is located at the Mid-America Air Museum.
• The Big Well, the world's largest hand dug well, is in Greensburg, Kansas.
• The Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays, features exhibits of several fossils discovered by Charles Hazelius Sternberg as well as various temporary exhibits ([4]).
• Big Basin and Little Basin, two large sinkholes in Clark County.
• Arikaree Breaks, badlands in Cheyenne County.
• The Cimarron National Grassland, Kansas's largest tract of public land in Morton County.
• Monument Rocks (Kansas), a series of chalk arcs and other formations. Kansas also has many other formations of this nature.

Major highways

The state is served by two interstate highways with six spur routes. I-70 is a major east/west route connecting to St. Louis, Missouri, in the east and Denver, Colorado, in the west. Cities along this route (from east to west) include Kansas City, Lawrence, Topeka, Junction City, Salina, Hays, and Colby. I-35 is a major north/south route connecting to Des Moines, Iowa, in the north and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in the south. Cities along this route (from north to south) include Kansas City (and its suburbs), Ottawa, Emporia, El Dorado, and Wichita.

Spur routes serve as connections between the two major routes. I-135, a north/south route, connects I-70 at Salina to I-35 at Wichita. I-335, a northeast/southwest route, connects I-70 at Topeka to I-35 at Emporia. I-335 and portions of I-35 and I-70 make up the Kansas Turnpike. I-435 and I-635 serve a dual purpose as connections between the major routes and bypasses around the Kansas City metropolitan area. Other bypasses are I-235 around Wichita and I-470 around Topeka.

In January 2004, the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) announced the new Kansas 511 traveler information service.[5] By calling 511, callers will get access to information about road conditions, construction, closures, detours and weather conditions for the state highway system. Weather and road condition information is updated every 15 minutes.

See also: KDOT road condition information

Economy

The 2003 total gross state product of Kansas was $93 billion, an increase of 4.3% over the prior year, but trailing the national average increase of 4.8%. Its per-capita income was $29,438. The December 2003 unemployment rate was 4.9%. The agricultural outputs of the state are cattle, wheat, sorghum, soybeans, hogs and corn. The industrial outputs are transportation equipment, commercial and private aircraft, food processing, publishing, chemical products, machinery, apparel, petroleum and mining.

Kansas ranks 8th in oil production, behind only Texas, Alaska, California, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. Production has experienced a steady, natural decline as it becomes increasingly difficult to extract oil over time. Since oil prices bottomed in 1999 oil production has remained fairly constant, with an average monthly rate of about 2.8 million barrels in 2004. The recent higher prices have made carbon dioxide sequestration and other oil recovery techniques more economical.

Kansas ranks 8th in natural gas production, behind only Texas, Alaska, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. Production has steadily declined since the mid-1990’s with the depletion of the Hugoton natural gas field—the state's largest field which extends into Oklahoma and Texas. In 2004 slower declines in the Hugoton gas fields and increased coalbed methane production contributed to a smaller overall decline. Average monthly production was over 32 billion cubic feet (0.9 km³).

The state sales tax rate has increased twice since January 1990—first from 4.25% to 4.9% in June 1992, and most recently to 5.3% in July 2002. Except during the 2001 recession (March–November 2001) when monthly sales tax collections were flat, collections have trended higher as the economy has grown and the two rate increases have been enacted. Total sales tax collections for 2003 amounted to $1.63 billion, compared to $805.3 million in 1990.

Major employers in Kansas include the Sprint Nextel Corporation (with operational headquarters in Overland Park), Raytheon (mostly in Wichita), Hallmark (Topeka, Lawrence & Kansas City), Goodyear (Topeka), Payless Shoes (National headquarters and major distribution facilities in Topeka), Koch Industries (Wichita), Department of Defense (Ft.Riley/Junction City and Fort Leavenworth) and Boeing.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census year	Population
1860	107,206
1870	364,399
1880	996,096
1890	1,428,108
1900	1,470,495
1910	1,690,949
1920	1,769,257
1930	1,880,999
1940	1,801,028
1950	1,905,299
1960	2,178,611
1970	2,246,578
1980	2,363,679
1990	2,477,574
2000	2,688,418

As of 2004, the population of Kansas was 2,735,502. This includes 149,800 foreign-born (5.5% of the state population), and an estimated 47,000 illegal aliens (1.7% of state population).

The increase in population was only 0.4% from the prior year. Only eight states and the District of Columbia have slower growth rates. Between 1990 and 2004, the state grew by 246,000, a 9% increase.

Race and ancestry

The racial makeup of the state and comparison to the prior census:

Census year: 2000 1990 White 86.1% 90.1% Black 5.7% 5.8% Asian 1.7% 1.3% Native American 0.9% 0.9% Other race 3.4% 2.0% Mixed race 2.1% * White, non-Hispanic 83.1% 88.4% Hispanic‡ 7.0% 3.8%

Notes: * Not available; mixed race was first reported in the census of 2000. ‡ Hispanics may be of any race and are included in applicable race categories.

The largest reported ancestries in the state are: German (25.9%), Irish (11.5%), English (10.8%), American (8.8%), French (3.1%), and Swedish (2.4%). 'American' includes those reported as Native American or African American.

Americans of British ancestry are common throughout Kansas, as are German-Americans. People of German ancestry are especially strong in the northwest, people of British ancestry and descendents of white Americans from other states are especially strong in the southeast. Mexicans are present in parts of the southwest. Kansas City and Junction City are predominantly black. Many African Americans in Kansas are descended from the "Exodusters", newly freed blacks who fled the South for land in Kansas following the Civil War.

Religion

The religious affiliations of the people of Kansas are as follows:

• Christian – 82%
  • Protestant – 60%
    • Methodist – 14%
    • Baptist – 14%
    • Lutheran – 4%
    • Presbyterian – 3%
    • Church of Christ – 3%
    • Mennonite/Pietist – 1%
    • Other Protestant – 21%
  • Roman Catholic – 20%
  • Other Christian – 2%
• Other Religions – 1%
• Non-Religious – 17%

"Rural flight"

Kansas, as well as five other Midwest states (Nebraska, Oklahoma, North and South Dakota and Iowa), is feeling the brunt of falling populations. 89% of the total number of cities in those states have fewer than 3000 people; hundreds have fewer than than 1000. Between 1996 and 2004, almost half a million people, nearly half with college degrees, left the six states. "Rural flight" as it is called has led to offers of free land and tax breaks as enticements to newcomers.

Major cities and towns

Population > 10,000 (urbanized area) Lawrence, site of University of Kansas Manhattan, site of Kansas State University Salina Leavenworth Hutchinson Garden City Junction City Emporia, site of Emporia State University Dodge City Pittsburg, site of Pittsburg State University Hays, site of Fort Hays State University Newton Liberal Great Bend El Dorado McPherson Arkansas City Winfield Ottawa Coffeyville Parsons Atchison Independence Gardner Derby

Population > 100,000 (urbanized area) Wichita ("The Air Capital") Kansas City, Kansas Topeka

Important Suburbs (of Kansas City, Kansas, neighbor to Kansas City, Missouri) Overland Park Olathe Lenexa Shawnee Leawood

See also: List of cities in Kansas

Education

Main article: Education in Kansas

Education in Kansas is governed primarily by the Kansas State Board of Education. On August 9, 2005, the Board approved a draft of science curriculum standards that mandated equal time for the theories of "evolution" and "intelligent design" This echoes a previous decision in Kansas. In 1999, the Board ruled that instruction about evolution, the age of the earth, and the origin of the universe was permitted, but not mandatory, and that those topics would not appear on state standardized tests. However, the Board reversed this decision February 14th, 2001, ruling that instruction of all those topics was mandatory and that they would appear on standardized tests.

Professional sports teams

• Kansas City T-Bones, Wichita Wranglers, Wichita Thunder, Topeka Tarantulas, Wichita Wings (defunct).
• Although there are no major professional sports league teams within Kansas itself, many Kansans support the sports teams of Kansas City, Missouri, including the Kansas City Royals, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Kansas City Wizards.

See also

• List of Kansas-related topics

External links

• Kansas.gov: the official website for the State of Kansas
• Kansas History Online
• Cutler's History of Kansas
• Kansas Maps
• Kansas Department of Transportation maps
• Kansas weather
• Kansas webcam directory
• Map of average annual precipitation at Oregon State University
• Kansas Obituary Links Page
• GenealogyBuff.com - Kansas Library of Files
• Kansas Heritage the first Kansas history on the web

References

• Kansas, Inc. (April 2005) Indicators of the Kansas Economy PDF. Kansas economic information.
• Kansas Board of Regents. "Enrollment Headcount at Kansas State Universities—Fall 2004" PDF.
• U.S. Census Bureau.
  • Kansas QuickFacts. Geographic and demographic information.
  • Kansas - Race and Hispanic Origin: 1860 to 1990 PDF

Political divisions of the United States

States Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming Federal district District of Columbia Insular areas American Samoa | Baker Island | Guam | Howland Island | Jarvis Island | Johnston Atoll | Kingman Reef | Midway Atoll | Navassa Island | Northern Mariana Islands | Palmyra Atoll | Puerto Rico | Virgin Islands | Wake Island

Regions, largest cities, and counties of Kansas
Regions: Cherokee Strip | Flint Hills | High Plains | Kansas City Metropolitan Area | Smoky Hills
Cities : Dodge City | Emporia | Garden City | Great Bend | Hays | Hutchinson | Junction City | Kansas City | Lawrence | Leavenworth | Leawood | Lenexa | Manhattan | Olathe | Overland Park | Pittsburg | Prairie Village | Salina | Shawnee | Topeka | Wichita
Counties : Allen | Anderson | Atchison | Barber | Barton | Bourbon | Brown | Butler | Chase | Chautauqua | Cherokee | Cheyenne | Clark | Clay | Cloud | Coffey | Comanche | Cowley | Crawford | Decatur | Dickinson | Doniphan | Douglas | Edwards | Elk | Ellis | Ellsworth | Finney | Ford | Franklin | Geary | Gove | Graham | Grant | Gray | Greeley | Greenwood | Hamilton | Harper | Harvey | Haskell | Hodgeman | Jackson | Jefferson | Jewell | Johnson | Kearny | Kingman | Kiowa | Labette | Lane | Leavenworth | Lincoln | Linn | Logan | Lyon | Marion | Marshall | McPherson | Meade | Miami | Mitchell | Montgomery | Morris | Morton | Nemaha | Neosho | Ness | Norton | Osage | Osborne | Ottawa | Pawnee | Phillips | Pottawatomie | Pratt | Rawlins | Reno | Republic | Rice | Riley | Rooks | Rush | Russell | Saline | Scott | Sedgwick | Seward | Shawnee | Sheridan | Sherman | Smith | Stafford | Stanton | Stevens | Sumner | Thomas | Trego | Wabaunsee | Wallace | Washington | Wichita | Wilson | Woodson | Wyandotte

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