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Wikipedia

Kansas

January 23, 2023

This article is about the U.S. state. For other uses, see Kansas (disambiguation).

Kansas (/ˈkænzəs/ (listen)) is a state in the Midwestern United States.[15] Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named after the Kansas River, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native Americans who lived along its banks.[16][17][18][19] The tribe's name (natively kką:ze) is often said to mean "people of the (south) wind" although this was probably not the term's original meaning.[20][21] For thousands of years, what is now Kansas was home to numerous and diverse Native American tribes. Tribes in the eastern part of the state generally lived in villages along the river valleys. Tribes in the western part of the state were semi-nomadic and hunted large herds of bison.

Kansas
State
Flag
Seal
Nickname(s): 
The Sunflower State (official);
The Wheat State[1]
America's Heartland[2]
The Jayhawker State [3][4][5]
Motto(s): 
Ad astra per aspera (Latin)
To the stars through difficulties
Anthem: "Home on the Range"
Map of the United States with Kansas highlighted
CountryUnited States
Before statehoodKansas Territory
Admitted to the UnionJanuary 29, 1861 (34th)
CapitalTopeka
Largest cityWichita
Largest metro and urban areasKansas portion of Kansas City, MO-KS area[a]
Government
 • GovernorLaura Kelly (D)
 • Lieutenant GovernorDavid Toland (D)
LegislatureKansas Legislature
 • Upper houseSenate
 • Lower houseHouse of Representatives
JudiciaryKansas Supreme Court
U.S. senatorsJerry Moran (R)
Roger Marshall (R)
U.S. House delegation1: Tracey Mann (R)
2: Jake LaTurner (R)
3: Sharice Davids (D)
4: Ron Estes (R) (list)
Area
 • Total82,278[6] sq mi (213,100 km2)
 • Land81,759[6] sq mi (211,754 km2)
 • Water520[6] sq mi (1,346 km2)  0.6[7]%
 • Rank15th
Dimensions
 • Length213[8] mi (343 km)
 • Width410[8] mi (660 km)
Elevation
2,000 ft (610 m)
Highest elevation
(Mount Sunflower[9][10])
4,041 ft (1,232 m)
Lowest elevation
(Verdigris River at Oklahoma border[9][10])
679 ft (207 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total2,940,865
 • Rank36th
 • Density34.9/sq mi (13.5/km2)
  • Rank40th
 • Median household income
$56,422[11]
 • Income rank
27th[12]
Demonym(s)Kansan
Jayhawker (colloquial)[3][13]
Language
 • Official languageEnglish[14]
Time zones
Majority of stateUTC−06:00 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−05:00 (CDT)
Greeley, Hamilton, Sherman, and Wallace countiesUTC−07:00 (Mountain)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−06:00 (MDT)
USPS abbreviation
KS
ISO 3166 codeUS-KS
Traditional abbreviationKan., Kans.
Latitude37° N to 40° N
Longitude94° 35′ W to 102° 3′ W
Websiteportal.kansas.gov

The first Euro-American settlement in Kansas occurred in 1827 at Fort Leavenworth. The pace of settlement accelerated in the 1850s, in the midst of political wars over the slavery debate. When it was officially opened to settlement by the U.S. government in 1854 with the Kansas–Nebraska Act, abolitionist Free-Staters from New England and pro-slavery settlers from neighboring Missouri rushed to the territory to determine whether Kansas would become a free state or a slave state. Thus, the area was a hotbed of violence and chaos in its early days as these forces collided, and was known as Bleeding Kansas. The abolitionists prevailed, and on January 29, 1861,[22][23] Kansas entered the Union as a free state, hence the unofficial nickname "The Free State".

By 2015, Kansas was one of the most productive agricultural states, producing high yields of wheat, corn, sorghum, and soybeans.[24] Kansas, which has an area of 82,278 square miles (213,100 square kilometers) is the 15th-largest state by area and is the 36th most-populous of the 50 states, with a population of 2,940,865[25] according to the 2020 census. Residents of Kansas are called Kansans. Mount Sunflower is Kansas's highest point at 4,039 feet (1,231 meters).[26]

Etymology

The name Kansas derives from the Algonquian term, Akansa, for the Quapaw people. These were a Dhegiha Siouan-speaking people who settled in Arkansas around the 13th century. The stem -kansa is named after the Kaw people, also known as the Kansa, a federally recognized Native American tribe.[27]

History

Main article: History of Kansas
 
Samuel Seymour's 1819 illustration of a Kansa lodge and dance is the oldest drawing known to have been done in Kansas.

Before European colonization, Kansas was occupied by the Caddoan Wichita and later the Siouan Kaw people. The first European to set foot in present-day Kansas was the Spanish conquistador Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, who explored the area in 1541.

Between 1763 and 1803 the territory of Kansas was integrated into Spanish Louisiana. The governor Luis de Unzaga 'le Conciliateur', during that period, promoted expeditions and good relations with the Amerindians, among the explorers were Antoine de Marigny and others who continued trading across the Kansas River, especially at its confluence with the Missouri River, tributaries of the Mississippi River.[28]

In 1803, most of modern Kansas was acquired by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase. Southwest Kansas, however, was still a part of Spain, Mexico, and the Republic of Texas until the conclusion of the Mexican–American War in 1848, when these lands were ceded to the United States. From 1812 to 1821, Kansas was part of the Missouri Territory. The Santa Fe Trail traversed Kansas from 1821 to 1880, transporting manufactured goods from Missouri and silver and furs from Santa Fe, New Mexico. Wagon ruts from the trail are still visible in the prairie today.

In 1827, Fort Leavenworth became the first permanent settlement of white Americans in the future state.[29] The Kansas–Nebraska Act became law on May 30, 1854, establishing Nebraska Territory and Kansas Territory, and opening the area to broader settlement by whites. Kansas Territory stretched all the way to the Continental Divide and included the sites of present-day Denver, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo.

The first non-military settlement of Euro-Americans in Kansas Territory consisted of abolitionists from Massachusetts and other Free-Staters who founded the town of Lawrence and attempted to stop the spread of slavery from neighboring Missouri.

Missouri and Arkansas continually sent settlers into Kansas Territory along its eastern border to sway votes in favor of slavery prior to Kansas statehood elections. Directly presaging the American Civil War these forces collided, entering into skirmishes and guerrilla conflicts that earned the territory the nickname Bleeding Kansas. These included John Brown's Pottawatomie massacre of 1856.

Kansas was admitted to the Union as a free state on January 29, 1861, making it the 34th state to join the United States. By that time, the violence in Kansas had largely subsided, but during the Civil War, on August 21, 1863, William Quantrill led several hundred of his supporters on a raid into Lawrence, destroying much of the city and killing nearly 200 people. He was roundly condemned by both the conventional Confederate military and the partisan rangers commissioned by the Missouri legislature. His application to that body for a commission was flatly rejected due to his pre-war criminal record.[30]

After the Civil War, many veterans constructed homesteads in Kansas. Many African Americans also looked to Kansas as the land of "John Brown" and, led by freedmen like Benjamin "Pap" Singleton, began establishing black colonies in the state. Leaving southern states in the late 1870s because of increasing discrimination, they became known as Exodusters.

At the same time, the Chisholm Trail was opened and the Wild West-era commenced in Kansas. Wild Bill Hickok was a deputy marshal at Fort Riley and a marshal at Hays and Abilene. Dodge City was another wild cowboy town, and both Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp worked as lawmen in the town. In one year alone, eight million head of cattle from Texas boarded trains in Dodge City bound for the East, earning Dodge the nickname "Queen of the Cowtowns".

In response to demands of Methodists and other evangelical Protestants, in 1881 Kansas became the first U.S. state to adopt a constitutional amendment prohibiting all alcoholic beverages, which was repealed in 1948.

In 1922, suffragist Ella Uphay Mowry became the first female gubernatorial candidate in the state when she ran as "Mrs. W.D. Mowry." She later stated that, "Someone had to be the pioneer. I firmly believe that some day a woman will sit in the governor's chair in Kansas."[31][32][33]

Geography

 
The Great Plains of Kansas

Kansas is bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. The state is divided into 105 counties with 628 cities, with its largest county by area being Butler County.[34] Kansas is located equidistant from the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The geographic center of the 48 contiguous states is in Smith County near Lebanon. Until 1989, the Meades Ranch Triangulation Station in Osborne County was the geodetic center of North America: the central reference point for all maps of North America. The geographic center of Kansas is in Barton County.

Geology

Main article: Geology of Kansas

Kansas is underlain by a sequence of horizontal to gently westward dipping sedimentary rocks. A sequence of Mississippian, Pennsylvanian and Permian rocks outcrop in the eastern and southern part of the state. The state's western half has exposures of Cretaceous through Tertiary sediments, the latter derived from the erosion of the uplifted Rocky Mountains to the west. These are underlain by older Paleozoic and Mesozoic sediments which correlate well with the outcrops to the east. The state's northeastern corner was subjected to glaciation in the Pleistocene and is covered by glacial drift and loess.

Topography

The western two-thirds of the state, lying in the great central plain of the United States, has a generally flat or undulating surface, while the eastern third has many hills and forests. The land gradually rises from east to west; its altitude ranges from 684 ft (208 m) along the Verdigris River at Coffeyville in Montgomery County, to 4,039 ft (1,231 m) at Mount Sunflower, 0.5 miles (0.80 kilometers) from the Colorado border, in Wallace County. It is a common misconception that Kansas is the flattest state in the nation—in 2003, a tongue-in-cheek study famously declared the state "flatter than a pancake".[35] In fact, Kansas has a maximum topographic relief of 3,360 ft (1,020 m),[36] making it the 23rd flattest U.S. state measured by maximum relief.[37]

Rivers

 
Spring River, Kansas

Nearly 75 mi (121 km) of the state's northeastern boundary is defined by the Missouri River. The Kansas River (locally known as the Kaw), formed by the junction of the Smoky Hill and Republican rivers at appropriately-named Junction City, joins the Missouri River at Kansas City, after a course of 170 mi (270 km) across the northeastern part of the state.

The Arkansas River (pronunciation varies), rising in Colorado, flows with a bending course for nearly 500 mi (800 km) across the western and southern parts of the state. With its tributaries, (the Little Arkansas, Ninnescah, Walnut, Cow Creek, Cimarron, Verdigris, and the Neosho), it forms the southern drainage system of the state.

Kansas's other rivers are the Saline and Solomon Rivers, 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. Spring River is located between Riverton and Baxter Springs.

National parks and historic sites

Areas under the protection of the National Park Service include:[38]

Flora and fauna

In Kansas, there are currently 238 species of rare animals and 400 rare plants.[39] Among those include: Boechera laevigata, Virginia Rail, Cleft Ledge, Royal Fern, Turkey-tangle, Bobolink, Cave Salamander, Peregrine Falcon, and Black-footed ferret.[40][41] Common animal species and grasses include: Crows, Deer, Lesser Prairie Chicken, Mice, Moles, Opossum, Prairie Dogs, Raccoon, Tripsacum dactyloides, Prairie Dropseed, Indian Grass, Little Bluestem, Switch Grass, Northern Sea Oats, Tussock Sedge, Sideoats Grama, and Big Bluestem.[42][43]

Climate

 
Köppen climate types of Kansas, using 1991-2020 climate normals.
 
Clouds in northeastern Kansas
 
Kansas summer wheat and storm panorama

In the Köppen climate classification, Kansas has three climates: humid continental, semi-arid steppe, and humid subtropical. The eastern two-thirds of the state (especially the northeastern portion) has a humid continental climate, with cool to cold winters and hot, often humid summers. Most of the precipitation falls during both the summer and the spring.

The western third of the state—from roughly the U.S. Route 83 corridor westward—has a semi-arid steppe climate. Summers are hot, often very hot, and generally less humid. Winters are highly changeable between warm and very cold. The western region receives an average of about 16 inches (410 millimeters) of precipitation per year. Chinook winds in the winter can warm western Kansas all the way into the 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius) range.

The south-central and southeastern portions of the state, including the Wichita area, have a humid subtropical climate with hot and humid summers, milder winters, and more precipitation than elsewhere in Kansas. Some features of all three climates can be found in most of the state, with droughts and changeable weather between dry and humid not uncommon, and both warm and cold spells in the winter.

Temperatures in areas between U.S. Routes 83 and 81, as well as the southwestern portion of the state along and south of U.S. 50, reach 90 °F (32 °C) or above on most days of June, July, and August. High humidity added to the high temperatures sends the heat index into life-threatening territory, especially in Wichita, Hutchinson, Salina, Russell, Hays, and Great Bend. Temperatures are often higher in Dodge City, Garden City, and Liberal, but the heat index in those three cities is usually lower than the actual air temperature.

Although temperatures of 100 °F (38 °C) or higher are not as common in areas east of U.S. 81, higher humidity and the urban heat island effect lead most summer days to heat indices between 107 °F (42 °C) and 114 °F (46 °C) in Topeka, Lawrence, and the Kansas City metropolitan area. Also, combined with humidity between 85 and 95 percent, dangerous heat indices can be experienced at every hour of the day.

Precipitation ranges from about 47 inches (1,200 mm) annually in the state's southeast corner to about 16 inches (410 mm) in the southwest. Snowfall ranges from around 5 inches (130 mm) in the fringes of the south, to 35 inches (890 mm) in the far northwest. Frost-free days range from more than 200 days in the south, to 130 days in the northwest. Thus, Kansas is the country's ninth or tenth sunniest state, depending on the source. Western Kansas is as sunny as parts of California and Arizona.

Kansas is prone to severe weather, especially in the spring and the early-summer. Despite the frequent sunshine throughout much of the state, due to its location at a climatic boundary prone to intrusions of multiple air masses, the state is vulnerable to strong and severe thunderstorms. Some of these storms become supercell thunderstorms; these can produce some tornadoes, occasionally those of EF3 strength or higher. Kansas averages more than 50 tornadoes annually.[44] Severe thunderstorms sometimes drop some very large hail over Kansas as well. Furthermore, these storms can even bring in flash flooding and damaging straight line winds.

According to NOAA, the all-time highest temperature recorded in Kansas is (121 °F or 49.4 °C) on July 24, 1936, near Alton in Osborne County, and the all-time low is −40 °F (−40 °C) on February 13, 1905, near Lebanon in Smith County. Alton and Lebanon are approximately 50 miles (80 km) apart.

Kansas's record high of 121 °F (49.4 °C) ties with North Dakota for the fifth-highest record high in an American state, behind California (134 °F or 56.7 °C), Arizona (128 °F or 53.3 °C), Nevada (125 °F or 51.7 °C), and New Mexico (122 °F or 50 °C).

Monthly normal high and low temperatures for various Kansas cities (°F)[45]
City Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Concordia 36/17 43/22 54/31 64/41 74/52 85/62 91/67 88/66 80/56 68/44 51/30 40/21
Dodge City 41/19 48/24 57/31 67/41 76/52 87/62 93/67 91/66 82/56 70/44 55/30 44/22
Goodland 39/16 45/20 53/26 63/35 72/46 84/56 89/61 87/60 78/50 66/38 50/25 41/18
Topeka 37/17 44/23 55/33 66/43 75/53 84/63 89/68 88/65 80/56 69/44 53/32 41/22
Wichita 40/20 47/25 57/34 67/44 76/54 87/64 93/69 92/68 82/59 70/47 55/34 43/24

Demographics

The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Kansas was 2,913,314 on July 1, 2019, a 2.11% increase since the 2010 United States census and an increase of 58,387, or 2.05%, since 2010.[46] This includes a natural increase since the last census of 93,899 (246,484 births minus 152,585 deaths) and a decrease due to net migration of 20,742 people out of the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 44,847 people, and migration within the country produced a net loss of 65,589 people.[47]

The population density of Kansas is 52.9 people per square mile.[48] The center of population of Kansas is located in Chase County, at 38°27′N 96°32′W / 38.450°N 96.533°W / 38.450; -96.533, approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) north of the community of Strong City.[49]

The focus on labor-efficient grain-based agriculture—such as a large wheat farm that requires only one or a few people with large machinery to operate, rather than a vegetable farm that requires many people—is causing the de-population of rural areas across Kansas.[50]

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1860107,206—
1870364,399239.9%
1880996,096173.4%
18901,428,10843.4%
19001,470,4953.0%
19101,690,94915.0%
19201,769,2574.6%
19301,880,9996.3%
19401,801,028−4.3%
19501,905,2995.8%
19602,178,61114.3%
19702,246,5783.1%
19802,363,6795.2%
19902,477,5744.8%
20002,688,4188.5%
20102,853,1186.1%
20202,937,8803.0%
1910–2020[51]

Ancestry

 
A festival in Lindsborg, Kansas

According to the 2021 United States census estimates, the racial makeup of the population was:[52]

Kansas ethnic breakdown of population
Racial composition 1990[53] 2000[54] 2010[55] 2020[56]
White 90.1% 86.1% 83.8% 75.6%
Black 5.8% 5.8% 5.9% 5.7%
Asian 1.3% 1.7% 2.4% 2.9%
Native 0.9% 0.9% 1.0% 1.1%
Native Hawaiian and
other Pacific Islander		 – – 0.1% 0.1%
Other race 2.0% 3.4% 3.9% 4.9%
Two or more races – 2.1% 3.0% 9.5%
 
Map of counties in Kansas by racial plurality, per the 2020 U.S. census
Legend

As of 2004, the population included 149,800 foreign-born (5.5% of the state population). The ten largest reported ancestry groups, which account for nearly 90% of the population, in the state are: German (33.75%), Irish (14.4%), English (14.1%), American (7.5%), French (4.4%), Scottish (4.2%), Dutch (2.5%), Swedish (2.4%), Italian (1.8%), and Polish (1.5%).[57] German descendants are especially present in the northwest and northeast with German immigrants settling and founding towns such as Nortonville, Holton, Sabetha and Horton. Descendants of English and of white Americans from other states are especially present in the southeast.[citation needed]

Mexicans are present in the southwest and make up nearly half the population in certain counties. 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.[citation needed]

As of 2011, 35.0% of Kansas's population younger than one year of age belonged to minority groups (i.e., did not have two parents of non-Hispanic white ancestry).[58]

 
A population density map of Kansas

Language

English is the most-spoken language in Kansas, with 91.3% of the population speaking only English at home as of the year 2000. 5.5% speak Spanish, 0.7% speak German, and 0.4% speak Vietnamese.[59]

Religion

Religion in Kansas (2014)[60]

  Protestantism (57%)
  Roman Catholicism (18%)
  Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1%)
  Jehovah's Witnesses (1%)
  No religion (20%)
  Islam (1%)
  Buddhism (1%)
  Other religion (2%)

The 2014 Pew Religious Landscape Survey showed the religious makeup of adults in Kansas was as follows:[60]

Christian 76%
Protestant 57%
Evangelical Protestant 31%
Mainline Protestant 24 %
Black Protestant 2%
Catholic 18%
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 1%
Jehovah's Witness 1%
Non-Christian faiths 4%
Jewish < 1%
Muslim 1%
Buddhist 1%
Hindu < 1%
Other World Religions < 1%
Other Faiths 2%
Unaffiliated 20%
Atheist 2%
Agnostic 3%
Nothing in particular 14%
Don't know < 1%
 
Reverend Charles Sheldon, Topeka resident and coiner of the phrase "What would Jesus do?"

As of 2010, the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) reported that the Catholic Church has the highest number of adherents in Kansas (at 426,611), followed by the United Methodist Church with 202,989 members, and the Southern Baptist Convention, reporting 99,329 adherents.[61]

Kansas's capital Topeka is sometimes cited as the home of Pentecostalism as it was the site of Charles Fox Parham's Bethel Bible College, where glossolalia was first claimed as the evidence of a spiritual experience referred to as the baptism of the Holy Spirit in 1901. It is also the home of Reverend Charles Sheldon, author of In His Steps, and was the site where the question "What would Jesus do?" originated in a sermon of Sheldon's at Central Congregational Church.

Kansas is the location of the second Baha'i community west of Egypt, when the Baha'i community of Enterprise, KS was started in 1897. From that beginning the Baha'i Faith spread across Kansas.[62]

Topeka is also home of the Westboro Baptist Church, a hate group according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.[63][64][65] The church has garnered worldwide media attention for picketing the funerals of U.S. servicemen and women for what church members claim as "necessary to combat the fight for equality for gays and lesbians". They have sometimes successfully raised lawsuits against the city of Topeka.

Settlement

Main article: Rural flight
See also: List of cities in Kansas
Urban and rural populations

Known as rural flight, the last few decades have been marked by a migratory pattern out of the countryside into cities. Out of all the cities in these Midwestern states, 89% have fewer than 3,000 people, and hundreds of those have fewer than 1,000. In Kansas alone, there are more than 6,000 ghost towns and dwindling communities,[66] according to one Kansas historian, Daniel C. Fitzgerald. At the same time, some of the communities in Johnson County (metropolitan Kansas City) are among the fastest-growing in the country.

Cities with population of at least 15,000
City Population* Growth rate** Metro area
1 Wichita 397,532 3.97% Wichita
2 Overland Park 197,238 13.77% Kansas City, MO-KS
3 Kansas City 156,607 7.42% Kansas City
4 Olathe 141,290 12.25% Kansas City
5 Topeka 126,587 −0.70% Topeka
6 Lawrence 94,934 8.32% Lawrence
7 Shawnee 67,311 8.20% Kansas City
8 Lenexa 57,434 19.18% Kansas City
9 Manhattan 54,100 3.48% Manhattan
10 Salina 46,889 -1.71% ‡
11 Hutchinson 40,006 −4.93% ‡
12 Leavenworth 37,351 5.96% Kansas City
13 Leawood 33,902 6.39% Kansas City
14 Garden City 28,151 5.60% ‡
15 Dodge City 27,788 1.64% ‡
16 Derby 25,625 15.65% Wichita
17 Emporia 24,139 -3.12% ‡
18 Gardner 23,287 21.77% Kansas City
19 Prairie Village 22,957 7.04% Kansas City
20 Junction City 22,932 -1.80% Manhattan
21 Hays 21,116 2.95% ‡
22 Pittsburg 20,646 2.04% ‡
23 Liberal 19,825 −3.41% ‡
24 Newton 18,602 −2.77% Wichita
*2020 census[67]
**Growth rate 2010–2020
‡Defined as a micropolitan area

Kansas has 627 incorporated cities. By state statute, cities are divided into three classes as determined by the population obtained "by any census of enumeration". A city of the third class has a population of less than 5,000, but cities reaching a population of more than 2,000 may be certified as a city of the second class. The second class is limited to cities with a population of less than 25,000, and upon reaching a population of more than 15,000, they may be certified as a city of the first class. First and second class cities are independent of any township and are not included within the township's territory.

Birth data

Note: Births in table don't add up, because Hispanics are counted both by their ethnicity and by their race, giving a higher overall number.

Live Births by Single Race/Ethnicity of Mother
Race 2013[68] 2014[69] 2015[70] 2016[71] 2017[72] 2018[73] 2019[74] 2020[75]
White: 34,178 (88.0%) 34,420 (87.7%) 34,251 (87.5%) ... ... ... ... ...
> non-Hispanic White 28,281 (72.8%) 28,504 (72.7%) 28,236 (72.1%) 26,935 (70.8%) 25,594 (70.1%) 25,323 (69.8%) 24,549 (69.4%) 23,663 (68.8%)
Black 2,967 (7.6%) 3,097 (7.9%) 3,090 (7.9%) 2,543 (6.7%) 2,657 (7.3%) 2,575 (7.1%) 2,458 (6.9%) 2,412 (7.0%)
Asian 1,401 (3.6%) 1,359 (3.5%) 1,483 (3.8%) 1,299 (3.4%) 1,255 (3.4%) 1,228 (3.4%) 1,216 (3.4%) 1,146 (3.3%)
American Indian 293 (0.7%) 347 (0.9%) 330 (0.8%) 173 (0.5%) 248 (0.7%) 217 (0.6%) 214 (0.6%) 162 (0.5%)
Hispanic (of any race) 6,143 (15.8%) 6,132 (15.6%) 6,300 (16.1%) 6,298 (16.5%) 5,963 (16.3%) 5,977 (16.5%) 6,071 (17.2%) 5,970 (17.4%)
Total Kansas 38,839 (100%) 39,223 (100%) 39,154 (100%) 38,053 (100%) 36,519 (100%) 36,261 (100%) 35,395 (100%) 34,376 (100%)
  • Since 2016, data for births of White Hispanic origin are not collected, but included in one Hispanic group; persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

Life expectancy

The residents of Kansas have a life expectancy near the U.S. national average. In 2013, males in Kansas lived an average of 76.6 years compared to a male national average of 76.7 years and females lived an average of 81.0 years compared to a female national average of 81.5 years. Increases in life expectancy between 1980 and 2013 were below the national average for males and near the national average for females. Male life expectancy in Kansas between 1980 and 2014 increased by an average of 5.2 years, compared to a male national average of a 6.7 year increase. Life expectancy for females in Kansas between 1980 and 2014 increased by 4.3 years, compared to a female national average of a 4.0 year increase.[76]

Using 2017–2019 data, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation calculated that life expectancy for Kansas counties ranged from 75.8 years for Wyandotte County to 81.7 years for Johnson County. Life expectancy for the state as a whole was 78.5 years.[77] Life expectancy for the United States as a whole in 2019 was 78.8 years.[78]

Regions

Northeast Kansas

 
Downtown Lawrence in 2018
 
Kansas State Capitol in Topeka

The northeastern portion of the state, extending from the eastern border to Junction City and from the Nebraska border to south of Johnson County is home to more than 1.5 million people in the Kansas City (Kansas portion), Manhattan, Lawrence, and Topeka metropolitan areas. Overland Park, a young city incorporated in 1960, has the largest population and the largest land area in the county. It is home to Johnson County Community College.

Olathe is the county seat and home to Johnson County Executive Airport. The cities of Olathe, Shawnee, De Soto and Gardner have some of the state's fastest growing populations. The cities of Overland Park, Lenexa, Olathe, De Soto, and Gardner are also notable because they lie along the former route of the Santa Fe Trail. Among cities with at least one thousand residents, Mission Hills has the highest median income in the state.

Several institutions of higher education are located in Northeast Kansas including Baker University (the oldest university in the state, founded in 1858 and affiliated with the United Methodist Church) in Baldwin City, Benedictine College (sponsored by St. Benedict's Abbey and Mount St. Scholastica Monastery and formed from the merger of St. Benedict's College (1858) and Mount St. Scholastica College (1923)) in Atchison, MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe, Ottawa University in Ottawa and Overland Park, Kansas City Kansas Community College and KU Medical Center in Kansas City, and KU Edwards Campus in Overland Park. Less than an hour's drive to the west, Lawrence is home to the University of Kansas, the largest public university in the state, and Haskell Indian Nations University.

To the north, Kansas City, with the second largest land area in the state, contains a number of diverse ethnic neighborhoods. Its attractions include the Kansas Speedway, Sporting Kansas City, Kansas City Monarchs, and The Legends at Village West retail and entertainment center. Nearby, Kansas's first settlement Bonner Springs[79] is home to several national and regional attractions including the Providence Medical Center Amphitheather, the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame, and the annual Kansas City Renaissance Festival. Further up the Missouri River, the city of Lansing is the home of the state's first maximum-security prison. Historic Leavenworth, founded in 1854, was the first incorporated city in Kansas. North of the city, Fort Leavenworth is the oldest active Army post west of the Mississippi River. The city of Atchison was an early commercial center in the state and is well known as the birthplace of Amelia Earhart.

To the west, nearly a quarter million people reside in the Topeka metropolitan area. Topeka is the state capital and home to Washburn University and Washburn Institute of Technology. Built at a Kansas River crossing along the old Oregon Trail, this historic city has several nationally registered historic places. Further westward along Interstate 70 and the Kansas River is Junction City with its historic limestone and brick buildings and nearby Fort Riley, well known as the home to the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division (nicknamed "the Big Red One"). A short distance away, the city of Manhattan is home to Kansas State University, the second-largest public university in the state and the nation's oldest land-grant university, dating back to 1863. South of the campus, Aggieville dates back to 1889 and is the state's oldest shopping district of its kind.

South Central Kansas

 
Wichita, the largest city in Kansas

In south-central Kansas, the Wichita metropolitan area is home to more than 600,000 people.[80] Wichita is the largest city in the state in terms of both land area and population. 'The Air Capital' is a major manufacturing center for the aircraft industry and the home of Wichita State University. Before Wichita was 'The Air Capital' it was a Cowtown.[81] With a number of nationally registered historic places, museums, and other entertainment destinations, it has a desire to become a cultural mecca in the Midwest. Wichita's population growth has grown by double digits and the surrounding suburbs are among the fastest growing cities in the state. The population of Goddard has grown by more than 11% per year since 2000.[82] Other fast-growing cities include Andover, Maize, Park City, Derby, and Haysville.

Wichita was one of the first cities to add the city commissioner and city manager in their form of government.[81] Wichita is also home of the nationally recognized Sedgwick County Zoo.[81]

Up river (the Arkansas River) from Wichita is the city of Hutchinson. The city was built on one of the world's largest salt deposits (of what would form Strataca), and it has the world's largest and longest wheat elevator. It is also the home of Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, Prairie Dunes Country Club and the Kansas State Fair. North of Wichita along Interstate 135 is the city of Newton, the former western terminal of the Santa Fe Railroad and trailhead for the famed Chisholm Trail. To the southeast of Wichita are the cities of Winfield and Arkansas City with historic architecture and the Cherokee Strip Museum (in Ark City). The city of Udall was the site of the deadliest tornado in Kansas on May 25, 1955; it killed 80 people in and near the city.[83]

Southeast Kansas

 
Pittsburg State University's Veteran's Memorial

Southeast Kansas has a unique history with a number of nationally registered historic places in this coal-mining region. Located in Crawford County (dubbed the Fried Chicken Capital of Kansas), Pittsburg is the largest city in the region and the home of Pittsburg State University. The neighboring city of Frontenac in 1888 was the site of the worst mine disaster in the state in which an underground explosion killed 47 miners. "Big Brutus" is located 1.5 miles (2.4 km) outside the city of West Mineral. Along with the restored fort, historic Fort Scott has a national cemetery designated by President Lincoln in 1862. The region also shares a Media market with Joplin, Missouri, a city in Southwest Missouri.

Central and North-Central Kansas

Salina is the largest city in central and north-central Kansas. South of Salina is the small city of Lindsborg with its numerous Dala horses. Much of the architecture and decor of this town has a distinctly Swedish style. To the east along Interstate 70, the historic city of Abilene was formerly a trailhead for the Chisholm Trail and was the boyhood home of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and is the site of his Presidential Library and the tombs of the former president, First Lady and son who died in infancy. To the west is Lucas, the Grassroots Art Capital of Kansas.

 
Farmland and the Great Plains in central Kansas

Northwest Kansas

 
Kansas's Monument Rocks at night
 
Cathedral of the Plains, a Roman Catholic Church Minor Basilica

Westward along the Interstate, the city of Russell, traditionally the beginning of sparsely-populated northwest Kansas, was the base of former U.S. Senator Bob Dole and the boyhood home of U.S. Senator Arlen Specter. The city of Hays is home to Fort Hays State University and the Sternberg Museum of Natural History, and is the largest city in the northwest with a population of around 20,001.

Two other landmarks are located in smaller towns in Ellis County: the "Cathedral of the Plains" is located 10 miles (16 km) east of Hays in Victoria, and the boyhood home of Walter Chrysler is 15 miles (24 km) west of Hays in Ellis. West of Hays, population drops dramatically, even in areas along I-70, and only two towns containing populations of more than 4,000: Colby and Goodland, which are located 35 miles (56 km) apart along I-70.

Southwest Kansas

Dodge City, famously known for the cattle drive days of the late 19th century, was built along the old Santa Fe Trail route. The city of Liberal is located along the southern Santa Fe Trail route. The first wind farm in the state was built east of Montezuma. Garden City has the Lee Richardson Zoo. In 1992, a short-lived secessionist movement advocated the secession of several counties in southwest Kansas.[84]

Around the state

 
Gove County Badlands

Located midway between Kansas City, Topeka, and Wichita in the heart of the Bluestem Region of the Flint Hills, the city of Emporia has several nationally registered historic places and is the home of Emporia State University, well known for its Teachers College. It was also the home of newspaper man William Allen White.

Economy

See also: Kansas locations by per capita income

Total Employment of the metropolitan areas in the State of Kansas by total Non-farm Employment in 2016[85]

Total Number of employer establishments in 2016: 74,884[87]

The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Kansas's total gross domestic product in 2014 was US$140.964 billion.[88] In 2015, the job growth rate in was 0.8%, among the lowest rate in America with only "10,900 total nonfarm jobs" added that year.[89] According to the Kansas Department of Labor's 2016 report, the average annual wage was $42,930 in 2015.[90] As of April 2016, the state's unemployment rate was 4.2%.[91]

The State of Kansas had a $350 million budget shortfall in February 2017.[92] In February 2017, S&P downgraded Kansas's credit rating to AA-.[93]

Nearly 90% of Kansas's land is devoted to agriculture.[50] The state's agricultural outputs are cattle, sheep, wheat, sorghum, soybeans, cotton, hogs, corn, and salt. As of 2018, there were 59,600 farms in Kansas, 86 (0.14%) of which are certified organic farms.[50] The average farm in the state is about 770 acres (more than a square mile), and in 2016, the average cost of running the farm was $300,000.[50]

By far, the most significant agricultural crop in the state is wheat. Eastern Kansas is part of the Grain Belt, an area of major grain production in the central United States. Approximately 40% of all winter wheat grown in the US is grown in Kansas.[50] Roughly 95% of the wheat grown in the state is hard red winter wheat.[50] During 2016, farmers of conventionally grown wheat farmed 8.2 million acres and harvested an average of 57 bushels of wheat per acre.[50]

The industrial outputs are transportation equipment, commercial and private aircraft, food processing, publishing, chemical products, machinery, apparel, petroleum, and mining.

Largest private employers (as of 2016)[94]
Rank Business Employees Location Industry
1 Spirit AeroSystems 12,000 Wichita Aviation
2 Sprint Corporation 7,600 Overland Park Telecommunications
3 Textron Aviation 6,812 Wichita Aviation
4 General Motors 4,000 Kansas City Automotive manufacturing
5 Bombardier Aerospace 3,500 Wichita Aviation
6 Black & Veatch 3,500 Overland Park Engineering Consulting
7 National Beef 3,500 Liberal Food Products
8 Tyson Foods 3,200 Holcomb Food Products
9 Performance Contracting 2,900 Lenexa Roofing & siding
10 National Beef 2,500 Dodge City Food Products

The state's economy is also heavily influenced by the aerospace industry. Several large aircraft corporations have manufacturing facilities in Wichita and Kansas City, including Spirit AeroSystems, Bombardier Aerospace (LearJet), and Textron Aviation (a merger of the former Cessna, Hawker, and Beechcraft brands). Boeing ended a decades-long history of manufacturing in Kansas between 2012 and 2013.

Major companies headquartered in Kansas include the Garmin (Olathe), YRC Worldwide (Overland Park), Payless Shoes (national headquarters and major distribution facilities in Topeka), and Koch Industries (with national headquarters in Wichita), and Coleman (headquarters in Wichita).

Kansas is also home to three major military installations: Fort Leavenworth (Army), Fort Riley (Army), and McConnell Air Force Base (Air Force). Approximately 25,000 active duty soldiers and airmen are stationed at these bases which also employ approximately 8,000 civilian DoD employees. The US Army Reserve also has the 451st Expeditionary Sustainment Command headquartered in Wichita that serves reservists and their units from around the region. The Kansas Air National Guard has units at Forbes Field in Topeka and the 184th Intelligence Wing in Wichita. The Smoky Hill Weapons Range, a detachment of the Intelligence Wing, is one of the largest and busiest bombing ranges in the nation. During World War II, Kansas was home to numerous Army Air Corps training fields for training new pilots and aircrew. Many of those airfields live on today as municipal airports.

Energy

Kansas has vast renewable resources and is a top producer of wind energy in the US, with an installed capacity of about 6,100 Megawatts (MW) from nearly 3,200 wind turbines in 2019. Wind generated the largest share of electricity from the state at 41%. An additional 700 MW of capacity was scheduled to come online during 2020. Kansas is also a leading national producer of renewable ethanol and biodiesel fuels at nearly 600 million gallons per year.[95]

Kansas is ranked eighth in US petroleum extraction. Production has experienced a steady decline as the state's limited economical reserves especially from the Anadarko Basin are depleted. Since oil prices bottomed in 1999, oil production in Kansas has remained fairly constant, with an average monthly rate of about 2.8 million barrels (450,000 cubic meters) in 2004. The recent higher prices have made carbon dioxide sequestration and other oil recovery techniques more economical.

Kansas is also ranked eighth in US natural gas production. Production has steadily declined since the mid-1990s with the gradual 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 (0.91 cubic kilometers).

Taxes

Main article: Kansas Senate Bill Substitute HB 2117

Tax is collected by the Kansas Department of Revenue.

Revenue shortfalls resulting from lower than expected tax collections and slower growth in personal income following a 1998 permanent tax reduction have contributed to the substantial growth in the state's debt level as bonded debt increased from $1.16 billion in 1998 to $3.83 billion in 2006. Some increase in debt was expected as the state continues with its 10-year Comprehensive Transportation Program enacted in 1999.

In 2003, Kansas had three income brackets for income tax calculation, ranging from 3.5% to 6.45%.

The state sales tax in Kansas is 6.15%. Various cities and counties in Kansas have an additional local sales tax. 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 two rate increases have been enacted. If there had been no change in sales tax rates or in the economy, the total sales tax collections for 2003 would have been $1,797 million, compared to $805.3 million in 1990. However, they instead amounted to $1,630 million an inflation-adjusted reduction of 10%. The state sales tax is a combined destination-based tax, meaning a single tax is applied that includes state, county, and local taxes, and the rate is based on where the consumer takes possession of the goods or services. Thanks to the destination structure and the numerous local special taxing districts, Kansas has 920 separate sales tax rates ranging from 6.5% to 11.5%.[96] This taxing scheme, known as "Streamlined Sales Tax" was adopted on October 1, 2005, under the governorship of Kathleen Sebelius.[97] Groceries are subject to sales tax in the state. All sales tax collected is remitted to the state department of revenue, and local taxes are then distributed to the various taxing agencies.

As of June 2004, Moody's Investors Service ranked the state 14th for net tax-supported debt per capita. As a percentage of personal income, it was at 3.8%—above the median value of 2.5% for all rated states and having risen from a value of less than 1% in 1992. The state has a statutory requirement to maintain cash reserves of at least 7.5% of expenses at the end of each fiscal year; however, lawmakers can vote to override the rule, and did so during the most recent budget agreement.

During his campaign for the 2010 election, Governor Sam Brownback called for a complete "phase out of Kansas's income tax".[98] In May 2012, Governor Brownback signed into law the Kansas Senate Bill Substitute HB 2117.[99] Starting in 2013, the "ambitious tax overhaul" trimmed income tax, eliminated some corporate taxes, and created pass-through income tax exemptions, he raised the sales tax by one percent to offset the loss to state revenues but that was inadequate. He made cuts to education and some state services to offset lost revenue.[100] The tax cut led to years of budget shortfalls, culminating in a $350 million budget shortfall in February 2017. From 2013 to 2017, 300,000 businesses were considered to be pass-through income entities and benefited from the tax exemption. The tax reform "encouraged tens of thousands of Kansans to claim their wages and salaries as income from a business rather than from employment."[92]

The economic growth that Brownback anticipated never materialized. He argued that it was because of "low wheat and oil prices and a downturn in aircraft sales".[98] The state general fund debt load was $83 million in fiscal year 2010 and by fiscal year 2017 the debt load sat at $179 million.[101] In 2016, Governor Brownback earned the title of "most unpopular governor in America". Only 26 percent of Kansas voters approved of his job performance, compared to 65 percent who said they did not.[102] In the summer of 2016 S&P Global Ratings downgraded Kansas's credit rating.[93] In February 2017, S&P lowered it to AA-.[93]

In February 2017, a bi-partisan coalition presented a bill that would repeal the pass-through income exemption, the "most important provisions of Brownback's overhaul", and raise taxes to make up for the budget shortfall. Brownback vetoed the bill but "45 GOP legislators had voted in favor of the increase, while 40 voted to uphold the governor's veto."[92] On June 6, 2017, a coalition of Democrats and newly elected Republicans overrode [Brownback's] veto and implemented tax increases to a level close to what it was before 2013.[98] Brownback's tax overhaul was described in a June 2017 article in The Atlantic as the United States' "most aggressive experiment in conservative economic policy".[98] The drastic tax cuts had "threatened the viability of schools and infrastructure" in Kansas.[98]

Transportation

 

Highways

 

Kansas is served by two Interstate highways with one beltway, two spur routes, and three bypasses, with over 874 miles (1,407 km) in all. The first section of Interstate in the nation was opened on Interstate 70 (I-70) just west of Topeka on November 14, 1956.[103]

I-70 is a major east–west route connecting to Denver, Colorado and Kansas City, Missouri. Cities along this route (from west to east) include Colby, Hays, Salina, Junction City, Topeka, Lawrence, Bonner Springs, and Kansas City.

I-35 is a major north–south route connecting to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Des Moines, Iowa. Cities along this route (from south to north) include Wichita, El Dorado, Emporia, Ottawa, and Kansas City (and suburbs).

Spur routes serve as connections between the two major routes. I-135, a north–south route, connects I-35 at Wichita to I-70 at Salina. I-335, a southwest–northeast route, connects I-35 at Emporia to I-70 at Topeka. I-335 and portions of I-35 and I-70 make up the Kansas Turnpike. Bypasses include I-470 around Topeka, I-235 around Wichita, and I-670 in downtown Kansas City. I-435 is a beltway around the Kansas City metropolitan area while I-635 bypasses through Kansas City.

U.S. Route 69 (US-69) travels south to north, from Oklahoma to Missouri. The highway passes through the eastern section of Kansas, traveling through Baxter Springs, Pittsburg, Frontenac, Fort Scott, Louisburg, and the Kansas City area.

Kansas also has the country's third largest state highway system after Texas and California. This is because of the high number of counties and county seats (105) and their intertwining.

In January 2004, the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) announced the new Kansas 511 traveler information service.[104] By dialing 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.

Interstate Highways

U.S. Routes

Aviation

The state's only major commercial (Class C) airport is Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport, located along US-54 on the western edge of the city. Manhattan Regional Airport in Manhattan offers daily flights to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, making it the second-largest commercial airport in the state.[105] Most air travelers in northeastern Kansas fly out of Kansas City International Airport, located in Platte County, Missouri, as well as Topeka Regional Airport in the state's capital.

In the state's southeastern part, people often use Tulsa International Airport in Tulsa, Oklahoma or Joplin Regional Airport in Joplin, Missouri. For those in the far western part of the state, Denver International Airport is a popular option. Connecting flights are also available from smaller Kansas airports in Dodge City, Garden City, Hays, Hutchinson, Liberal, or Salina.

Dotted across the state are smaller regional and municipal airports, including the Lawrence Municipal Airport, which houses many aircraft for the city of Lawrence and the University of Kansas, Miami County Airport, Wamego Airport, Osage City Municipal Airport, which is the headquarters of Skydive Kansas, Garden City Regional Airport, Manhattan Regional Airport, and Dodge City Regional Airport.

Rail

See also: List of Kansas railroads

The Southwest Chief Amtrak route runs through the state on its route from Chicago to Los Angeles. Stops in Kansas include Lawrence, Topeka, Newton, Hutchinson, Dodge City, and Garden City.[106] An Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach connects Newton to the Heartland Flyer in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.[107] Amtrak is proposing to modify the Southwest Chief from its status as a direct passenger rail operation. Plans call for shortening the route to Los Angeles to Albuquerque. Thruway buses would replace the train on the route between Albuquerque and Dodge City, where train service east to Chicago would resume.[108]

Kansas is served by four Class I railroads, Amtrak, BNSF, Kansas City Southern, and Union Pacific, as well as many shortline railroads.[109]

Law and government

State and local politics

See also: Government of Kansas and Political party strength in Kansas

Executive branch: The executive branch consists of one officer and five elected officers. The governor and lieutenant governor are elected on the same ticket. The attorney general, secretary of state, state treasurer, and state insurance commissioner are each elected separately.

Legislative branch: The bicameral Kansas Legislature consists of the Kansas House of Representatives, with 125 members serving two-year terms, and the Kansas Senate, with 40 members serving four-year terms.

Judicial branch: The judicial branch of the state government is headed by the Kansas Supreme Court. The court has seven judges. A vacancy is filled by the Governor picking one of three nominees selected by the nine-member Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission. The board consists of five Kansas lawyers elected by other Kansas lawyers and four members selected by the governor.

Political culture

Since the 1930s, Kansas has remained one of the most socially conservative states in the nation. The 1990s brought the defeat of prominent Democrats, including Dan Glickman, and the Kansas State Board of Education's 1999 decision to eliminate evolution from the state teaching standards, a decision that was later reversed.[110] In 2005, voters accepted a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. The next year, the state passed a law setting a minimum age for marriage at 15 years.[111] Kansas's path to a solid Republican state has been examined by journalist and historian Thomas Frank in his 2004 book What's the Matter with Kansas?.

20th-century state politics

Kansas was the first state to institute a system of workers' compensation (1910) and to regulate the securities industry (1911). Kansas also permitted women's suffrage in 1912, almost a decade before the federal constitution was amended to require it.[112] 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 model 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, notably the Pendergast Machine in neighboring Kansas City, Missouri. Kansas was also at the center of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, a 1954 Supreme Court decision that banned racially segregated schools throughout the U.S, though, infamously, many Kansas residents opposed the decision, and it led to protests in Topeka after the verdict.[113]

The state backed Republican Presidential Candidates Wendell Willkie and Thomas E. Dewey in 1940 and 1944, respectively, breaking ranks with the majority of the country in the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Kansas also supported Dewey in 1948 despite the presence of incumbent president Harry S. Truman, who hailed from Independence, Missouri, approximately 15 miles (24 km) east of the Kansas–Missouri state line. After Roosevelt carried Kansas in 1936, only one Democrat has won the state since, Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.

21st-century state politics

Voter Registration as of September 2022[114]
Party Number of voters Percentage
Republican 874,446 44.67%
Unaffiliated 543,315 27.75%
Democratic 518,651 26.49%
Libertarian 21,164 1.08%
Total 1,957,576 100%

In 2008, Democrat Governor Kathleen Sebelius vetoed permits for the construction of new coal-fired energy plants in Kansas, saying: "We know that greenhouse gases contribute to climate change. As an agricultural state, Kansas is particularly vulnerable. Therefore, reducing pollutants benefits our state not only in the short term—but also for generations of Kansans to come."[115] However, shortly after Mark Parkinson became governor in 2009 upon Sebelius's resignation to become Secretary of U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Parkinson announced a compromise plan to allow construction of a coal-fired plant.

In 2010, Republican Sam Brownback was elected governor with 63 percent of the state vote. He was sworn in as governor in 2011, Kansas's first Republican governor in eight years. Brownback had established himself as a conservative member of the U.S. Senate in years prior, but made several controversial decisions after becoming governor, leading to a 23% approval rating among registered voters - the lowest of any governor in the United States.[116] In May 2011, much to the opposition of art leaders and enthusiasts in the state, Brownback eliminated the Kansas Arts Commission, making Kansas the first state without an arts agency.[117] In July 2011, Brownback announced plans to close the Lawrence branch of the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services as a cost-saving measure. Hundreds rallied against the decision.[118] Lawrence City Commission later voted to provide the funding needed to keep the branch open.[119]

Democrat Laura Kelly defeated former Secretary of State of Kansas Kris Kobach in the 2018 election for Governor with 48.0% of the vote.[120][121]

In August 2022, Kansas voters rejected the controversial Value Them Both Amendment, which would have eliminated the right to an abortion in the state constitution. The vote was the first referendum on abortion since Roe v. Wade was overturned earlier that summer, and the result was hailed as a landmark victory for pro-choice advocates in the traditionally socially conservative state.[122]

In a 2020 study, Kansas was ranked as the 13th hardest state for citizens to vote in.[123]

National politics

Presidential election results
United States presidential election results for Kansas[124]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 771,406 56.00% 570,323 41.40% 35,755 2.60%
2016 671,018 56.03% 427,005 35.66% 99,547 8.31%
2012 689,809 59.59% 439,908 38.00% 27,815 2.40%
2008 699,655 56.48% 514,765 41.55% 24,453 1.97%
2004 736,456 62.00% 434,993 36.62% 16,307 1.37%
2000 622,332 58.04% 399,276 37.24% 50,608 4.72%
1996 583,245 54.29% 387,659 36.08% 103,396 9.62%
1992 449,951 38.88% 390,434 33.74% 316,851 27.38%
1988 554,049 55.79% 422,636 42.56% 16,359 1.65%
1984 677,296 66.27% 333,149 32.60% 11,546 1.13%
1980 566,812 57.85% 326,150 33.29% 86,833 8.86%
1976 502,752 52.49% 430,421 44.94% 24,672 2.58%
1972 619,812 67.66% 270,287 29.50% 25,996 2.84%
1968 478,674 54.84% 302,996 34.72% 91,113 10.44%
1964 386,579 45.06% 464,028 54.09% 7,294 0.85%
1960 561,474 60.45% 363,213 39.10% 4,138 0.45%
1956 566,878 65.44% 296,317 34.21% 3,048 0.35%
1952 616,302 68.77% 273,296 30.50% 6,568 0.73%
1948 423,039 53.63% 351,902 44.61% 13,878 1.76%
1944 442,096 60.25% 287,458 39.18% 4,222 0.58%
1940 489,169 56.86% 364,725 42.40% 6,403 0.74%
1936 397,727 45.95% 464,520 53.67% 3,267 0.38%
1932 349,498 44.13% 424,204 53.56% 18,276 2.31%
1928 513,672 72.02% 193,003 27.06% 6,525 0.91%
1924 407,671 61.54% 156,319 23.60% 98,464 14.86%
1920 369,268 64.75% 185,464 32.52% 15,586 2.73%
1916 277,658 44.09% 314,588 49.95% 37,567 5.96%
1912 74,845 20.47% 143,663 39.30% 147,052 40.23%
1908 197,216 52.46% 161,209 42.88% 17,521 4.66%
1904 212,955 64.81% 86,174 26.23% 29,432 8.96%
1900 185,955 52.56% 162,601 45.96% 5,210 1.47%
1896 159,345 47.63% 171,675 51.32% 3,527 1.05%
1892 157,241 48.40% 0 0.00% 167,664 51.60%
1888 182,904 55.23% 102,745 31.03% 45,500 13.74%
1884 154,406 58.08% 90,132 33.90% 21,310 8.02%
1880 121,549 60.40% 59,801 29.72% 19,886 9.88%
1876 78,324 63.10% 37,902 30.53% 7,908 6.37%
1872 66,805 66.46% 32,970 32.80% 737 0.73%
1868 30,027 68.82% 13,600 31.17% 3 0.01%
1864 17,089 79.19% 3,836 17.78% 655 3.04%
See also: U.S. Congressional Delegations from Kansas and United States presidential elections in Kansas
 
Charles Curtis (R) was born near Topeka and served as a State Legislator, Congressman and Senator, before becoming Vice President (1929-33). He is the only Native American elected to the Executive Branch (he was born into the Kaw Nation).
 

The state's current delegation to the Congress of the United States includes Republican Senators Jerry Moran of Manhattan, and Roger Marshall of Great Bend. In the House of Representatives, Kansas is represented by Republican Representatives Tracey Mann of Quinter (District 1), Jake LaTurner of Pittsburg (District 2), Ron Estes of Wichita (District 4), and Democratic Representative Sharice Davids of Kansas City (District 3) Davids is the second Native American to represent Kansas in Congress, after Republican Charles Curtis (Kaw).

Historically, Kansas has been strongly Republican, dating from the Antebellum age when the Republican Party was created out of the movement opposing the extension of slavery into Kansas Territory. Kansas has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since the 1932 election, when Franklin D. Roosevelt won his first term as president in the wake of the Great Depression. This is the longest Senate losing streak for either party in a single state. Senator Sam Brownback was a candidate for the Republican party nomination for president in 2008. Brownback was not a candidate for re-election to a third full term in 2010, but he was elected Governor in that year's general election. Moran defeated Tiahrt for the Republican nomination for Brownback's seat in the August 2010 primary, then won a landslide general election victory over Democrat Lisa Johnston.

The only non-Republican presidential candidates Kansas has given its electoral vote to are Populist James Weaver and Democrats Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt (twice), and Lyndon Johnson. In 2004, George W. Bush won the state's six electoral votes by an overwhelming margin of 25 percentage points with 62% of the vote. The only two counties to support Democrat John Kerry in that election were Wyandotte, which contains Kansas City, and Douglas, home to the University of Kansas, located in Lawrence. The 2008 election brought similar results as John McCain won the state with 57% of the votes. Douglas, Wyandotte, and Crawford County were the only counties in support of President Barack Obama.[125]

Abilene was the boyhood home to Republican president Dwight D. Eisenhower, and he maintained lifelong ties to family and friends there. Kansas was the adult home of two losing Republican candidates (Governor Alf Landon in 1936 and Senator Bob Dole in 1996).

The New York Times reported in September 2014 that as the Democratic candidate for Senator has tried to drop out of the race, independent Greg Orman has attracted enough bipartisan support to seriously challenge the reelection bid of Republican Pat Roberts:

Kansas politics have been roiled in recent years. The rise of the Tea Party and the election of President Obama have prompted Republicans to embrace a purer brand of conservatism and purge what had long been a robust moderate wing from its ranks. Mr. Roberts has sought to adapt to this new era, voting against spending bills that included projects for the state that he had sought.[126]

State laws

See also: Alcohol laws of Kansas

The legal drinking age in Kansas is 21. In lieu of the state retail sales tax, a 10% Liquor Drink Tax is collected for liquor consumed on the licensed premises and an 8% Liquor Enforcement Tax is collected on retail purchases. Although the sale of cereal malt beverage (also known as 3.2 beer) was legalized in 1937, the first post-Prohibition legalization of alcoholic liquor did not occur until the state's constitution was amended in 1948. The following year the Legislature enacted the Liquor Control Act which created a system of regulating, licensing, and taxing, and the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) was created to enforce the act. The power to regulate cereal malt beverage remains with the cities and counties. Liquor-by-the-drink did not become legal until passage of an amendment to the state's constitution in 1986 and additional legislation the following year. As of November 2006, Kansas still has 29 dry counties and only 17 counties have passed liquor-by-the-drink with no food sales requirement.[127] Today there are more than 2,600 liquor and 4,000 cereal malt beverage licensees in the state.[128]

On May 12, 2022, Gov. Laura Kelly signed legislation (Senate Bill 84) that legalizes sports betting in the state, making Kansas the 35th state to approve sports wagering in the US. This would give the four state-owned casinos the right to partner with online bookmakers and up to 50 retailers, including gas stations and restaurants, to engage in sports betting.[129]

Education

Main article: Education in Kansas

Education in Kansas is governed at the primary and secondary school level by the Kansas State Board of Education. The state's public colleges and universities are supervised by the Kansas Board of Regents.

Twice since 1999 the Board of Education has approved changes in the state science curriculum standards that encouraged the teaching of intelligent design. Both times, the standards were reversed after changes in the composition of the board in the next election.

Culture

 
The Rio Theatre, Overland Park

Music

Main article: Music of Kansas

The rock band Kansas was formed in the state capital of Topeka, the hometown of several of the band's members.

Joe Walsh, guitarist for the famous rock band the Eagles, was born in Wichita.

Danny Carey, drummer for the band Tool, was raised in Paola.

Singers from Kansas include Leavenworth native Melissa Etheridge, Sharon native Martina McBride, Chanute native Jennifer Knapp (whose first album was titled Kansas), Kansas City native Janelle Monáe, and Liberal native Jerrod Niemann.

The state anthem is the American classic Home on the Range, written by Kansan Brewster Higley. Another song, the official state march adopted by the Kansas Legislature in 1935 is called The Kansas March, which features the lyrics, "Blue sky above us, silken strands of heat, Rim of the far horizon, where earth and heaven meet, Kansas as a temple, stands in velvet sod, Shrine which the sunshine, sanctifies to God."[130]

Literature

See also: Kansas Notable Book Awards

The state's most famous appearance in literature was as the home of Dorothy Gale, the main character in the novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie, published in 1935, is another well-known tale about Kansas.

Kansas was also the setting of the 1965 best-seller In Cold Blood, described by its author Truman Capote as a "nonfiction novel". Mixing fact and fiction, the book chronicles the events and aftermath of the 1959 murder of a wealthy farmer and his family who lived in the small West Kansas town of Holcomb in Finney County.

The fictional town of Smallville, Kansas is the childhood home of Clark Kent/Superman in American comic books published by DC Comics. Also Keystone City is a Kansas city where The Flash works and lives.

The science fiction novella A Boy and His Dog, as well as the film based on it,[131] take place in post-apocalyptic Topeka.

The winner of the 2011 Newbery Medal for excellence in children's literature, Moon Over Manifest, tells the story of a young and adventurous girl named Abilene who is sent to the fictional town of Manifest, Kansas, by her father in the summer of 1936. It was written by Kansan Clare Vanderpool.

Lawrence is the setting for a number of science fiction writer James Gunn's novels.

Film

See also: List of films set in Kansas
 
The Plaza Cinema in Ottawa is the oldest operating movie theater in the world.
 
Fox Theater, Hutchinson

The first film theater in Kansas was the Patee Theater in Lawrence. Most theaters at the time showed films only as part of vaudeville acts but not as an exclusive and stand alone form of entertainment. Though the Patee family had been involved in vaudeville, they believed films could carry the evening without other variety acts, but in order to show the films it was necessary for the Patee's to establish a generating plant (back in 1903 Lawrence was not yet fully electrified). The Patee Theater was one of the first of its kind west of the Mississippi River. The specialized equipment like the projector came from New York.[132]

Kansas has been the setting of many award-winning and popular American films, as well as being the home of some of the oldest operating cinemas in the world. The Plaza Cinema in Ottawa, Kansas, located in the northeastern portion of the state, was built on May 22, 1907, and it is listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest operating cinema in the world.[133][134] In 1926, The Jayhawk Theatre, an art-deco movie house in Topeka opened its doors for the first time to movie going audiences, and today, in addition to screenings of independent films, the theatre acts as a venue for plays and concerts. The Fox Theater in Hutchinson was built in 1930, and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.[135] Like the other theaters listed here, The Fox still plays first run movies to this day.

  • As was the case with the novel, Dorothy Gale (portrayed by Judy Garland) in the 1939 fantasy film The Wizard of Oz was a young girl who lived in Kansas with her aunt and uncle. The line, "We're not in Kansas anymore", has entered into the English lexicon as a phrase describing a wholly new and/or unexpected situation.[136]
  • The 1967 feature film In Cold Blood, like the book on which it was based, was set in various locations across Kansas. Many of the scenes in the film were filmed at the exact locations where the events profiled in the book took place. A 1996 TV miniseries was also based on the book.
  • The 1988 film Kansas starred Andrew McCarthy as a traveler who met up with a dangerous wanted drifter played by Matt Dillon.
  • The 2005 film Capote, for which Philip Seymour Hoffman was awarded the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the title character, profiled the author as he traveled across Kansas while writing In Cold Blood (although most of the film itself was shot in the Canadian province of Manitoba).
  • The setting of The Day After, a 1983 made-for-television movie about a fictional nuclear attack, was the city of Lawrence.
  • Due to the super hero Superman growing up in the fictional Smallville, Kansas, multiple films featuring the super hero have been entirely or at least partially set in Kansas including Superman (1978), Superman III (1983), Man of Steel (2013), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), and Justice League (2017).
  • The 2012 film Looper is set in Kansas.
  • The 1973 film Paper Moon in which Tatum O'Neal won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (The youngest to win an Academy Award) was based in and filmed in Kansas. The film was shot in the small towns of Hays; McCracken; Wilson; and St. Joseph, Missouri. Various shooting locations include the Midland Hotel at Wilson; the railway depot at Gorham; storefronts and buildings on Main Street in White Cloud; Hays; sites on both sides of the Missouri River; Rulo Bridge; and Saint Joseph, Missouri.
  • Scenes of the 1996 film Mars Attacks! took place in the fictional town of Perkinsville. Scenes taking place in Kansas were filmed in Burns, Lawrence, and Wichita.
  • The 2007 film The Lookout is set mostly in Kansas (although filmed in Canada). Specifically two locations; Kansas City and the fictional town of Noel, Kansas.[137]
  • The 2012 documentary The Gridiron was filmed at The University of Kansas
  • The 2014 ESPN documentary No Place Like Home was filmed in Lawrence and the countryside of Douglas County, Kansas
  • The 2017 film Thank You for Your Service is primarily set in Kansas, including the cities of Topeka and Junction City.
  • The 2017 documentary When Kings Reigned was filmed in Lawrence.
  • The 2019 film Brightburn took place in the fictional town of Brightburn. As is evident with scenes in the film depicting mountains (Kansas has no mountain ranges), it was filmed in Georgia instead of in Kansas.

Television

  • The protagonist brothers of the 2005 TV show Supernatural hail from Lawrence, with the city referenced numerous times on the show.
  • 2006 TV series Jericho was based in the fictitious town of Jericho, Kansas, surviving post-nuclear America.
  • Early seasons of Smallville, about Superman as a teenager, were based in a fictional town of Smallville, Kansas. Unlike most other adaptations of the Superman story, the series also places the fictional city of Metropolis in western Kansas, a few hours from Smallville.
  • Gunsmoke, a radio series western, ran from 1952 to 1961, took place in Dodge City, Kansas.
  • Gunsmoke, television series, the longest running prime time show of the 20th century, ran from September 10, 1955, to March 31, 1975, for a total of 635 episodes.
  • The 2009 Showtime series United States of Tara is set in Overland Park, a suburb of Kansas City.

Sports

Professional

 
Children's Mercy Park, Kansas City

Sporting Kansas City, who have played their home games at Village West in Kansas City, since 2008, are the first top-tier professional sports league and first Major League Soccer team to be located within Kansas. In 2011 the team moved to their new home, a $165 million soccer specific stadium now known as Children's Mercy Park.

Historically, Kansans have supported the major league sports teams of Kansas City, Missouri, including the Kansas City Royals (MLB), and the Kansas City Chiefs (NFL), in part because the home stadiums for these teams are a few miles from the Kansas border. The Chiefs and the Royals play at the Truman Sports Complex, located about 10 miles (16 km) from the Kansas–Missouri state line. FC Kansas City, a charter member of the National Women's Soccer League, played the 2013 season, the first for both the team and the league, on the Kansas side of the metropolitan area, but played on the Missouri side until folding after the 2017 season. From 1973 to 1997 the flagship radio station for the Royals was WIBW in Topeka.[138]

Some Kansans, mostly from the westernmost parts of the state, support the professional sports teams of Denver, particularly the Denver Broncos of the NFL.

Two major auto racing facilities are located in Kansas. The Kansas Speedway located in Kansas City hosts races of the NASCAR, IndyCar, and ARCA circuits. Also, the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) holds drag racing events at Heartland Park Topeka. The Sports Car Club of America has its national headquarters in Topeka.

History

The history of professional sports in Kansas probably dates from the establishment of the minor league baseball Topeka Capitals and Leavenworth Soldiers in 1886 in the Western League.[139][140] The African-American Bud Fowler played on the Topeka team that season, one year before the "color line" descended on professional baseball.[140]

In 1887, the Western League was dominated by a reorganized Topeka team called the Golden Giants: a high-priced collection of major leaguer players, including Bug Holliday, Jim Conway, Dan Stearns, Perry Werden and Jimmy Macullar, which won the league by 15½ games.[140] On April 10, 1887, the Golden Giants also won an exhibition game from the defending World Series champions, the St. Louis Browns (the present-day Cardinals), by a score of 12–9. However, Topeka was unable to support the team, and it disbanded after one year.

The first night game in the history of professional baseball was played in Independence on April 28, 1930, when the Muscogee (Oklahoma) Indians beat the Independence Producers 13–3 in a minor league game sanctioned by the Western League of the Western Baseball Association with 1,500 fans attending the game. The permanent lighting system was first used for an exhibition game on April 17, 1930, between the Independence Producers and House of David semi-professional baseball team of Benton Harbor, Michigan with the Independence team winning 9–1 before a crowd of 1,700 spectators.[141]

College

 
David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium is the oldest football stadium west of the Mississippi River, and one of the oldest standing football stadiums in the country. Built in 1921, it is home to the Kansas Jayhawks football team
See also: List of college athletic programs in Kansas

The governing body for intercollegiate sports in the United States, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), was headquartered in Johnson County, Kansas from 1952 until moving to Indianapolis in 1999.[142][143]

NCAA Division I schools

While there are no franchises of the four major professional sports within the state, many Kansans are fans of the state's major college sports teams, especially the Jayhawks of the University of Kansas (KU), and the Wildcats of Kansas State University (KSU or "K-State"). The teams are rivals in the Big 12 Conference.

Both KU and K-State have tradition-rich programs in men's basketball. The Jayhawks are a perennial national power, ranking first in all-time victories among NCAA programs. The Jayhawks have won six national titles, including NCAA tournament championships in 1952, 1988, 2008, and 2022. They also were retroactively awarded national championships by the Helms Foundation for 1922 and 1923. K-State also had a long stretch of success on the hardwood, lasting from the 1940s to the 1980s, making four Final Fours during that stretch. In 1988, KU and K-State met in the Elite Eight, KU taking the game 71–58. After a 12-year absence, the Wildcats returned to the NCAA tournament in 2008, and advanced to the Elite Eight in 2010 and 2018. KU is fifth all-time with 15 Final Four appearances, while K-State's four appearances are tied for 17th.

Conversely, success on the gridiron has been less frequent for both KSU and KU. However, there have been recent breakthroughs for both schools' football teams. The Jayhawks won the Orange Bowl for the first time in three tries in 2008, capping a 12–1 season, the best in school history. And when Bill Snyder arrived to coach at K-State in 1989, he turned the Wildcats from one of the worst college football programs in America,[144] into a national force for most of the 1990s and early 2000s. The team won the Fiesta Bowl in 1997, achieved an undefeated (11–0) regular season and No. 1 ranking in 1998, and took the Big 12 Conference championship in 2003. After three seasons in which K-State football languished, Snyder came out of retirement in 2009 and guided them to the top of the college football ranks again, finishing second in the Big 12 in 2011 and earning a berth in the Cotton Bowl, and winning the Big 12 again in 2012.

Wichita State University, which also fields teams (called the Shockers) in Division I of the NCAA, is best known for its baseball and basketball programs. In baseball, the Shockers won the College World Series in 1989. In men's basketball, they appeared in the Final Four in 1965 and 2013, and entered the 2014 NCAA tournament unbeaten. The school also fielded a football team from 1897 to 1986. The Shocker football team is tragically known for a plane crash in 1970 that killed 31 people, including 14 players.

NCAA Division II schools

Notable success has also been achieved by the state's smaller schools in football. Pittsburg State University, an NCAA Division II participant, has claimed four national titles in football, two in the NAIA and most recently the 2011 NCAA Division II national title. Pittsburg State became the winningest NCAA Division II football program in 1995. PSU passed Hillsdale College at the top of the all-time victories list in the 1995 season on its march to the national runner-up finish. The Gorillas, in 96 seasons of intercollegiate competition, have accumulated 579 victories, posting a 579–301–48 overall mark.

Washburn University, in Topeka, won the NAIA Men's Basketball Championship in 1987. The Fort Hays State University men won the 1996 NCAA Division II title with a 34–0 record, and the Washburn women won the 2005 NCAA Division II crown. St. Benedict's College (now Benedictine College), in Atchison, won the 1954 and 1967 Men's NAIA Basketball Championships.

The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference has its roots as one of the oldest college sport conferences in existence and participates in the NAIA and all ten member schools are in the state of Kansas. Other smaller school conferences that have some members in Kansas are the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference, the Midwest Christian College Conference, and the Heart of America Athletic Conference. Many junior colleges also have active athletic programs.

Emporia State's women's basketball team, under head coach Brandon Schneider, who is now serving as the women's basketball coach at the University of Kansas, has seen success as well. In 2010 the team won the NCAA Division II National Championship. Emporia State and Washburn in Topeka share a heated rivalry in all sports, mostly due to the close proximity of both cities.

Junior colleges

The Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference has been heralded as one of the best conferences in all of NJCAA football, with Garden City Community College, Independence Community College, and Butler County Community College all consistently in contention for national championships.

High school

The Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) is the organization which oversees interscholastic competition in the state of Kansas at the high school level. It oversees both athletic and non-athletic competition, and sponsors championships in several sports and activities. The association is perhaps best known for devising the overtime system now used for almost all football games below the professional level (which has also been adopted at all levels of Canadian football).

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The Kansas City area is the largest metropolitan and urban area in the state alone; however, the Wichita metropolitan area is the largest centered in the state.

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Bibliography

See also: Longer list of books about the history of Kansas
  • Mechem, Kirke (1956). The Annals of Kansas: 1911 to 1925. Kansas Historical Society.; 559 pages.
  • Mechem, Kirke (1954). The Annals of Kansas: 1886 to 1910. Kansas Historical Society.; 535 pages.
  • Wilder, Daniel W. (1886). The Annals of Kansas: 1541 to 1885. Kansas Publishing House.; 1204 pages.
  • Connelley, William E., ed. (1918), A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans, Lewis Publishing Company; 5 volumes; 2731 pages; (Vol1), (Vol2), (Vol3), (Vol4), (Vol5); the 1919 edition contains additional biographies.
  • Connelley, William E. (1916). History of Kansas Newspapers: A History of the Newspapers and Magazines Published in Kansas from 1854 to 1916. Kansas Historical Society.; 369 pages.
  • Blackmar, Frank W., ed. (1912), Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc, Standard Publishing Co; 3 volumes; 2723 pages; (Vol1), (Vol2), (Vol3)
  • Everts, Louis H., ed. (1887), Official State Atlas of Kansas, L.H. Everts & Co; 610 pages.
  • Cutler, William G., ed. (1883). . A.T. Andreas Publisher. Archived from the original on November 9, 2018.; 3 volumes; 1616 pages; (Hathi Trust) (Internet Archive)
  • Robinson, Sara (1856). Kansas: Its Interior and Exterior Life. Crosby, Nichols and Company.

External links

  • Kansas at Curlie
  • Kansas Travel and Tourism Division
  • Kansas Historical Society
  • Kansas Memory—documents, photographs, and other primary sources provided by the Kansas Historical Society
  • Kansas State Agency Databases—Annotated list of searchable databases produced by Kansas state agencies
  • USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of Kansas
  • Kansas State Facts from USDA

Maps

  • Kansas Department of Transportation maps
  • Kansas Highway Map (PDF), KSDOT, 2019.
  • Kansas Railroad Map (PDF), KSDOT, 2019.
  • "Access state, county, city, railroad, and other maps", Kansas Memory (digital portal), the Kansas State Historical Society.
  •   Geographic data related to Kansas at OpenStreetMap
  • "Kansas Maps", Perry–Castañeda Library (map collection), The University of Texas.
Preceded by List of U.S. states by date of statehood
Admitted on January 29, 1861 (34th) 		Succeeded by

Coordinates: 38°N 98°W / 38°N 98°W / 38; -98 (State of Kansas)

January 23, 2023
kansas, this, article, about, state, other, uses, disambiguation, listen, state, midwestern, united, states, capital, topeka, largest, city, wichita, landlocked, state, bordered, nebraska, north, missouri, east, oklahoma, south, colorado, west, named, after, r. This article is about the U S state For other uses see Kansas disambiguation Kansas ˈ k ae n z e s listen is a state in the Midwestern United States 15 Its capital is Topeka and its largest city is Wichita Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north Missouri to the east Oklahoma to the south and Colorado to the west Kansas is named after the Kansas River which in turn was named after the Kansa Native Americans who lived along its banks 16 17 18 19 The tribe s name natively kka ze is often said to mean people of the south wind although this was probably not the term s original meaning 20 21 For thousands of years what is now Kansas was home to numerous and diverse Native American tribes Tribes in the eastern part of the state generally lived in villages along the river valleys Tribes in the western part of the state were semi nomadic and hunted large herds of bison KansasStateFlagSealNickname s The Sunflower State official The Wheat State 1 America s Heartland 2 The Jayhawker State 3 4 5 Motto s Ad astra per aspera Latin To the stars through difficultiesAnthem Home on the Range Map of the United States with Kansas highlightedCountryUnited StatesBefore statehoodKansas TerritoryAdmitted to the UnionJanuary 29 1861Kansas Day 34th CapitalTopekaLargest cityWichitaLargest metro and urban areasKansas portion of Kansas City MO KS area a Government GovernorLaura Kelly D Lieutenant GovernorDavid Toland D LegislatureKansas Legislature Upper houseSenate Lower houseHouse of RepresentativesJudiciaryKansas Supreme CourtU S senatorsJerry Moran R Roger Marshall R U S House delegation1 Tracey Mann R 2 Jake LaTurner R 3 Sharice Davids D 4 Ron Estes R list Area Total82 278 6 sq mi 213 100 km2 Land81 759 6 sq mi 211 754 km2 Water520 6 sq mi 1 346 km2 0 6 7 Rank15thDimensions Length213 8 mi 343 km Width410 8 mi 660 km Elevation2 000 ft 610 m Highest elevation Mount Sunflower 9 10 4 041 ft 1 232 m Lowest elevation Verdigris River at Oklahoma border 9 10 679 ft 207 m Population 2020 Total2 940 865 Rank36th Density34 9 sq mi 13 5 km2 Rank40th Median household income 56 422 11 Income rank27th 12 Demonym s KansanJayhawker colloquial 3 13 Language Official languageEnglish 14 Time zonesMajority of stateUTC 06 00 Central Summer DST UTC 05 00 CDT Greeley Hamilton Sherman and Wallace countiesUTC 07 00 Mountain Summer DST UTC 06 00 MDT USPS abbreviationKSISO 3166 codeUS KSTraditional abbreviationKan Kans Latitude37 N to 40 NLongitude94 35 W to 102 3 WWebsiteportal wbr kansas wbr gov The template below Infobox U S state symbols is being considered for merging See templates for discussion to help reach a consensus Kansas state symbolsFlag of KansasLiving insigniaAmphibianBarred tiger salamanderBirdWestern meadowlarkFlowerWild sunflowerGrassLittle bluestemInsectWestern honey beeMammalAmerican bisonReptileOrnate box turtleTreePlains cottonwoodInanimate insigniaSoilHarney silt loamState route markerState quarterReleased in 2005Lists of United States state symbolsThe first Euro American settlement in Kansas occurred in 1827 at Fort Leavenworth The pace of settlement accelerated in the 1850s in the midst of political wars over the slavery debate When it was officially opened to settlement by the U S government in 1854 with the Kansas Nebraska Act abolitionist Free Staters from New England and pro slavery settlers from neighboring Missouri rushed to the territory to determine whether Kansas would become a free state or a slave state Thus the area was a hotbed of violence and chaos in its early days as these forces collided and was known as Bleeding Kansas The abolitionists prevailed and on January 29 1861 22 23 Kansas entered the Union as a free state hence the unofficial nickname The Free State By 2015 Kansas was one of the most productive agricultural states producing high yields of wheat corn sorghum and soybeans 24 Kansas which has an area of 82 278 square miles 213 100 square kilometers is the 15th largest state by area and is the 36th most populous of the 50 states with a population of 2 940 865 25 according to the 2020 census Residents of Kansas are called Kansans Mount Sunflower is Kansas s highest point at 4 039 feet 1 231 meters 26 Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 3 Geography 3 1 Geology 3 2 Topography 3 3 Rivers 3 4 National parks and historic sites 3 5 Flora and fauna 3 6 Climate 4 Demographics 4 1 Ancestry 4 2 Language 4 3 Religion 4 4 Settlement 4 5 Birth data 4 6 Life expectancy 4 7 Regions 4 7 1 Northeast Kansas 4 7 2 South Central Kansas 4 7 3 Southeast Kansas 4 7 4 Central and North Central Kansas 4 7 5 Northwest Kansas 4 7 6 Southwest Kansas 4 7 7 Around the state 5 Economy 5 1 Energy 5 2 Taxes 6 Transportation 6 1 Highways 6 1 1 Interstate Highways 6 1 2 U S Routes 6 2 Aviation 6 3 Rail 7 Law and government 7 1 State and local politics 8 Political culture 8 1 20th century state politics 8 2 21st century state politics 8 3 National politics 8 4 State laws 9 Education 10 Culture 10 1 Music 10 2 Literature 10 3 Film 10 4 Television 10 5 Sports 10 5 1 Professional 10 5 1 1 History 10 5 2 College 10 5 2 1 NCAA Division I schools 10 5 2 2 NCAA Division II schools 10 5 2 3 Junior colleges 10 5 3 High school 11 See also 12 Notes 13 References 14 Bibliography 15 External linksEtymology EditThe name Kansas derives from the Algonquian term Akansa for the Quapaw people These were a Dhegiha Siouan speaking people who settled in Arkansas around the 13th century The stem kansa is named after the Kaw people also known as the Kansa a federally recognized Native American tribe 27 History EditMain article History of Kansas Samuel Seymour s 1819 illustration of a Kansa lodge and dance is the oldest drawing known to have been done in Kansas Before European colonization Kansas was occupied by the Caddoan Wichita and later the Siouan Kaw people The first European to set foot in present day Kansas was the Spanish conquistador Francisco Vazquez de Coronado who explored the area in 1541 Between 1763 and 1803 the territory of Kansas was integrated into Spanish Louisiana The governor Luis de Unzaga le Conciliateur during that period promoted expeditions and good relations with the Amerindians among the explorers were Antoine de Marigny and others who continued trading across the Kansas River especially at its confluence with the Missouri River tributaries of the Mississippi River 28 In 1803 most of modern Kansas was acquired by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase Southwest Kansas however was still a part of Spain Mexico and the Republic of Texas until the conclusion of the Mexican American War in 1848 when these lands were ceded to the United States From 1812 to 1821 Kansas was part of the Missouri Territory The Santa Fe Trail traversed Kansas from 1821 to 1880 transporting manufactured goods from Missouri and silver and furs from Santa Fe New Mexico Wagon ruts from the trail are still visible in the prairie today In 1827 Fort Leavenworth became the first permanent settlement of white Americans in the future state 29 The Kansas Nebraska Act became law on May 30 1854 establishing Nebraska Territory and Kansas Territory and opening the area to broader settlement by whites Kansas Territory stretched all the way to the Continental Divide and included the sites of present day Denver Colorado Springs and Pueblo Quantrill s Raid on Lawrence The first non military settlement of Euro Americans in Kansas Territory consisted of abolitionists from Massachusetts and other Free Staters who founded the town of Lawrence and attempted to stop the spread of slavery from neighboring Missouri Missouri and Arkansas continually sent settlers into Kansas Territory along its eastern border to sway votes in favor of slavery prior to Kansas statehood elections Directly presaging the American Civil War these forces collided entering into skirmishes and guerrilla conflicts that earned the territory the nickname Bleeding Kansas These included John Brown s Pottawatomie massacre of 1856 Kansas was admitted to the Union as a free state on January 29 1861 making it the 34th state to join the United States By that time the violence in Kansas had largely subsided but during the Civil War on August 21 1863 William Quantrill led several hundred of his supporters on a raid into Lawrence destroying much of the city and killing nearly 200 people He was roundly condemned by both the conventional Confederate military and the partisan rangers commissioned by the Missouri legislature His application to that body for a commission was flatly rejected due to his pre war criminal record 30 After the Civil War many veterans constructed homesteads in Kansas Many African Americans also looked to Kansas as the land of John Brown and led by freedmen like Benjamin Pap Singleton began establishing black colonies in the state Leaving southern states in the late 1870s because of increasing discrimination they became known as Exodusters At the same time the Chisholm Trail was opened and the Wild West era commenced in Kansas Wild Bill Hickok was a deputy marshal at Fort Riley and a marshal at Hays and Abilene Dodge City was another wild cowboy town and both Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp worked as lawmen in the town In one year alone eight million head of cattle from Texas boarded trains in Dodge City bound for the East earning Dodge the nickname Queen of the Cowtowns In response to demands of Methodists and other evangelical Protestants in 1881 Kansas became the first U S state to adopt a constitutional amendment prohibiting all alcoholic beverages which was repealed in 1948 In 1922 suffragist Ella Uphay Mowry became the first female gubernatorial candidate in the state when she ran as Mrs W D Mowry She later stated that Someone had to be the pioneer I firmly believe that some day a woman will sit in the governor s chair in Kansas 31 32 33 Geography Edit The Great Plains of Kansas Kanopolis State Park Kansas is bordered by Nebraska to the north Missouri to the east Oklahoma to the south and Colorado to the west The state is divided into 105 counties with 628 cities with its largest county by area being Butler County 34 Kansas is located equidistant from the Pacific and Atlantic oceans The geographic center of the 48 contiguous states is in Smith County near Lebanon Until 1989 the Meades Ranch Triangulation Station in Osborne County was the geodetic center of North America the central reference point for all maps of North America The geographic center of Kansas is in Barton County Geology Edit Main article Geology of Kansas Kansas is underlain by a sequence of horizontal to gently westward dipping sedimentary rocks A sequence of Mississippian Pennsylvanian and Permian rocks outcrop in the eastern and southern part of the state The state s western half has exposures of Cretaceous through Tertiary sediments the latter derived from the erosion of the uplifted Rocky Mountains to the west These are underlain by older Paleozoic and Mesozoic sediments which correlate well with the outcrops to the east The state s northeastern corner was subjected to glaciation in the Pleistocene and is covered by glacial drift and loess Topography Edit The western two thirds of the state lying in the great central plain of the United States has a generally flat or undulating surface while the eastern third has many hills and forests The land gradually rises from east to west its altitude ranges from 684 ft 208 m along the Verdigris River at Coffeyville in Montgomery County to 4 039 ft 1 231 m at Mount Sunflower 0 5 miles 0 80 kilometers from the Colorado border in Wallace County It is a common misconception that Kansas is the flattest state in the nation in 2003 a tongue in cheek study famously declared the state flatter than a pancake 35 In fact Kansas has a maximum topographic relief of 3 360 ft 1 020 m 36 making it the 23rd flattest U S state measured by maximum relief 37 Rivers Edit Spring River Kansas Nearly 75 mi 121 km of the state s northeastern boundary is defined by the Missouri River The Kansas River locally known as the Kaw formed by the junction of the Smoky Hill and Republican rivers at appropriately named Junction City joins the Missouri River at Kansas City after a course of 170 mi 270 km across the northeastern part of the state The Arkansas River pronunciation varies rising in Colorado flows with a bending course for nearly 500 mi 800 km across the western and southern parts of the state With its tributaries the Little Arkansas Ninnescah Walnut Cow Creek Cimarron Verdigris and the Neosho it forms the southern drainage system of the state Kansas s other rivers are the Saline and Solomon Rivers 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 Spring River is located between Riverton and Baxter Springs National parks and historic sites Edit Areas under the protection of the National Park Service include 38 Brown v Board of Education National Historic Site in Topeka California National Historic Trail Fort Larned National Historic Site in Larned Fort Scott National Historic Site Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Nicodemus National Historic Site at Nicodemus Oregon National Historic Trail Pony Express National Historic Trail Santa Fe National Historic Trail Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve near Strong CityFlora and fauna Edit In Kansas there are currently 238 species of rare animals and 400 rare plants 39 Among those include Boechera laevigata Virginia Rail Cleft Ledge Royal Fern Turkey tangle Bobolink Cave Salamander Peregrine Falcon and Black footed ferret 40 41 Common animal species and grasses include Crows Deer Lesser Prairie Chicken Mice Moles Opossum Prairie Dogs Raccoon Tripsacum dactyloides Prairie Dropseed Indian Grass Little Bluestem Switch Grass Northern Sea Oats Tussock Sedge Sideoats Grama and Big Bluestem 42 43 Climate Edit Koppen climate types of Kansas using 1991 2020 climate normals Clouds in northeastern Kansas Kansas summer wheat and storm panorama In the Koppen climate classification Kansas has three climates humid continental semi arid steppe and humid subtropical The eastern two thirds of the state especially the northeastern portion has a humid continental climate with cool to cold winters and hot often humid summers Most of the precipitation falls during both the summer and the spring The western third of the state from roughly the U S Route 83 corridor westward has a semi arid steppe climate Summers are hot often very hot and generally less humid Winters are highly changeable between warm and very cold The western region receives an average of about 16 inches 410 millimeters of precipitation per year Chinook winds in the winter can warm western Kansas all the way into the 80 degrees Fahrenheit 27 degrees Celsius range The south central and southeastern portions of the state including the Wichita area have a humid subtropical climate with hot and humid summers milder winters and more precipitation than elsewhere in Kansas Some features of all three climates can be found in most of the state with droughts and changeable weather between dry and humid not uncommon and both warm and cold spells in the winter Temperatures in areas between U S Routes 83 and 81 as well as the southwestern portion of the state along and south of U S 50 reach 90 F 32 C or above on most days of June July and August High humidity added to the high temperatures sends the heat index into life threatening territory especially in Wichita Hutchinson Salina Russell Hays and Great Bend Temperatures are often higher in Dodge City Garden City and Liberal but the heat index in those three cities is usually lower than the actual air temperature Although temperatures of 100 F 38 C or higher are not as common in areas east of U S 81 higher humidity and the urban heat island effect lead most summer days to heat indices between 107 F 42 C and 114 F 46 C in Topeka Lawrence and the Kansas City metropolitan area Also combined with humidity between 85 and 95 percent dangerous heat indices can be experienced at every hour of the day Precipitation ranges from about 47 inches 1 200 mm annually in the state s southeast corner to about 16 inches 410 mm in the southwest Snowfall ranges from around 5 inches 130 mm in the fringes of the south to 35 inches 890 mm in the far northwest Frost free days range from more than 200 days in the south to 130 days in the northwest Thus Kansas is the country s ninth or tenth sunniest state depending on the source Western Kansas is as sunny as parts of California and Arizona Kansas is prone to severe weather especially in the spring and the early summer Despite the frequent sunshine throughout much of the state due to its location at a climatic boundary prone to intrusions of multiple air masses the state is vulnerable to strong and severe thunderstorms Some of these storms become supercell thunderstorms these can produce some tornadoes occasionally those of EF3 strength or higher Kansas averages more than 50 tornadoes annually 44 Severe thunderstorms sometimes drop some very large hail over Kansas as well Furthermore these storms can even bring in flash flooding and damaging straight line winds According to NOAA the all time highest temperature recorded in Kansas is 121 F or 49 4 C on July 24 1936 near Alton in Osborne County and the all time low is 40 F 40 C on February 13 1905 near Lebanon in Smith County Alton and Lebanon are approximately 50 miles 80 km apart Kansas s record high of 121 F 49 4 C ties with North Dakota for the fifth highest record high in an American state behind California 134 F or 56 7 C Arizona 128 F or 53 3 C Nevada 125 F or 51 7 C and New Mexico 122 F or 50 C Monthly normal high and low temperatures for various Kansas cities F 45 City Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov DecConcordia 36 17 43 22 54 31 64 41 74 52 85 62 91 67 88 66 80 56 68 44 51 30 40 21Dodge City 41 19 48 24 57 31 67 41 76 52 87 62 93 67 91 66 82 56 70 44 55 30 44 22Goodland 39 16 45 20 53 26 63 35 72 46 84 56 89 61 87 60 78 50 66 38 50 25 41 18Topeka 37 17 44 23 55 33 66 43 75 53 84 63 89 68 88 65 80 56 69 44 53 32 41 22Wichita 40 20 47 25 57 34 67 44 76 54 87 64 93 69 92 68 82 59 70 47 55 34 43 24Demographics EditThe United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Kansas was 2 913 314 on July 1 2019 a 2 11 increase since the 2010 United States census and an increase of 58 387 or 2 05 since 2010 46 This includes a natural increase since the last census of 93 899 246 484 births minus 152 585 deaths and a decrease due to net migration of 20 742 people out of the state Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 44 847 people and migration within the country produced a net loss of 65 589 people 47 The population density of Kansas is 52 9 people per square mile 48 The center of population of Kansas is located in Chase County at 38 27 N 96 32 W 38 450 N 96 533 W 38 450 96 533 approximately 3 miles 4 8 km north of the community of Strong City 49 The focus on labor efficient grain based agriculture such as a large wheat farm that requires only one or a few people with large machinery to operate rather than a vegetable farm that requires many people is causing the de population of rural areas across Kansas 50 Historical populationCensus Pop 1860107 206 1870364 399239 9 1880996 096173 4 18901 428 10843 4 19001 470 4953 0 19101 690 94915 0 19201 769 2574 6 19301 880 9996 3 19401 801 028 4 3 19501 905 2995 8 19602 178 61114 3 19702 246 5783 1 19802 363 6795 2 19902 477 5744 8 20002 688 4188 5 20102 853 1186 1 20202 937 8803 0 1910 2020 51 Ancestry Edit A festival in Lindsborg Kansas According to the 2021 United States census estimates the racial makeup of the population was 52 White American non Hispanic 74 7 Hispanic or Latino 12 7 Black or African American 6 2 Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander 0 1 Two or more races 3 3 Asian 3 2 American Indian and Alaska Native 1 2 Kansas ethnic breakdown of population Racial composition 1990 53 2000 54 2010 55 2020 56 White 90 1 86 1 83 8 75 6 Black 5 8 5 8 5 9 5 7 Asian 1 3 1 7 2 4 2 9 Native 0 9 0 9 1 0 1 1 Native Hawaiian andother Pacific Islander 0 1 0 1 Other race 2 0 3 4 3 9 4 9 Two or more races 2 1 3 0 9 5 Map of counties in Kansas by racial plurality per the 2020 U S censusLegend Non Hispanic White 30 40 50 60 60 70 70 80 80 90 90 Hispanic or Latino 50 60 60 70 As of 2004 the population included 149 800 foreign born 5 5 of the state population The ten largest reported ancestry groups which account for nearly 90 of the population in the state are German 33 75 Irish 14 4 English 14 1 American 7 5 French 4 4 Scottish 4 2 Dutch 2 5 Swedish 2 4 Italian 1 8 and Polish 1 5 57 German descendants are especially present in the northwest and northeast with German immigrants settling and founding towns such as Nortonville Holton Sabetha and Horton Descendants of English and of white Americans from other states are especially present in the southeast citation needed Mexicans are present in the southwest and make up nearly half the population in certain counties 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 citation needed As of 2011 35 0 of Kansas s population younger than one year of age belonged to minority groups i e did not have two parents of non Hispanic white ancestry 58 A population density map of Kansas Language Edit English is the most spoken language in Kansas with 91 3 of the population speaking only English at home as of the year 2000 5 5 speak Spanish 0 7 speak German and 0 4 speak Vietnamese 59 Religion Edit Religion in Kansas 2014 60 Protestantism 57 Roman Catholicism 18 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints 1 Jehovah s Witnesses 1 No religion 20 Islam 1 Buddhism 1 Other religion 2 The 2014 Pew Religious Landscape Survey showed the religious makeup of adults in Kansas was as follows 60 Christian 76 Protestant 57 Evangelical Protestant 31 Mainline Protestant 24 Black Protestant 2 dd Catholic 18 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints 1 Jehovah s Witness 1 dd Non Christian faiths 4 Jewish lt 1 Muslim 1 Buddhist 1 Hindu lt 1 dd Other World Religions lt 1 Other Faiths 2 Unaffiliated 20 Atheist 2 Agnostic 3 Nothing in particular 14 dd Don t know lt 1 Reverend Charles Sheldon Topeka resident and coiner of the phrase What would Jesus do As of 2010 the Association of Religion Data Archives ARDA reported that the Catholic Church has the highest number of adherents in Kansas at 426 611 followed by the United Methodist Church with 202 989 members and the Southern Baptist Convention reporting 99 329 adherents 61 Kansas s capital Topeka is sometimes cited as the home of Pentecostalism as it was the site of Charles Fox Parham s Bethel Bible College where glossolalia was first claimed as the evidence of a spiritual experience referred to as the baptism of the Holy Spirit in 1901 It is also the home of Reverend Charles Sheldon author of In His Steps and was the site where the question What would Jesus do originated in a sermon of Sheldon s at Central Congregational Church Kansas is the location of the second Baha i community west of Egypt when the Baha i community of Enterprise KS was started in 1897 From that beginning the Baha i Faith spread across Kansas 62 Topeka is also home of the Westboro Baptist Church a hate group according to the Southern Poverty Law Center 63 64 65 The church has garnered worldwide media attention for picketing the funerals of U S servicemen and women for what church members claim as necessary to combat the fight for equality for gays and lesbians They have sometimes successfully raised lawsuits against the city of Topeka Settlement Edit Main article Rural flight See also List of cities in Kansas Urban and rural populationsKnown as rural flight the last few decades have been marked by a migratory pattern out of the countryside into cities Out of all the cities in these Midwestern states 89 have fewer than 3 000 people and hundreds of those have fewer than 1 000 In Kansas alone there are more than 6 000 ghost towns and dwindling communities 66 according to one Kansas historian Daniel C Fitzgerald At the same time some of the communities in Johnson County metropolitan Kansas City are among the fastest growing in the country Cities with population of at least 15 000 City Population Growth rate Metro area1 Wichita 397 532 3 97 Wichita2 Overland Park 197 238 13 77 Kansas City MO KS3 Kansas City 156 607 7 42 Kansas City4 Olathe 141 290 12 25 Kansas City5 Topeka 126 587 0 70 Topeka6 Lawrence 94 934 8 32 Lawrence7 Shawnee 67 311 8 20 Kansas City8 Lenexa 57 434 19 18 Kansas City9 Manhattan 54 100 3 48 Manhattan10 Salina 46 889 1 71 11 Hutchinson 40 006 4 93 12 Leavenworth 37 351 5 96 Kansas City13 Leawood 33 902 6 39 Kansas City14 Garden City 28 151 5 60 15 Dodge City 27 788 1 64 16 Derby 25 625 15 65 Wichita17 Emporia 24 139 3 12 18 Gardner 23 287 21 77 Kansas City19 Prairie Village 22 957 7 04 Kansas City20 Junction City 22 932 1 80 Manhattan21 Hays 21 116 2 95 22 Pittsburg 20 646 2 04 23 Liberal 19 825 3 41 24 Newton 18 602 2 77 Wichita 2020 census 67 Growth rate 2010 2020 Defined as a micropolitan areaKansas has 627 incorporated cities By state statute cities are divided into three classes as determined by the population obtained by any census of enumeration A city of the third class has a population of less than 5 000 but cities reaching a population of more than 2 000 may be certified as a city of the second class The second class is limited to cities with a population of less than 25 000 and upon reaching a population of more than 15 000 they may be certified as a city of the first class First and second class cities are independent of any township and are not included within the township s territory Birth data Edit Note Births in table don t add up because Hispanics are counted both by their ethnicity and by their race giving a higher overall number Live Births by Single Race Ethnicity of Mother Race 2013 68 2014 69 2015 70 2016 71 2017 72 2018 73 2019 74 2020 75 White 34 178 88 0 34 420 87 7 34 251 87 5 gt non Hispanic White 28 281 72 8 28 504 72 7 28 236 72 1 26 935 70 8 25 594 70 1 25 323 69 8 24 549 69 4 23 663 68 8 Black 2 967 7 6 3 097 7 9 3 090 7 9 2 543 6 7 2 657 7 3 2 575 7 1 2 458 6 9 2 412 7 0 Asian 1 401 3 6 1 359 3 5 1 483 3 8 1 299 3 4 1 255 3 4 1 228 3 4 1 216 3 4 1 146 3 3 American Indian 293 0 7 347 0 9 330 0 8 173 0 5 248 0 7 217 0 6 214 0 6 162 0 5 Hispanic of any race 6 143 15 8 6 132 15 6 6 300 16 1 6 298 16 5 5 963 16 3 5 977 16 5 6 071 17 2 5 970 17 4 Total Kansas 38 839 100 39 223 100 39 154 100 38 053 100 36 519 100 36 261 100 35 395 100 34 376 100 Since 2016 data for births of White Hispanic origin are not collected but included in one Hispanic group persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race Life expectancy Edit The residents of Kansas have a life expectancy near the U S national average In 2013 males in Kansas lived an average of 76 6 years compared to a male national average of 76 7 years and females lived an average of 81 0 years compared to a female national average of 81 5 years Increases in life expectancy between 1980 and 2013 were below the national average for males and near the national average for females Male life expectancy in Kansas between 1980 and 2014 increased by an average of 5 2 years compared to a male national average of a 6 7 year increase Life expectancy for females in Kansas between 1980 and 2014 increased by 4 3 years compared to a female national average of a 4 0 year increase 76 Using 2017 2019 data the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation calculated that life expectancy for Kansas counties ranged from 75 8 years for Wyandotte County to 81 7 years for Johnson County Life expectancy for the state as a whole was 78 5 years 77 Life expectancy for the United States as a whole in 2019 was 78 8 years 78 Regions Edit Northeast Kansas Edit Downtown Lawrence in 2018 Kansas State Capitol in Topeka The northeastern portion of the state extending from the eastern border to Junction City and from the Nebraska border to south of Johnson County is home to more than 1 5 million people in the Kansas City Kansas portion Manhattan Lawrence and Topeka metropolitan areas Overland Park a young city incorporated in 1960 has the largest population and the largest land area in the county It is home to Johnson County Community College Olathe is the county seat and home to Johnson County Executive Airport The cities of Olathe Shawnee De Soto and Gardner have some of the state s fastest growing populations The cities of Overland Park Lenexa Olathe De Soto and Gardner are also notable because they lie along the former route of the Santa Fe Trail Among cities with at least one thousand residents Mission Hills has the highest median income in the state Several institutions of higher education are located in Northeast Kansas including Baker University the oldest university in the state founded in 1858 and affiliated with the United Methodist Church in Baldwin City Benedictine College sponsored by St Benedict s Abbey and Mount St Scholastica Monastery and formed from the merger of St Benedict s College 1858 and Mount St Scholastica College 1923 in Atchison MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe Ottawa University in Ottawa and Overland Park Kansas City Kansas Community College and KU Medical Center in Kansas City and KU Edwards Campus in Overland Park Less than an hour s drive to the west Lawrence is home to the University of Kansas the largest public university in the state and Haskell Indian Nations University To the north Kansas City with the second largest land area in the state contains a number of diverse ethnic neighborhoods Its attractions include the Kansas Speedway Sporting Kansas City Kansas City Monarchs and The Legends at Village West retail and entertainment center Nearby Kansas s first settlement Bonner Springs 79 is home to several national and regional attractions including the Providence Medical Center Amphitheather the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame and the annual Kansas City Renaissance Festival Further up the Missouri River the city of Lansing is the home of the state s first maximum security prison Historic Leavenworth founded in 1854 was the first incorporated city in Kansas North of the city Fort Leavenworth is the oldest active Army post west of the Mississippi River The city of Atchison was an early commercial center in the state and is well known as the birthplace of Amelia Earhart To the west nearly a quarter million people reside in the Topeka metropolitan area Topeka is the state capital and home to Washburn University and Washburn Institute of Technology Built at a Kansas River crossing along the old Oregon Trail this historic city has several nationally registered historic places Further westward along Interstate 70 and the Kansas River is Junction City with its historic limestone and brick buildings and nearby Fort Riley well known as the home to the U S Army s 1st Infantry Division nicknamed the Big Red One A short distance away the city of Manhattan is home to Kansas State University the second largest public university in the state and the nation s oldest land grant university dating back to 1863 South of the campus Aggieville dates back to 1889 and is the state s oldest shopping district of its kind South Central Kansas Edit Wichita the largest city in Kansas In south central Kansas the Wichita metropolitan area is home to more than 600 000 people 80 Wichita is the largest city in the state in terms of both land area and population The Air Capital is a major manufacturing center for the aircraft industry and the home of Wichita State University Before Wichita was The Air Capital it was a Cowtown 81 With a number of nationally registered historic places museums and other entertainment destinations it has a desire to become a cultural mecca in the Midwest Wichita s population growth has grown by double digits and the surrounding suburbs are among the fastest growing cities in the state The population of Goddard has grown by more than 11 per year since 2000 82 Other fast growing cities include Andover Maize Park City Derby and Haysville Wichita was one of the first cities to add the city commissioner and city manager in their form of government 81 Wichita is also home of the nationally recognized Sedgwick County Zoo 81 Up river the Arkansas River from Wichita is the city of Hutchinson The city was built on one of the world s largest salt deposits of what would form Strataca and it has the world s largest and longest wheat elevator It is also the home of Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center Prairie Dunes Country Club and the Kansas State Fair North of Wichita along Interstate 135 is the city of Newton the former western terminal of the Santa Fe Railroad and trailhead for the famed Chisholm Trail To the southeast of Wichita are the cities of Winfield and Arkansas City with historic architecture and the Cherokee Strip Museum in Ark City The city of Udall was the site of the deadliest tornado in Kansas on May 25 1955 it killed 80 people in and near the city 83 Southeast Kansas Edit Pittsburg State University s Veteran s Memorial Southeast Kansas has a unique history with a number of nationally registered historic places in this coal mining region Located in Crawford County dubbed the Fried Chicken Capital of Kansas Pittsburg is the largest city in the region and the home of Pittsburg State University The neighboring city of Frontenac in 1888 was the site of the worst mine disaster in the state in which an underground explosion killed 47 miners Big Brutus is located 1 5 miles 2 4 km outside the city of West Mineral Along with the restored fort historic Fort Scott has a national cemetery designated by President Lincoln in 1862 The region also shares a Media market with Joplin Missouri a city in Southwest Missouri Central and North Central Kansas Edit Salina is the largest city in central and north central Kansas South of Salina is the small city of Lindsborg with its numerous Dala horses Much of the architecture and decor of this town has a distinctly Swedish style To the east along Interstate 70 the historic city of Abilene was formerly a trailhead for the Chisholm Trail and was the boyhood home of President Dwight D Eisenhower and is the site of his Presidential Library and the tombs of the former president First Lady and son who died in infancy To the west is Lucas the Grassroots Art Capital of Kansas Farmland and the Great Plains in central Kansas Northwest Kansas Edit Kansas s Monument Rocks at night Cathedral of the Plains a Roman Catholic Church Minor Basilica Westward along the Interstate the city of Russell traditionally the beginning of sparsely populated northwest Kansas was the base of former U S Senator Bob Dole and the boyhood home of U S Senator Arlen Specter The city of Hays is home to Fort Hays State University and the Sternberg Museum of Natural History and is the largest city in the northwest with a population of around 20 001 Two other landmarks are located in smaller towns in Ellis County the Cathedral of the Plains is located 10 miles 16 km east of Hays in Victoria and the boyhood home of Walter Chrysler is 15 miles 24 km west of Hays in Ellis West of Hays population drops dramatically even in areas along I 70 and only two towns containing populations of more than 4 000 Colby and Goodland which are located 35 miles 56 km apart along I 70 Southwest Kansas Edit Dodge City famously known for the cattle drive days of the late 19th century was built along the old Santa Fe Trail route The city of Liberal is located along the southern Santa Fe Trail route The first wind farm in the state was built east of Montezuma Garden City has the Lee Richardson Zoo In 1992 a short lived secessionist movement advocated the secession of several counties in southwest Kansas 84 Around the state Edit Gove County Badlands Located midway between Kansas City Topeka and Wichita in the heart of the Bluestem Region of the Flint Hills the city of Emporia has several nationally registered historic places and is the home of Emporia State University well known for its Teachers College It was also the home of newspaper man William Allen White Economy EditSee also Kansas locations by per capita income Total Employment of the metropolitan areas in the State of Kansas by total Non farm Employment in 2016 85 Kansas Portion of the Kansas City MO KS MSA 468 400 non farm accounting for 40 9 of state GDP in 2015 86 Wichita KS MSA 297 300 non farm Topeka KS MSA 112 600 non farm Lawrence KS MSA 54 000 non farm Manhattan KS MSA 44 200 non farm Total employment 1 184 710Total Number of employer establishments in 2016 74 884 87 The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Kansas s total gross domestic product in 2014 was US 140 964 billion 88 In 2015 the job growth rate in was 0 8 among the lowest rate in America with only 10 900 total nonfarm jobs added that year 89 According to the Kansas Department of Labor s 2016 report the average annual wage was 42 930 in 2015 90 As of April 2016 the state s unemployment rate was 4 2 91 The State of Kansas had a 350 million budget shortfall in February 2017 92 In February 2017 S amp P downgraded Kansas s credit rating to AA 93 Nearly 90 of Kansas s land is devoted to agriculture 50 The state s agricultural outputs are cattle sheep wheat sorghum soybeans cotton hogs corn and salt As of 2018 there were 59 600 farms in Kansas 86 0 14 of which are certified organic farms 50 The average farm in the state is about 770 acres more than a square mile and in 2016 the average cost of running the farm was 300 000 50 By far the most significant agricultural crop in the state is wheat Eastern Kansas is part of the Grain Belt an area of major grain production in the central United States Approximately 40 of all winter wheat grown in the US is grown in Kansas 50 Roughly 95 of the wheat grown in the state is hard red winter wheat 50 During 2016 farmers of conventionally grown wheat farmed 8 2 million acres and harvested an average of 57 bushels of wheat per acre 50 The industrial outputs are transportation equipment commercial and private aircraft food processing publishing chemical products machinery apparel petroleum and mining Largest private employers as of 2016 94 Rank Business Employees Location Industry1 Spirit AeroSystems 12 000 Wichita Aviation2 Sprint Corporation 7 600 Overland Park Telecommunications3 Textron Aviation 6 812 Wichita Aviation4 General Motors 4 000 Kansas City Automotive manufacturing5 Bombardier Aerospace 3 500 Wichita Aviation6 Black amp Veatch 3 500 Overland Park Engineering Consulting7 National Beef 3 500 Liberal Food Products8 Tyson Foods 3 200 Holcomb Food Products9 Performance Contracting 2 900 Lenexa Roofing amp siding10 National Beef 2 500 Dodge City Food ProductsThe state s economy is also heavily influenced by the aerospace industry Several large aircraft corporations have manufacturing facilities in Wichita and Kansas City including Spirit AeroSystems Bombardier Aerospace LearJet and Textron Aviation a merger of the former Cessna Hawker and Beechcraft brands Boeing ended a decades long history of manufacturing in Kansas between 2012 and 2013 Major companies headquartered in Kansas include the Garmin Olathe YRC Worldwide Overland Park Payless Shoes national headquarters and major distribution facilities in Topeka and Koch Industries with national headquarters in Wichita and Coleman headquarters in Wichita Kansas is also home to three major military installations Fort Leavenworth Army Fort Riley Army and McConnell Air Force Base Air Force Approximately 25 000 active duty soldiers and airmen are stationed at these bases which also employ approximately 8 000 civilian DoD employees The US Army Reserve also has the 451st Expeditionary Sustainment Command headquartered in Wichita that serves reservists and their units from around the region The Kansas Air National Guard has units at Forbes Field in Topeka and the 184th Intelligence Wing in Wichita The Smoky Hill Weapons Range a detachment of the Intelligence Wing is one of the largest and busiest bombing ranges in the nation During World War II Kansas was home to numerous Army Air Corps training fields for training new pilots and aircrew Many of those airfields live on today as municipal airports Energy Edit Kansas has vast renewable resources and is a top producer of wind energy in the US with an installed capacity of about 6 100 Megawatts MW from nearly 3 200 wind turbines in 2019 Wind generated the largest share of electricity from the state at 41 An additional 700 MW of capacity was scheduled to come online during 2020 Kansas is also a leading national producer of renewable ethanol and biodiesel fuels at nearly 600 million gallons per year 95 Kansas is ranked eighth in US petroleum extraction Production has experienced a steady decline as the state s limited economical reserves especially from the Anadarko Basin are depleted Since oil prices bottomed in 1999 oil production in Kansas has remained fairly constant with an average monthly rate of about 2 8 million barrels 450 000 cubic meters in 2004 The recent higher prices have made carbon dioxide sequestration and other oil recovery techniques more economical Kansas is also ranked eighth in US natural gas production Production has steadily declined since the mid 1990s with the gradual 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 91 cubic kilometers Taxes Edit Main article Kansas Senate Bill Substitute HB 2117 Tax is collected by the Kansas Department of Revenue Revenue shortfalls resulting from lower than expected tax collections and slower growth in personal income following a 1998 permanent tax reduction have contributed to the substantial growth in the state s debt level as bonded debt increased from 1 16 billion in 1998 to 3 83 billion in 2006 Some increase in debt was expected as the state continues with its 10 year Comprehensive Transportation Program enacted in 1999 In 2003 Kansas had three income brackets for income tax calculation ranging from 3 5 to 6 45 The state sales tax in Kansas is 6 15 Various cities and counties in Kansas have an additional local sales tax 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 two rate increases have been enacted If there had been no change in sales tax rates or in the economy the total sales tax collections for 2003 would have been 1 797 million compared to 805 3 million in 1990 However they instead amounted to 1 630 million an inflation adjusted reduction of 10 The state sales tax is a combined destination based tax meaning a single tax is applied that includes state county and local taxes and the rate is based on where the consumer takes possession of the goods or services Thanks to the destination structure and the numerous local special taxing districts Kansas has 920 separate sales tax rates ranging from 6 5 to 11 5 96 This taxing scheme known as Streamlined Sales Tax was adopted on October 1 2005 under the governorship of Kathleen Sebelius 97 Groceries are subject to sales tax in the state All sales tax collected is remitted to the state department of revenue and local taxes are then distributed to the various taxing agencies As of June 2004 Moody s Investors Service ranked the state 14th for net tax supported debt per capita As a percentage of personal income it was at 3 8 above the median value of 2 5 for all rated states and having risen from a value of less than 1 in 1992 The state has a statutory requirement to maintain cash reserves of at least 7 5 of expenses at the end of each fiscal year however lawmakers can vote to override the rule and did so during the most recent budget agreement During his campaign for the 2010 election Governor Sam Brownback called for a complete phase out of Kansas s income tax 98 In May 2012 Governor Brownback signed into law the Kansas Senate Bill Substitute HB 2117 99 Starting in 2013 the ambitious tax overhaul trimmed income tax eliminated some corporate taxes and created pass through income tax exemptions he raised the sales tax by one percent to offset the loss to state revenues but that was inadequate He made cuts to education and some state services to offset lost revenue 100 The tax cut led to years of budget shortfalls culminating in a 350 million budget shortfall in February 2017 From 2013 to 2017 300 000 businesses were considered to be pass through income entities and benefited from the tax exemption The tax reform encouraged tens of thousands of Kansans to claim their wages and salaries as income from a business rather than from employment 92 The economic growth that Brownback anticipated never materialized He argued that it was because of low wheat and oil prices and a downturn in aircraft sales 98 The state general fund debt load was 83 million in fiscal year 2010 and by fiscal year 2017 the debt load sat at 179 million 101 In 2016 Governor Brownback earned the title of most unpopular governor in America Only 26 percent of Kansas voters approved of his job performance compared to 65 percent who said they did not 102 In the summer of 2016 S amp P Global Ratings downgraded Kansas s credit rating 93 In February 2017 S amp P lowered it to AA 93 In February 2017 a bi partisan coalition presented a bill that would repeal the pass through income exemption the most important provisions of Brownback s overhaul and raise taxes to make up for the budget shortfall Brownback vetoed the bill but 45 GOP legislators had voted in favor of the increase while 40 voted to uphold the governor s veto 92 On June 6 2017 a coalition of Democrats and newly elected Republicans overrode Brownback s veto and implemented tax increases to a level close to what it was before 2013 98 Brownback s tax overhaul was described in a June 2017 article in The Atlantic as the United States most aggressive experiment in conservative economic policy 98 The drastic tax cuts had threatened the viability of schools and infrastructure in Kansas 98 Transportation Edit Highways Edit Kansas is served by two Interstate highways with one beltway two spur routes and three bypasses with over 874 miles 1 407 km in all The first section of Interstate in the nation was opened on Interstate 70 I 70 just west of Topeka on November 14 1956 103 I 70 is a major east west route connecting to Denver Colorado and Kansas City Missouri Cities along this route from west to east include Colby Hays Salina Junction City Topeka Lawrence Bonner Springs and Kansas City I 35 is a major north south route connecting to Oklahoma City Oklahoma and Des Moines Iowa Cities along this route from south to north include Wichita El Dorado Emporia Ottawa and Kansas City and suburbs Spur routes serve as connections between the two major routes I 135 a north south route connects I 35 at Wichita to I 70 at Salina I 335 a southwest northeast route connects I 35 at Emporia to I 70 at Topeka I 335 and portions of I 35 and I 70 make up the Kansas Turnpike Bypasses include I 470 around Topeka I 235 around Wichita and I 670 in downtown Kansas City I 435 is a beltway around the Kansas City metropolitan area while I 635 bypasses through Kansas City U S Route 69 US 69 travels south to north from Oklahoma to Missouri The highway passes through the eastern section of Kansas traveling through Baxter Springs Pittsburg Frontenac Fort Scott Louisburg and the Kansas City area Kansas also has the country s third largest state highway system after Texas and California This is because of the high number of counties and county seats 105 and their intertwining In January 2004 the Kansas Department of Transportation KDOT announced the new Kansas 511 traveler information service 104 By dialing 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 Interstate Highways Edit I 35 I 135 formerly known as I 35W I 235 I 335 I 435 I 635 I 70 I 470 I 670 U S Routes Edit US 24 US 36 US 40 US 50 US 54 US 56 US 59 US 159 US 160 US 166 US 69 US 169 US 270 US 73 US 75 US 77 US 177 US 81 US 281 US 83 US 183 US 283 US 400 Aviation Edit The state s only major commercial Class C airport is Wichita Dwight D Eisenhower National Airport located along US 54 on the western edge of the city Manhattan Regional Airport in Manhattan offers daily flights to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Chicago s O Hare International Airport making it the second largest commercial airport in the state 105 Most air travelers in northeastern Kansas fly out of Kansas City International Airport located in Platte County Missouri as well as Topeka Regional Airport in the state s capital In the state s southeastern part people often use Tulsa International Airport in Tulsa Oklahoma or Joplin Regional Airport in Joplin Missouri For those in the far western part of the state Denver International Airport is a popular option Connecting flights are also available from smaller Kansas airports in Dodge City Garden City Hays Hutchinson Liberal or Salina Dotted across the state are smaller regional and municipal airports including the Lawrence Municipal Airport which houses many aircraft for the city of Lawrence and the University of Kansas Miami County Airport Wamego Airport Osage City Municipal Airport which is the headquarters of Skydive Kansas Garden City Regional Airport Manhattan Regional Airport and Dodge City Regional Airport Rail Edit See also List of Kansas railroads The Southwest Chief Amtrak route runs through the state on its route from Chicago to Los Angeles Stops in Kansas include Lawrence Topeka Newton Hutchinson Dodge City and Garden City 106 An Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach connects Newton to the Heartland Flyer in Oklahoma City Oklahoma 107 Amtrak is proposing to modify the Southwest Chief from its status as a direct passenger rail operation Plans call for shortening the route to Los Angeles to Albuquerque Thruway buses would replace the train on the route between Albuquerque and Dodge City where train service east to Chicago would resume 108 Kansas is served by four Class I railroads Amtrak BNSF Kansas City Southern and Union Pacific as well as many shortline railroads 109 Law and government EditState and local politics Edit See also Government of Kansas and Political party strength in Kansas Executive branch The executive branch consists of one officer and five elected officers The governor and lieutenant governor are elected on the same ticket The attorney general secretary of state state treasurer and state insurance commissioner are each elected separately Legislative branch The bicameral Kansas Legislature consists of the Kansas House of Representatives with 125 members serving two year terms and the Kansas Senate with 40 members serving four year terms Judicial branch The judicial branch of the state government is headed by the Kansas Supreme Court The court has seven judges A vacancy is filled by the Governor picking one of three nominees selected by the nine member Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission The board consists of five Kansas lawyers elected by other Kansas lawyers and four members selected by the governor Political culture EditSince the 1930s Kansas has remained one of the most socially conservative states in the nation The 1990s brought the defeat of prominent Democrats including Dan Glickman and the Kansas State Board of Education s 1999 decision to eliminate evolution from the state teaching standards a decision that was later reversed 110 In 2005 voters accepted a constitutional amendment to ban same sex marriage The next year the state passed a law setting a minimum age for marriage at 15 years 111 Kansas s path to a solid Republican state has been examined by journalist and historian Thomas Frank in his 2004 book What s the Matter with Kansas 20th century state politics Edit Kansas was the first state to institute a system of workers compensation 1910 and to regulate the securities industry 1911 Kansas also permitted women s suffrage in 1912 almost a decade before the federal constitution was amended to require it 112 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 model 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 notably the Pendergast Machine in neighboring Kansas City Missouri Kansas was also at the center of Brown v Board of Education of Topeka a 1954 Supreme Court decision that banned racially segregated schools throughout the U S though infamously many Kansas residents opposed the decision and it led to protests in Topeka after the verdict 113 The state backed Republican Presidential Candidates Wendell Willkie and Thomas E Dewey in 1940 and 1944 respectively breaking ranks with the majority of the country in the election of Franklin D Roosevelt Kansas also supported Dewey in 1948 despite the presence of incumbent president Harry S Truman who hailed from Independence Missouri approximately 15 miles 24 km east of the Kansas Missouri state line After Roosevelt carried Kansas in 1936 only one Democrat has won the state since Lyndon B Johnson in 1964 21st century state politics Edit Voter Registration as of September 2022 114 Party Number of voters PercentageRepublican 874 446 44 67 Unaffiliated 543 315 27 75 Democratic 518 651 26 49 Libertarian 21 164 1 08 Total 1 957 576 100 In 2008 Democrat Governor Kathleen Sebelius vetoed permits for the construction of new coal fired energy plants in Kansas saying We know that greenhouse gases contribute to climate change As an agricultural state Kansas is particularly vulnerable Therefore reducing pollutants benefits our state not only in the short term but also for generations of Kansans to come 115 However shortly after Mark Parkinson became governor in 2009 upon Sebelius s resignation to become Secretary of U S Department of Health amp Human Services Parkinson announced a compromise plan to allow construction of a coal fired plant In 2010 Republican Sam Brownback was elected governor with 63 percent of the state vote He was sworn in as governor in 2011 Kansas s first Republican governor in eight years Brownback had established himself as a conservative member of the U S Senate in years prior but made several controversial decisions after becoming governor leading to a 23 approval rating among registered voters the lowest of any governor in the United States 116 In May 2011 much to the opposition of art leaders and enthusiasts in the state Brownback eliminated the Kansas Arts Commission making Kansas the first state without an arts agency 117 In July 2011 Brownback announced plans to close the Lawrence branch of the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services as a cost saving measure Hundreds rallied against the decision 118 Lawrence City Commission later voted to provide the funding needed to keep the branch open 119 Democrat Laura Kelly defeated former Secretary of State of Kansas Kris Kobach in the 2018 election for Governor with 48 0 of the vote 120 121 In August 2022 Kansas voters rejected the controversial Value Them Both Amendment which would have eliminated the right to an abortion in the state constitution The vote was the first referendum on abortion since Roe v Wade was overturned earlier that summer and the result was hailed as a landmark victory for pro choice advocates in the traditionally socially conservative state 122 In a 2020 study Kansas was ranked as the 13th hardest state for citizens to vote in 123 National politics Edit Presidential election resultsUnited States presidential election results for Kansas 124 Year Republican Democratic Third partyNo No No 2020 771 406 56 00 570 323 41 40 35 755 2 60 2016 671 018 56 03 427 005 35 66 99 547 8 31 2012 689 809 59 59 439 908 38 00 27 815 2 40 2008 699 655 56 48 514 765 41 55 24 453 1 97 2004 736 456 62 00 434 993 36 62 16 307 1 37 2000 622 332 58 04 399 276 37 24 50 608 4 72 1996 583 245 54 29 387 659 36 08 103 396 9 62 1992 449 951 38 88 390 434 33 74 316 851 27 38 1988 554 049 55 79 422 636 42 56 16 359 1 65 1984 677 296 66 27 333 149 32 60 11 546 1 13 1980 566 812 57 85 326 150 33 29 86 833 8 86 1976 502 752 52 49 430 421 44 94 24 672 2 58 1972 619 812 67 66 270 287 29 50 25 996 2 84 1968 478 674 54 84 302 996 34 72 91 113 10 44 1964 386 579 45 06 464 028 54 09 7 294 0 85 1960 561 474 60 45 363 213 39 10 4 138 0 45 1956 566 878 65 44 296 317 34 21 3 048 0 35 1952 616 302 68 77 273 296 30 50 6 568 0 73 1948 423 039 53 63 351 902 44 61 13 878 1 76 1944 442 096 60 25 287 458 39 18 4 222 0 58 1940 489 169 56 86 364 725 42 40 6 403 0 74 1936 397 727 45 95 464 520 53 67 3 267 0 38 1932 349 498 44 13 424 204 53 56 18 276 2 31 1928 513 672 72 02 193 003 27 06 6 525 0 91 1924 407 671 61 54 156 319 23 60 98 464 14 86 1920 369 268 64 75 185 464 32 52 15 586 2 73 1916 277 658 44 09 314 588 49 95 37 567 5 96 1912 74 845 20 47 143 663 39 30 147 052 40 23 1908 197 216 52 46 161 209 42 88 17 521 4 66 1904 212 955 64 81 86 174 26 23 29 432 8 96 1900 185 955 52 56 162 601 45 96 5 210 1 47 1896 159 345 47 63 171 675 51 32 3 527 1 05 1892 157 241 48 40 0 0 00 167 664 51 60 1888 182 904 55 23 102 745 31 03 45 500 13 74 1884 154 406 58 08 90 132 33 90 21 310 8 02 1880 121 549 60 40 59 801 29 72 19 886 9 88 1876 78 324 63 10 37 902 30 53 7 908 6 37 1872 66 805 66 46 32 970 32 80 737 0 73 1868 30 027 68 82 13 600 31 17 3 0 01 1864 17 089 79 19 3 836 17 78 655 3 04 See also U S Congressional Delegations from Kansas and United States presidential elections in Kansas Charles Curtis R was born near Topeka and served as a State Legislator Congressman and Senator before becoming Vice President 1929 33 He is the only Native American elected to the Executive Branch he was born into the Kaw Nation The state s current delegation to the Congress of the United States includes Republican Senators Jerry Moran of Manhattan and Roger Marshall of Great Bend In the House of Representatives Kansas is represented by Republican Representatives Tracey Mann of Quinter District 1 Jake LaTurner of Pittsburg District 2 Ron Estes of Wichita District 4 and Democratic Representative Sharice Davids of Kansas City District 3 Davids is the second Native American to represent Kansas in Congress after Republican Charles Curtis Kaw Historically Kansas has been strongly Republican dating from the Antebellum age when the Republican Party was created out of the movement opposing the extension of slavery into Kansas Territory Kansas has not elected a Democrat to the U S Senate since the 1932 election when Franklin D Roosevelt won his first term as president in the wake of the Great Depression This is the longest Senate losing streak for either party in a single state Senator Sam Brownback was a candidate for the Republican party nomination for president in 2008 Brownback was not a candidate for re election to a third full term in 2010 but he was elected Governor in that year s general election Moran defeated Tiahrt for the Republican nomination for Brownback s seat in the August 2010 primary then won a landslide general election victory over Democrat Lisa Johnston The only non Republican presidential candidates Kansas has given its electoral vote to are Populist James Weaver and Democrats Woodrow Wilson Franklin Roosevelt twice and Lyndon Johnson In 2004 George W Bush won the state s six electoral votes by an overwhelming margin of 25 percentage points with 62 of the vote The only two counties to support Democrat John Kerry in that election were Wyandotte which contains Kansas City and Douglas home to the University of Kansas located in Lawrence The 2008 election brought similar results as John McCain won the state with 57 of the votes Douglas Wyandotte and Crawford County were the only counties in support of President Barack Obama 125 Abilene was the boyhood home to Republican president Dwight D Eisenhower and he maintained lifelong ties to family and friends there Kansas was the adult home of two losing Republican candidates Governor Alf Landon in 1936 and Senator Bob Dole in 1996 The New York Times reported in September 2014 that as the Democratic candidate for Senator has tried to drop out of the race independent Greg Orman has attracted enough bipartisan support to seriously challenge the reelection bid of Republican Pat Roberts Kansas politics have been roiled in recent years The rise of the Tea Party and the election of President Obama have prompted Republicans to embrace a purer brand of conservatism and purge what had long been a robust moderate wing from its ranks Mr Roberts has sought to adapt to this new era voting against spending bills that included projects for the state that he had sought 126 State laws Edit See also Alcohol laws of Kansas The legal drinking age in Kansas is 21 In lieu of the state retail sales tax a 10 Liquor Drink Tax is collected for liquor consumed on the licensed premises and an 8 Liquor Enforcement Tax is collected on retail purchases Although the sale of cereal malt beverage also known as 3 2 beer was legalized in 1937 the first post Prohibition legalization of alcoholic liquor did not occur until the state s constitution was amended in 1948 The following year the Legislature enacted the Liquor Control Act which created a system of regulating licensing and taxing and the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control ABC was created to enforce the act The power to regulate cereal malt beverage remains with the cities and counties Liquor by the drink did not become legal until passage of an amendment to the state s constitution in 1986 and additional legislation the following year As of November 2006 Kansas still has 29 dry counties and only 17 counties have passed liquor by the drink with no food sales requirement 127 Today there are more than 2 600 liquor and 4 000 cereal malt beverage licensees in the state 128 On May 12 2022 Gov Laura Kelly signed legislation Senate Bill 84 that legalizes sports betting in the state making Kansas the 35th state to approve sports wagering in the US This would give the four state owned casinos the right to partner with online bookmakers and up to 50 retailers including gas stations and restaurants to engage in sports betting 129 Education EditMain article Education in Kansas Education in Kansas is governed at the primary and secondary school level by the Kansas State Board of Education The state s public colleges and universities are supervised by the Kansas Board of Regents Twice since 1999 the Board of Education has approved changes in the state science curriculum standards that encouraged the teaching of intelligent design Both times the standards were reversed after changes in the composition of the board in the next election Culture Edit The Rio Theatre Overland Park Music Edit Main article Music of Kansas The rock band Kansas was formed in the state capital of Topeka the hometown of several of the band s members Joe Walsh guitarist for the famous rock band the Eagles was born in Wichita Danny Carey drummer for the band Tool was raised in Paola Singers from Kansas include Leavenworth native Melissa Etheridge Sharon native Martina McBride Chanute native Jennifer Knapp whose first album was titled Kansas Kansas City native Janelle Monae and Liberal native Jerrod Niemann The state anthem is the American classic Home on the Range written by Kansan Brewster Higley Another song the official state march adopted by the Kansas Legislature in 1935 is called The Kansas March which features the lyrics Blue sky above us silken strands of heat Rim of the far horizon where earth and heaven meet Kansas as a temple stands in velvet sod Shrine which the sunshine sanctifies to God 130 Literature Edit See also Kansas Notable Book Awards The state s most famous appearance in literature was as the home of Dorothy Gale the main character in the novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 1900 Laura Ingalls Wilder s Little House on the Prairie published in 1935 is another well known tale about Kansas Kansas was also the setting of the 1965 best seller In Cold Blood described by its author Truman Capote as a nonfiction novel Mixing fact and fiction the book chronicles the events and aftermath of the 1959 murder of a wealthy farmer and his family who lived in the small West Kansas town of Holcomb in Finney County The fictional town of Smallville Kansas is the childhood home of Clark Kent Superman in American comic books published by DC Comics Also Keystone City is a Kansas city where The Flash works and lives The science fiction novella A Boy and His Dog as well as the film based on it 131 take place in post apocalyptic Topeka The winner of the 2011 Newbery Medal for excellence in children s literature Moon Over Manifest tells the story of a young and adventurous girl named Abilene who is sent to the fictional town of Manifest Kansas by her father in the summer of 1936 It was written by Kansan Clare Vanderpool Lawrence is the setting for a number of science fiction writer James Gunn s novels Film Edit See also List of films set in Kansas The Plaza Cinema in Ottawa is the oldest operating movie theater in the world Fox Theater Hutchinson The first film theater in Kansas was the Patee Theater in Lawrence Most theaters at the time showed films only as part of vaudeville acts but not as an exclusive and stand alone form of entertainment Though the Patee family had been involved in vaudeville they believed films could carry the evening without other variety acts but in order to show the films it was necessary for the Patee s to establish a generating plant back in 1903 Lawrence was not yet fully electrified The Patee Theater was one of the first of its kind west of the Mississippi River The specialized equipment like the projector came from New York 132 Kansas has been the setting of many award winning and popular American films as well as being the home of some of the oldest operating cinemas in the world The Plaza Cinema in Ottawa Kansas located in the northeastern portion of the state was built on May 22 1907 and it is listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest operating cinema in the world 133 134 In 1926 The Jayhawk Theatre an art deco movie house in Topeka opened its doors for the first time to movie going audiences and today in addition to screenings of independent films the theatre acts as a venue for plays and concerts The Fox Theater in Hutchinson was built in 1930 and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989 135 Like the other theaters listed here The Fox still plays first run movies to this day As was the case with the novel Dorothy Gale portrayed by Judy Garland in the 1939 fantasy film The Wizard of Oz was a young girl who lived in Kansas with her aunt and uncle The line We re not in Kansas anymore has entered into the English lexicon as a phrase describing a wholly new and or unexpected situation 136 The 1967 feature film In Cold Blood like the book on which it was based was set in various locations across Kansas Many of the scenes in the film were filmed at the exact locations where the events profiled in the book took place A 1996 TV miniseries was also based on the book The 1988 film Kansas starred Andrew McCarthy as a traveler who met up with a dangerous wanted drifter played by Matt Dillon The 2005 film Capote for which Philip Seymour Hoffman was awarded the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the title character profiled the author as he traveled across Kansas while writing In Cold Blood although most of the film itself was shot in the Canadian province of Manitoba The setting of The Day After a 1983 made for television movie about a fictional nuclear attack was the city of Lawrence Due to the super hero Superman growing up in the fictional Smallville Kansas multiple films featuring the super hero have been entirely or at least partially set in Kansas including Superman 1978 Superman III 1983 Man of Steel 2013 Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice 2016 and Justice League 2017 The 2012 film Looper is set in Kansas The 1973 film Paper Moon in which Tatum O Neal won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress The youngest to win an Academy Award was based in and filmed in Kansas The film was shot in the small towns of Hays McCracken Wilson and St Joseph Missouri Various shooting locations include the Midland Hotel at Wilson the railway depot at Gorham storefronts and buildings on Main Street in White Cloud Hays sites on both sides of the Missouri River Rulo Bridge and Saint Joseph Missouri Scenes of the 1996 film Mars Attacks took place in the fictional town of Perkinsville Scenes taking place in Kansas were filmed in Burns Lawrence and Wichita The 2007 film The Lookout is set mostly in Kansas although filmed in Canada Specifically two locations Kansas City and the fictional town of Noel Kansas 137 The 2012 documentary The Gridiron was filmed at The University of Kansas The 2014 ESPN documentary No Place Like Home was filmed in Lawrence and the countryside of Douglas County Kansas The 2017 film Thank You for Your Service is primarily set in Kansas including the cities of Topeka and Junction City The 2017 documentary When Kings Reigned was filmed in Lawrence The 2019 film Brightburn took place in the fictional town of Brightburn As is evident with scenes in the film depicting mountains Kansas has no mountain ranges it was filmed in Georgia instead of in Kansas Television Edit The protagonist brothers of the 2005 TV show Supernatural hail from Lawrence with the city referenced numerous times on the show 2006 TV series Jericho was based in the fictitious town of Jericho Kansas surviving post nuclear America Early seasons of Smallville about Superman as a teenager were based in a fictional town of Smallville Kansas Unlike most other adaptations of the Superman story the series also places the fictional city of Metropolis in western Kansas a few hours from Smallville Gunsmoke a radio series western ran from 1952 to 1961 took place in Dodge City Kansas Gunsmoke television series the longest running prime time show of the 20th century ran from September 10 1955 to March 31 1975 for a total of 635 episodes The 2009 Showtime series United States of Tara is set in Overland Park a suburb of Kansas City Sports Edit Professional Edit Children s Mercy Park Kansas City Team Sport League CitySporting Kansas City Soccer Major League Soccer Kansas CitySporting Kansas City II Soccer USL Championship Kansas CityKansas City Monarchs Baseball American Association Kansas CityGarden City Wind Baseball Pecos League Garden CityKaw Valley FC Soccer USL League Two Lawrence Kansas and Topeka KansasSalina Liberty Indoor football Champions Indoor Football SalinaSouthwest Kansas Storm Indoor football Champions Indoor Football Dodge CityTopeka Tropics Indoor football Champions Indoor Football TopekaWichita Thunder Ice hockey ECHL WichitaWichita Force Indoor football Arena Football Association WichitaWichita Wind Surge Baseball Double A Central WichitaSporting Kansas City who have played their home games at Village West in Kansas City since 2008 are the first top tier professional sports league and first Major League Soccer team to be located within Kansas In 2011 the team moved to their new home a 165 million soccer specific stadium now known as Children s Mercy Park Historically Kansans have supported the major league sports teams of Kansas City Missouri including the Kansas City Royals MLB and the Kansas City Chiefs NFL in part because the home stadiums for these teams are a few miles from the Kansas border The Chiefs and the Royals play at the Truman Sports Complex located about 10 miles 16 km from the Kansas Missouri state line FC Kansas City a charter member of the National Women s Soccer League played the 2013 season the first for both the team and the league on the Kansas side of the metropolitan area but played on the Missouri side until folding after the 2017 season From 1973 to 1997 the flagship radio station for the Royals was WIBW in Topeka 138 Some Kansans mostly from the westernmost parts of the state support the professional sports teams of Denver particularly the Denver Broncos of the NFL Two major auto racing facilities are located in Kansas The Kansas Speedway located in Kansas City hosts races of the NASCAR IndyCar and ARCA circuits Also the National Hot Rod Association NHRA holds drag racing events at Heartland Park Topeka The Sports Car Club of America has its national headquarters in Topeka History Edit The history of professional sports in Kansas probably dates from the establishment of the minor league baseball Topeka Capitals and Leavenworth Soldiers in 1886 in the Western League 139 140 The African American Bud Fowler played on the Topeka team that season one year before the color line descended on professional baseball 140 In 1887 the Western League was dominated by a reorganized Topeka team called the Golden Giants a high priced collection of major leaguer players including Bug Holliday Jim Conway Dan Stearns Perry Werden and Jimmy Macullar which won the league by 15 games 140 On April 10 1887 the Golden Giants also won an exhibition game from the defending World Series champions the St Louis Browns the present day Cardinals by a score of 12 9 However Topeka was unable to support the team and it disbanded after one year The first night game in the history of professional baseball was played in Independence on April 28 1930 when the Muscogee Oklahoma Indians beat the Independence Producers 13 3 in a minor league game sanctioned by the Western League of the Western Baseball Association with 1 500 fans attending the game The permanent lighting system was first used for an exhibition game on April 17 1930 between the Independence Producers and House of David semi professional baseball team of Benton Harbor Michigan with the Independence team winning 9 1 before a crowd of 1 700 spectators 141 College Edit David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium is the oldest football stadium west of the Mississippi River and one of the oldest standing football stadiums in the country Built in 1921 it is home to the Kansas Jayhawks football team See also List of college athletic programs in Kansas The governing body for intercollegiate sports in the United States the National Collegiate Athletic Association NCAA was headquartered in Johnson County Kansas from 1952 until moving to Indianapolis in 1999 142 143 NCAA Division I schools Edit Allen Fieldhouse at University of Kansas in Lawrence Tyler Field in Eck Stadium at Wichita State University in Wichita While there are no franchises of the four major professional sports within the state many Kansans are fans of the state s major college sports teams especially the Jayhawks of the University of Kansas KU and the Wildcats of Kansas State University KSU or K State The teams are rivals in the Big 12 Conference Both KU and K State have tradition rich programs in men s basketball The Jayhawks are a perennial national power ranking first in all time victories among NCAA programs The Jayhawks have won six national titles including NCAA tournament championships in 1952 1988 2008 and 2022 They also were retroactively awarded national championships by the Helms Foundation for 1922 and 1923 K State also had a long stretch of success on the hardwood lasting from the 1940s to the 1980s making four Final Fours during that stretch In 1988 KU and K State met in the Elite Eight KU taking the game 71 58 After a 12 year absence the Wildcats returned to the NCAA tournament in 2008 and advanced to the Elite Eight in 2010 and 2018 KU is fifth all time with 15 Final Four appearances while K State s four appearances are tied for 17th Conversely success on the gridiron has been less frequent for both KSU and KU However there have been recent breakthroughs for both schools football teams The Jayhawks won the Orange Bowl for the first time in three tries in 2008 capping a 12 1 season the best in school history And when Bill Snyder arrived to coach at K State in 1989 he turned the Wildcats from one of the worst college football programs in America 144 into a national force for most of the 1990s and early 2000s The team won the Fiesta Bowl in 1997 achieved an undefeated 11 0 regular season and No 1 ranking in 1998 and took the Big 12 Conference championship in 2003 After three seasons in which K State football languished Snyder came out of retirement in 2009 and guided them to the top of the college football ranks again finishing second in the Big 12 in 2011 and earning a berth in the Cotton Bowl and winning the Big 12 again in 2012 Wichita State University which also fields teams called the Shockers in Division I of the NCAA is best known for its baseball and basketball programs In baseball the Shockers won the College World Series in 1989 In men s basketball they appeared in the Final Four in 1965 and 2013 and entered the 2014 NCAA tournament unbeaten The school also fielded a football team from 1897 to 1986 The Shocker football team is tragically known for a plane crash in 1970 that killed 31 people including 14 players NCAA Division II schools Edit Notable success has also been achieved by the state s smaller schools in football Pittsburg State University an NCAA Division II participant has claimed four national titles in football two in the NAIA and most recently the 2011 NCAA Division II national title Pittsburg State became the winningest NCAA Division II football program in 1995 PSU passed Hillsdale College at the top of the all time victories list in the 1995 season on its march to the national runner up finish The Gorillas in 96 seasons of intercollegiate competition have accumulated 579 victories posting a 579 301 48 overall mark Washburn University in Topeka won the NAIA Men s Basketball Championship in 1987 The Fort Hays State University men won the 1996 NCAA Division II title with a 34 0 record and the Washburn women won the 2005 NCAA Division II crown St Benedict s College now Benedictine College in Atchison won the 1954 and 1967 Men s NAIA Basketball Championships The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference has its roots as one of the oldest college sport conferences in existence and participates in the NAIA and all ten member schools are in the state of Kansas Other smaller school conferences that have some members in Kansas are the Mid America Intercollegiate Athletics Association the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference the Midwest Christian College Conference and the Heart of America Athletic Conference Many junior colleges also have active athletic programs Emporia State s women s basketball team under head coach Brandon Schneider who is now serving as the women s basketball coach at the University of Kansas has seen success as well In 2010 the team won the NCAA Division II National Championship Emporia State and Washburn in Topeka share a heated rivalry in all sports mostly due to the close proximity of both cities Junior colleges Edit The Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference has been heralded as one of the best conferences in all of NJCAA football with Garden City Community College Independence Community College and Butler County Community College all consistently in contention for national championships High school Edit The Kansas State High School Activities Association KSHSAA is the organization which oversees interscholastic competition in the state of Kansas at the high school level It oversees both athletic and non athletic competition and sponsors championships in several sports and activities The association is perhaps best known for devising the overtime system now used for almost all football games below the professional level which has also been adopted at all levels of Canadian football See also Edit Kansas portal United States portalIndex of Kansas related articles Outline of Kansas List of Kansas landmarks List of people from Kansas National Register of Historic Places listings in KansasNotes Edit The Kansas City area is the largest metropolitan and urban area in the state alone however the Wichita metropolitan area is the largest centered in the state References Edit Riney Kehrberg Pamela Wholesome Home Baked Goodness Kansas the Wheat State PDF Kansas History A Journal of the Central Plains Kansas State Historical Society Spring 2011 60 69 New vanity tag rule spurs drivers creativity a b Kansas Nicknames Kansapedia Kansas Historical Society What is the State Nickname of Kansas April 23 2022 Nicknames America s 50 States Second of Four Parts a b c Geography US Census Bureau State Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates Archived from the original on March 16 2018 Retrieved May 31 2016 USGS Howard Perlman Area of each state that is water Archived from the original on June 25 2016 a b Kansas Geography from NETSTATE Archived from the original on June 4 2016 a b Elevations and Distances in the United States United States Geological Survey 2001 Archived from the original on October 15 2011 Retrieved October 21 2011 a b Elevation adjusted to North American Vertical Datum of 1988 Median Annual Household Income The Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation Archived from the original on December 20 2016 Retrieved December 9 2016 Bureau U S Census U S Census website United States Census Bureau Retrieved February 7 2019 Traditions May 6 2019 Governor s Signature Makes English the Official Language of Kansas US English May 11 2007 Archived from the original on July 10 2007 Retrieved August 6 2008 Current Lists of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas and Delineations Archived from the original on January 27 2017 Kansas Historical Quarterly A Review of Early Navigation on the Kansas River Kansas Historical Society Kshs org Retrieved August 15 2012 Kansas history page Retrieved April 13 2019 The Encyclopedia of Kansas 1994 ISBN 0 403 09921 8 John Koontz p c Rankin Robert 2005 Quapaw In Native Languages of the Southeastern United States eds Heather K Hardy and Janine Scancarelli Lincoln University of Nebraska Press p 492 Connelley William E 1918 Indians Archived February 11 2007 at the Wayback Machine A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans ch 10 vol 1 Today in History January 29 Memory loc gov Archived from the original on July 27 2010 Retrieved July 31 2010 Kansas Quick Facts governor ks gov Archived from the original on May 11 2011 Retrieved December 30 2010 Kansas Agriculture Kansas Department of Agriculture Archived from the original on September 20 2015 Retrieved September 14 2015 2020 Census PDF Census gov April 26 2021 Mount Sunflower Kansas United States peakery April 3 2011 Archived from the original on April 3 2011 Bright William 2004 Native American placenames of the United States Norman University of Oklahoma Press p 47 ISBN 0 8061 3576 X OCLC 53019644 Cazorla Frank G Baena Rosa Polo David Reder Gadow Marion 2019 Luis de Unzaga 1717 1793 Pioneer in the birth of the United States and in the liberalism Foundation Malaga Partin John W Partin 1983 A Brief History of Fort Leavenworth PDF Archived PDF from the original on April 12 2019 Retrieved January 24 2019 Jones Gray Ghosts and Rebel Riders Holt amp Co 1956 p 76 Less of Oratory and More Work Novel Platform Alliance Ohio The Alliance Review and Leader April 21 1922 Mrs W D Mowry Dies Emporia Kansas The Emporia Gazette August 2 1923 p 5 Pioneer Woman Candidate for Governor Dies Mrs W D Mowry on Republican Ticket in Primary Last Year Concordia Kansas Concordia Blade Empire August 2 1923 front page Kansas Land Area County Rank www usa com Kansas Is Flatter Than a Pancake Improbable com Archived from the original on July 30 2010 Retrieved July 31 2010 Highest Lowest and Mean Elevations in the United States infoplease com Retrieved May 20 2018 Fracas over Kansas pancake flap Geotimes org Archived from the original on January 24 2004 Retrieved July 31 2010 Kansas National Park Service Archived from the original on December 17 2006 Retrieved July 15 2008 Kansas Natural Heritage Inventory Rare plants and animals and natural communities Kansas Biological Survey February 12 2013 Retrieved March 16 2021 Kansas Natural Heritage Inventory January 9 2014 Rare Vertebrates Kansas PDF Kansas Natural Heritage Inventory January 9 2014 Rare Vertebrates of Kansas PDF K State Research and Extension Native Plants PDF www johnson k state edu Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses www kswildflower org Retrieved March 16 2021 Annual Average Number of Tornadoes 1953 2004 National Climatic Data Center Archived from the original on October 16 2011 Retrieved October 25 2006 Concordia Weather Kansas Average Temperatures and Rainfall countrystudies us Archived from the original on November 3 2016 Retrieved April 9 2016 Dodge City Weather Kansas Average Temperatures and Rainfall countrystudies us Archived from the original on March 5 2016 Retrieved April 9 2016 Goodland Weather Kansas Average Temperatures and Rainfall countrystudies us Archived from the original on March 4 2016 Retrieved April 9 2016 Topeka Weather Kansas Average Temperatures and Rainfall countrystudies us Archived from the original on March 5 2016 Retrieved April 9 2016 Wichita Weather Kansas Average Temperatures and Rainfall countrystudies us Archived from the original on March 4 2016 Retrieved April 9 2016 QuickFacts Kansas UNITED STATES 2018 Population Estimates United States Census Bureau Population Division March 3 2019 Retrieved March 3 2019 Cumulative Estimates of the Components of Population Change for the United States Regions and States April 1 2000 to July 1 2006 Population Estimates US Census Bureau Population Division December 22 2006 NST EST2006 04 archived from the original on September 16 2004 Kansas population has increased at a decreasing rate reducing the number of congressmen from 5 to 4 in 1992 Congressional Redistricting Act eff 1992 Wright John W ed 2007 Almanac The New York Times p 178 ISBN 9780143112334 Population and Population Centers by State US Census Bureau 2000 Archived from the original on February 23 2010 Retrieved December 5 2008 a b c d e f g Brown Corie April 26 2018 Rural Kansas is dying I drove 1 800 miles to find out why New Food Economy Retrieved May 16 2018 Historical Population Change Data 1910 2020 Census gov United States Census Bureau Archived from the original on April 29 2021 Retrieved May 1 2021 U S Census Bureau QuickFacts Kansas Census gov Archived from the original on May 17 2022 Retrieved February 15 2022 Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals By Race 1790 to 1990 and By Hispanic Origin 1970 to 1990 For The United States Regions Divisions and States July 25 2008 Archived from the original on July 25 2008 Kansas Statistical Abstract Population in Kansas and the U S by Race Page 7 PDF ipsr ku edu Center for New Media and Promotions C2PO 2010 Census Data Race and Ethnicity in the United States 2010 Census and 2020 Census U S Census Bureau August 12 2021 Retrieved August 12 2021 Kansas Social demographics American Community Survey Office 2006 Archived from the original on September 10 2004 Retrieved July 31 2010 Exner Rich June 3 2012 Americans under age 1 now mostly minorities but not in Ohio Statistical Snapshot The Plain Dealer Archived from the original on July 14 2016 Languages Kansas City data com Retrieved September 4 2019 a b Pew Research Center Religious Landscape Study Religious composition of adults in Kansas Archived May 18 2015 at the Wayback Machine 2014 The Association of Religion Data Archives State Membership Report www thearda com Archived from the original on November 12 2013 Retrieved November 12 2013 Herrmann Duane L 1997 Early Baha is of Enterprise Topeka Buffalo Press ISBN 1 879448 11 4 Westboro Baptist protests at Atlanta HBCU graduation ceremonies 11Alive com May 19 2019 Retrieved May 2 2021 Anti LGBTQ hate groups on the rise in U S report warns NBC News Retrieved May 2 2021 Westboro Baptist Church Southern Poverty Law Center Archived from the original on March 6 2011 Fitzgerald Daniel C KS extinct locations archived from the original on December 6 2012 Population Estimates U S Census Bureau US Census Retrieved August 4 2022 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Births Final Data for 2013 PDF National Vital Statistics Reports CDC January 15 2015 Archived PDF from the original on September 11 2017 Retrieved June 7 2017 Births Final Data for 2014 PDF National Vital Statistics Reports CDC December 23 2015 Archived PDF from the original on February 14 2017 Retrieved June 7 2017 Births Final Data for 2015 PDF National Vital Statistics Reports CDC January 5 2017 Archived PDF from the original on August 31 2017 Retrieved June 7 2017 data PDF www cdc gov Data PDF www cdc gov Retrieved May 17 2019 Data PDF www cdc gov Retrieved December 2 2019 Data PDF www cdc gov Retrieved March 29 2021 Data PDF www cdc gov Retrieved February 20 2022 US Health Map Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation University of Washington Retrieved December 27 2020 Kansas Life Expectancy Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Retrieved December 28 2020 Mortality in the United States 2019 PDF Centers for Disease Control Retrieved June 25 2021 Miller Rober B 2013 Bonner Springs Images of America USA Arcadia Publishing Publishing p 7 ISBN 978 1 4671 1043 3 N A Wichita city Kansas a b c Go Wichita Convention and Visitors Bureau Gowichita com Archived from the original on July 19 2013 Retrieved September 28 2013 Annual estimates of the population through July 1 2006 Population Estimates US Census Bureau Population Division June 28 2007 Archived from the original on December 6 2006 The Blackwell Tornado of 25 May 1955 NWS Norman Oklahoma June 13 2006 Archived from the original on October 8 2006 Retrieved January 28 2007 McCORMICK PETER J THE 1992 SECESSION MOVEMENT IN SOUTHWEST KANSAS digitalcommons unl edu 2017 Kansas Economic Report Retrieved April 8 2020 2020 Economic Forecast Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce Retrieved April 8 2020 U S Census Bureau QuickFacts Kansas www census gov U S Bureau of Economic Analysis BEA Bea gov 2016 Archived from the original on July 7 2010 Retrieved February 26 2017 Abouhalkah Yael T November 30 2015 Kansas has low but misleading unemployment rate under Gov Sam Brownback archived from the original on February 27 2017 retrieved February 26 2017 Occupational Employment Statistics OES OES Home 2016 Kansas Wage Survey PDF 2016 archived PDF from the original on January 24 2017 retrieved February 26 2017 Local Area Unemployment Statistics Bls gov Archived from the original on August 28 2010 Retrieved February 26 2017 a b c Max Ehrenfreund February 22 2017 Republicans real live experiment with Kansas s economy survives a revolt from their own party The Washington Post archived from the original on February 24 2017 retrieved February 25 2017 a b c Blinder Alan February 22 2017 Kansas Lawmakers Uphold Governor s Veto of Tax Increases The New York Times retrieved February 25 2017 Kansas Department of Commerce Official Website Economic Overview Charts Kansascommerce com Archived from the original on December 15 2017 Retrieved April 4 2018 Kansas State Energy Profile Analysis U S Energy Information Administration Retrieved April 1 2021 Publication 1700 Kansas Department of Revenue Archived from the original on April 5 2018 Retrieved April 4 2018 Streamlined Sales Tax Kansas Streamlined Sales Tax Archived from the original on April 5 2018 Retrieved April 4 2018 a b c d e Berman Russell June 7 2017 The Death of Kansas s Conservative Experiment The Atlantic Archived from the original on June 12 2017 Retrieved June 7 2017 Senate Substitute for HB 2117 by Committee on Taxation Reduction of income tax rates for individuals and determination of income tax credits severance tax exemptions homestead property tax refunds food sales tax refunds Archived from the original on October 30 2014 Retrieved October 29 2014 Editorial Board April 13 2013 Editorial Louisiana s lawmakers realize what Missouri s don t Income tax cuts are suicidal Archived from the original on August 20 2014 Retrieved February 25 2017 Carpenter Tim Kansas state government bond debt surges 2 billion since 2010 The Topeka Capital Retrieved May 2 2018 America s Most and Least Popular Governors Morning Consult Morning Consult Retrieved May 2 2018 I 70 the First Open Interstate Kansas Department of Transportation July 24 2014 archived from the original on October 26 2016 retrieved October 7 2016 KDOT Launches New Traveler Information Service Press release Kansas Department of Transportation January 22 2004 Archived from the original on January 18 2006 Retrieved July 14 2006 Manhattan Airport Official Site Archived from the original on May 29 2010 Retrieved July 14 2010 Amtrak Southwest Chief Amtrak Archived from the original on July 6 2017 Retrieved August 13 2017 Wichita Returns to the Amtrak Map Amtrak April 18 2016 Archived from the original on August 13 2017 Retrieved August 13 2017 Ben Kuebrich Amtrak May End Passenger Rail Service in West Kansas Moran Amtrak Is Not Doing Its Job KCUR June 28 2018 Retrieved April 8 2020 Kansas State Railroad Map 2017 PDF Kansas Department of Transportation Archived PDF from the original on June 29 2017 Retrieved August 14 2017 Vote by Kansas School Board Favors Evolution s Doubters Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on February 3 2013 Kansas Lawmakers Set Minimum Marriage Age to 15 Fox News May 5 2006 Archived from the original on November 19 2012 Retrieved March 10 2021 Scott and Scott 1982 p 166 Civil Rights Movement NCpedia Retrieved August 20 2021 Voter Registration Statistics Kansas Secretary of State Retrieved August 21 2021 Kansas Governor Rejects Two Coal Fired Power Plants Ens newswire com March 21 2008 Archived from the original on February 2 2011 Retrieved July 31 2010 Here Are America s Least and Most Popular Governors MorningConsultant com Archived from the original on December 20 2016 Kansas governor eliminates state s art funding Los Angeles Times May 31 2011 p m Archived from the original on September 17 2011 Retrieved October 12 2011 Hittle Shaun July 16 2011 Hundreds rally against closing SRS office ljworld com Archived from the original on July 22 2011 Retrieved October 12 2011 Lawrence City Commission approves funding for SRS office ljworld com August 9 2011 Archived from the original on March 24 2012 Retrieved October 12 2011 Smith Mitch November 6 2018 Laura Kelly a Kansas Democrat Tops Kobach in Governor s Race The New York Times Archived from the original on January 3 2022 Retrieved April 29 2020 Shorman Jonathan Woodall Hunter November 8 2018 Democrat Laura Kelly defeats Kris Kobach to become Kansas next governor The Wichita Eagle Material Retrieved April 29 2020 Kansas abortion vote Major victory for pro choice groups BBC News August 3 2022 Retrieved October 30 2022 J Pomante II Michael Li Quan December 15 2020 Cost of Voting in the American States 2020 Election Law Journal Rules Politics and Policy 19 4 503 509 doi 10 1089 elj 2020 0666 S2CID 225139517 Retrieved January 14 2022 Leip David Presidential General Election Results Comparison Kansas US Election Atlas Retrieved January 2 2023 2008 Election Results Kansas CNN Archived from the original on November 7 2008 Retrieved July 31 2010 Jonathan Martin National G O P Moves to Take Over Campaign of Kansas Senator New York Times September 4 2014 Archived September 11 2017 at the Wayback Machine Liquor Licensee and Supplier Information Alcoholic Beverage Control Kansas Department of Revenue Archived from the original on December 8 2006 Retrieved January 18 2007 History of Alcoholic Beverages in Kansas Alcoholic Beverage Control Kansas Department of Revenue 2000 Archived from the original on January 17 2007 Retrieved January 18 2007 Kansas Legalizes Online and Retail Sports Wagering casinoreviews net May 16 2022 Retrieved May 18 2022 Kansas March Kansapedia Kansas Historical Society www kshs org Eder Richard June 17 1976 A Boy and His Dog The New York Times Butters Gerald R 2007 Banned in Kansas Motion Picture Censorship 1915 1966 University of Missouri Press ISBN 9780826217493 Guinness World Records Kansas venue is world s oldest cinema Kansas City Star March 8 2018 Retrieved July 9 2019 Oldest purpose built cinema in operation Guinness World Records Retrieved July 9 2019 Data npgallery nps gov Retrieved May 17 2019 PBR Toto we re not in Kansas any more BBC Newsnight December 9 2009 Archived from the original on February 11 2014 The Lookout PDF dailyscript com Archived PDF from the original on May 12 2013 Making Airwaves Through History Findarticles com December 2 2002 Archived from the original on May 15 2011 Retrieved July 31 2010 Evans Harold 1940 Baseball in Kansas 1867 1940 Kansas Historical Quarterly Archived from the original on March 16 2008 Retrieved February 18 2008 a b c Madden W C Stewart Patrick 2002 The Western League A Baseball History 1885 through 1999 ISBN 978 0 7864 1003 3 Bowman Larry G I Think It Is Pretty Ritzy Myself Kansas Minor League Teams and Night Baseball Kansas History Winter 1995 1996 pp 248 257 Kansas Historical Society Retrieved May 25 2013 Jim Davis Loss of NCAA headquarters not related to incentives Archived April 10 2017 at the Wayback Machine Kansas City Business Journal June 8 1997 Sam Epstein Sports Law Cengage Learning 2013 p 19 Looney Douglas September 4 1989 Futility U Sports Illustrated Bibliography EditSee also Longer list of books about the history of Kansas Mechem Kirke 1956 The Annals of Kansas 1911 to 1925 Kansas Historical Society 559 pages Mechem Kirke 1954 The Annals of Kansas 1886 to 1910 Kansas Historical Society 535 pages Wilder Daniel W 1886 The Annals of Kansas 1541 to 1885 Kansas Publishing House 1204 pages Connelley William E ed 1918 A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans Lewis Publishing Company 5 volumes 2731 pages Vol1 Vol2 Vol3 Vol4 Vol5 the 1919 edition contains additional biographies Connelley William E 1916 History of Kansas Newspapers A History of the Newspapers and Magazines Published in Kansas from 1854 to 1916 Kansas Historical Society 369 pages Blackmar Frank W ed 1912 Kansas A Cyclopedia of State History Embracing Events Institutions Industries Counties Cities Towns Prominent Persons Etc Standard Publishing Co 3 volumes 2723 pages Vol1 Vol2 Vol3 Everts Louis H ed 1887 Official State Atlas of Kansas L H Everts amp Co 610 pages Cutler William G ed 1883 History of the State of Kansas A T Andreas Publisher Archived from the original on November 9 2018 3 volumes 1616 pages Hathi Trust Internet Archive Robinson Sara 1856 Kansas Its Interior and Exterior Life Crosby Nichols and Company External links EditKansas at Wikipedia s sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Commons News from Wikinews Quotations from Wikiquote Texts from Wikisource Textbooks from Wikibooks Travel information from Wikivoyage Resources from Wikiversity State of Kansas Kansas at Curlie Kansas Travel and Tourism Division Kansas Historical Society Kansas Memory documents photographs and other primary sources provided by the Kansas Historical Society Kansas State Agency Databases Annotated list of searchable databases produced by Kansas state agencies USGS real time geographic and other scientific resources of Kansas Kansas State Facts from USDAMaps Kansas Department of Transportation mapsKansas Highway Map PDF KSDOT 2019 Kansas Railroad Map PDF KSDOT 2019 Access state county city railroad and other maps Kansas Memory digital portal the Kansas State Historical Society Geographic data related to Kansas at OpenStreetMap Kansas Maps Perry Castaneda Library map collection The University of Texas Preceded byOregon List of U S states by date of statehoodAdmitted on January 29 1861 34th Succeeded byWest Virginia Coordinates 38 N 98 W 38 N 98 W 38 98 State of Kansas Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kansas amp oldid 1134832994, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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