Portal:Kansas

The Kansas Portal

Kansas (/ˈkænzəs/ ^ⓘ KAN-zəss) is a landlocked state in the Great Plains 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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Official portrait, 2015

Mary Isenhour is an American political strategist, campaign manager, and government official who served as a member of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board from 2019 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as the Chief of Staff to the Governor of Pennsylvania from 2015 to 2017, and the Pennsylvania Secretary of Legislative Affairs in 2015.

Isenhour also previously worked as executive director of the Pennsylvania House Democratic Campaign Committee, and started a political consulting firm with former state party chairman T.J. Rooney. In 2010, PoliticsPA called her "one of the top consultants in the state", and said, "few can move between the strategy of campaigning and its mechanics with the ease that she does". (Full article...)

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Credit: Edwin Olson
A view of the Flint Hills in eastern Kansas.

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 headquarters of the Westboro Baptist Church with the sign "godhatesamerica.com". The graffiti on the sign reads "God Hates The Phelps".

The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is an American unaffiliated Primitive Baptist church in Topeka, Kansas, that was founded in 1955 by pastor Fred Phelps. Widely considered a hate group and a cult, it is well known for its public protests against gay people and for its usage of the phrases "God hates fags" and "Thank God for dead soldiers". It also engages in hate speech against atheists, Jews, Muslims, transgender people, and other Christian denominations. The WBC's theology and practices are widely condemned by other Christian churches, including the Baptist World Alliance and the Southern Baptist Convention, and by politicians and public figures including former U.S. president Barack Obama.

WBC started protesting against homosexuality in 1989. Within a few years, the group expanded to protesting across the country at both private and public events, including at funerals, sports games, and concerts. The group staged protests at the funerals for victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and the West Nickel Mines School shooting. The group is also known to deface the American flag or fly it upside down while protesting, drawing counter-protests. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1Chippewa named "One-Called-From-A-Distance" (from History of Kansas)
Image 2Population density map of Kansas in 2020 (from Kansas)
Image 3The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Wichita (from Kansas)
Image 4Pittsburg (from Kansas)
Image 5Kansas highway map (from Kansas)
Image 6Albert Bierstadt, Western Kansas, 1875 (from Kansas)
Image 7The chalk rock badlands and cliffs in western Kansas, near Dighton (from Kansas)
Image 8The Cosmosphere, the world-renowned space museum in Hutchinson (from Kansas)
Image 91855 Free-State poster (from History of Kansas)
Image 10Pond in Osage County, Kansas (from Kansas)
Image 11Fox Theater, Hutchinson (from Kansas)
Image 12Boeing B-29 Superfortress production in Wichita in 1944 (from History of Kansas)
Image 13The Rio Theatre, Overland Park (from Kansas)
Image 14Rev. Richard Cordley, the first graduate of the University of Kansas, and nicknamed "The Abolition Preacher", due to his strong views against slavery, and his influence on Kansas's founding as a free state (from Kansas)
Image 15The Kansas Statehouse (from Kansas)
Image 16Map of Kansas and Missouri with Kansas City metro counties (from Kansas)
Image 17Spring River, Kansas (from Kansas)
Image 18Gove County Badlands (from Kansas)
Image 19Kansas summer wheat and storm panorama (from Kansas)
Image 20Sunflower field outside of Lawrence (from Kansas)
Image 21Quantrill's 1863 raid burned the town of Lawrence and killed 164 townspeople. (from History of Kansas)
Image 22The Great Plains of Kansas (from Kansas)
Image 23Map of Indian territories, 1836 (from History of Kansas)
Image 24Downtown Wichita in the winter (from Kansas)
Image 25Ethnic origins in Kansas (from Kansas)
Image 26The Kansas Pacific main line shown on an 1869 map (from History of Kansas)
Image 27Frank Bond's illustration of the Louisiana Purchase (from History of Kansas)
Image 281915–1918 Kansas railroad map (from Kansas)
Image 29The 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 30Kanopolis State Park (from Kansas)
Image 31Temporary quarters for Volga Germans in central Kansas, 1875 (from History of Kansas)
Image 32Sporting Park, Kansas City (from Kansas)
Image 33Samuel 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 34Largest alone or in any combination ethnic origin by county in Kansas, per the 2020 census (from Kansas)
Image 35Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence (from Kansas)
Image 36Clouds in northeastern Kansas (from Kansas)
Image 37David 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)
Image 38Kansas welcome sign on K-96 (from Kansas)
Image 39John Brown about 1856 (from History of Kansas)
Image 40NRC workers at the Wolf Creek Nuclear Power Plant in Burlington (from Kansas)
Image 41George Armstrong Custer led U.S. troops against Native Americans in western Kansas. (from History of Kansas)
Image 42University of Kansas Strong Hall in Lawrence (from Kansas)
Image 43Cedar Point Mill, built in 1875 in Cedar Point, on the National Register of Historic Places (from Kansas)
Image 44Allen Fieldhouse at University of Kansas in Lawrence (from Kansas)
Image 45Standard Kansas license plate, 2018–2024 (from Kansas)
Image 46Reverend Charles Sheldon, Topeka resident and coiner of the phrase "What would Jesus do?" (from Kansas)
Image 47Kansas 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 48Tyler Field in Eck Stadium at Wichita State University in Wichita (from Kansas)
Image 49Köppen climate types of Kansas, using 1991–2020 climate normals (from Kansas)
Image 50The Plaza Cinema in Ottawa is the oldest operating movie theater in the world. (from Kansas)

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