Portal:Kansas

The Kansas Portal

Kansas (/ˈkænzəs/ ^ⓘ KAN-zəss) is a landlocked state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north, Colorado to the west, Oklahoma to the south, and Missouri to the east. Kansas is named after the Kansas River, in turn named after the Kansa people. Its capital is Topeka, and its most populous city is Wichita; however, the largest urban area is the bi-state Kansas City metropolitan area surrounding Kansas City, Missouri, which straddles the border of Kansas and Missouri.

For thousands of years, what is now known as Kansas was home to numerous and diverse Indigenous tribes. The first settlement of non-indigenous people 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, conflict between abolitionist Free-Staters from New England and pro-slavery settlers from neighboring Missouri broke out over the question of whether Kansas would become a free state or a slave state, in a period known as Bleeding Kansas. On January 29, 1861, Kansas entered the Union as a free state, hence the unofficial nickname "The Free State". Passage of the Homestead Acts in 1862 brought a further influx of settlers, and the booming cattle trade of the 1870s attracted some of the Wild West's most iconic figures to western Kansas.

As of 2015, Kansas was among the most productive agricultural states, producing high yields of wheat, corn, sorghum, and soybeans. In addition to its traditional strength in agriculture, Kansas possesses an extensive aerospace industry. Kansas, which has an area of 82,278 square miles (213,100 square kilometers) is the 15th-largest state by area, the 36th most-populous of the 50 states, with a population of 2,940,865 according to the 2020 census, and the 10th least densely populated. Residents of Kansas are called Kansans or Jayhawkers. Mount Sunflower is Kansas's highest point at 4,039 feet (1,231 meters). (Full article...)

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Interstate 470 (I-470) is a 13.72-mile (22.08 km) loop highway that bypasses the downtown area of Topeka, Kansas. I-470 begins at an interchange with I-70 in western Topeka and heads generally southeast, running concurrent with U.S. Highway 75 (US-75). The concurrency with US-75 ends 5.74 miles (9.24 km) later at the Burlingame Road interchange. I-470 becomes part of the Kansas Turnpike at its junction with I-335. From there, the highway heads generally northeast through the southeastern sections of Topeka. After traveling 7.03 miles (11.31 km) as the Kansas Turnpike, I-470 reaches its eastern terminus at I-70. The highway has annual average daily traffic (AADT) values as high as 43,000 west of Gage Boulevard to as low as 10,370 near the eastern terminus. As an Interstate Highway, I-470 is a part of the National Highway System. The non-turnpike portions of the highway are maintained by the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT), while the turnpike portion is maintained by the Kansas Turnpike Authority (KTA).

The Kansas Turnpike was opened in the 1950s, comprising the eastern portion of the route. In the late 1950s, construction began on the western portion of I-470, and, on October 21, 1960, the western section of I-470 was dedicated and opened to traffic. In 1982, I-470 was designated as "Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Highway". The routing of I-470 has not changed since the completion of the highway. (Full article...)

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Credit: Michael Overton
Big Brutus Note people standing near the bottom "treads" to gain perspective of this 160 feet (49 m) machine.

Important dates in Kansas' history

July–August 1541: Coronado explores Kansas
April 30, 1803: Louisiana Purchase Treaty signed
May 30, 1854: Kansas Territory organized
July 29, 1859: Constitution adopted by convention
January 29, 1861: Kansas becomes 34th state
August 21, 1863: Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence
Spring 1879: Exodusters
February 19, 1881: First state to Constitutionally prohibit alcohol
1890s: Populist Revolt
July 1951: Great Flood of 1951
May 17, 1954: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

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State facts

Nickname: The Sunflower State
Capital: Topeka
Largest city: Wichita
Governor: Laura Kelly (D)
Total area: 213,096 square kilometers (82,277 square miles)
Population (2000 census): 2,688,418
Date admitted to the Union: January 29, 1861
Senators: Jerry Moran (R), Roger Marshall (R)
Representatives: Tracey Mann (R), Jake LaTurner (R), Ron Estes (R), Sharice Davids (D)

State symbols:

Amphibian: Barred tiger salamander
Fish: Channel catfish
Bird: Western meadowlark
Flower: Sunflower
Insect: European honey bee
Mammal: Bison
Motto: Ad astra per aspera, or "To the stars through difficulties"
Reptile: Ornate Box turtle
Song: "Home on the Range"
Tree: Populus angustifolia

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The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital in Kansas City, Kansas; and the Edwards Campus in Overland Park. There are also educational and research sites in Garden City, Hays, Leavenworth, Parsons, and Topeka, an agricultural education center in rural north Douglas County, and branches of the medical school in Salina and Wichita. The university is a member of the Association of American Universities and classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".

Founded March 21, 1865, the university was opened in 1866 under a charter granted by the Kansas State Legislature in 1864 and legislation passed in 1863 under the state constitution, which was adopted two years after the 1861 admission of the former Kansas Territory as the 34th state into the Union. (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various Kansas-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Samuel Seymour's 1819 illustration of a Kansa lodge and dance is the oldest drawing known to be done in Kansas. (from History of Kansas)
Image 2The Rio Theatre, Overland Park (from Kansas)
Image 3Pittsburg (from Kansas)
Image 4The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Wichita (from Kansas)
Image 5Kansas's Monument Rocks at night
Image 6Sunflower field outside of Lawrence (from Kansas)
Image 7Temporary quarters for Volga Germans in central Kansas, 1875 (from History of Kansas)
Image 8An example of a custom Kansas rear license plate. Kansas allows residents to purchase license plates with college and university logos on them for an extra fee. (from Kansas)
Image 9Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence (from Kansas)
Image 10George Armstrong Custer led U.S. troops against Native Americans in western Kansas. (from History of Kansas)
Image 11John Brown about 1856 (from History of Kansas)
Image 12Pond in Osage County, Kansas (from Kansas)
Image 13The Orpheum, a historic movie theater in Wichita (from Kansas)
Image 14Frank Bond's illustration of the Louisiana Purchase (from History of Kansas)
Image 15The Cosmosphere, the world-renowned space museum in Hutchinson (from Kansas)
Image 16The Kansas Pacific main line shown on an 1869 map (from History of Kansas)
Image 17Population density map of Kansas in 2020 (from Kansas)
Image 18Kanopolis State Park (from Kansas)
Image 19Downtown Wichita in the winter (from Kansas)
Image 20Clouds in northeastern Kansas (from Kansas)
Image 21The Great Seal of the State of Kansas was established by the legislature on May 25, 1861. The design was submitted by Senator John James Ingalls. He also proposed the state motto, "Ad astra per aspera", which means "to the stars through difficulty". (from History of Kansas)
Image 22The Plaza Cinema in Ottawa is the oldest operating movie theater in the world. (from Kansas)

Map of counties in Kansas by racial plurality, per the 2020 U.S. census

Legend

Non-Hispanic White

30–40%

50–60%

60–70%

70–80%

80–90%

90%+

Hispanic or Latino

50–60%

60–70%

(from Kansas)

Image 24Map of Kansas and Missouri with Kansas City metro counties (from Kansas)
Image 25Kansas welcome sign on K-96 (from Kansas)
Image 261855 Free-State poster (from History of Kansas)
Image 27Largest alone or in any combination ethnic origin by county in Kansas, per the 2020 census (from Kansas)
Image 28Tyler Field in Eck Stadium at Wichita State University in Wichita (from Kansas)
Image 29University of Kansas Strong Hall in Lawrence (from Kansas)
Image 30Ethnic origins in Kansas (from Kansas)
Image 31Chippewa named "One-Called-From-A-Distance" (from History of Kansas)
Image 32Charles 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). (from Kansas)
Image 33Spring River, Kansas (from Kansas)
Image 34Gove County Badlands (from Kansas)
Image 35Quantrill's 1863 raid burned the town of Lawrence and killed 164 townspeople. (from History of Kansas)
Image 361915–1918 Kansas railroad map (from Kansas)
Image 37Köppen climate types of Kansas, using 1991–2020 climate normals (from Kansas)
Image 38Boeing B-29 Superfortress production in Wichita in 1944 (from History of Kansas)
Image 39The Santa Fe Depot, a U.S. National Register of Historic Places building, in Osage City (from Kansas)
Image 40Boosterism: cover of a promotional booklet published in 1907 by the Rock Island railroad (from History of Kansas)
Image 41The chalk rock badlands and cliffs in western Kansas, near Dighton (from Kansas)
Image 42Kansas residents who are veterans, work as a first responder, and people who work in agriculture may request a custom plate reflecting their profession. (from Kansas)
Image 43Allen Fieldhouse at University of Kansas in Lawrence (from Kansas)
Image 44The Kansas Statehouse (from Kansas)
Image 45Cedar Point Mill, built in 1875 in Cedar Point, on the National Register of Historic Places (from Kansas)
Image 46Sporting Park, Kansas City (from Kansas)
Image 47Map of Indian territories, 1836 (from History of Kansas)
Image 48Reverend Charles Sheldon, Topeka resident and coiner of the phrase "What would Jesus do?" (from Kansas)
Image 49The Great Plains of Kansas (from Kansas)
Image 50David 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. (from Kansas)

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