Portal:Kansas
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Culture · Geography · Health · History · Mathematics · Nature · Philosophy · Religion · Society · Technology   Kansas (IPA: /ˈkænzəs/) is a Midwestern state in the central region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the American "Heartland". It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa tribe, who inhabited the area. The tribe's name (natively kką:ze) is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south wind", although this was probably not the term's original meaning. Historically, the area was home to large numbers of nomadic Native Americans that hunted bison. It was first settled by European Americans in the 1830s, but the pace of settlement accelerated in the 1850s, in the midst of political wars over the slavery issue. When officially opened to settlement by the U.S. government in 1854, abolitionist Free-Staters from New England and pro-slavery settlers from neighboring Missouri rushed to the territory to determine if 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 eventually prevailed and on January 29, 1861, Kansas entered the Union as a free state. After the Civil War, the population of Kansas exploded when waves of immigrants turned the prairie into productive farmland. Today, Kansas is one of the most productive agricultural states, producing many crops, and leading the nation in wheat and sunflower production most years.  Fort Leavenworth is a United States Army facility located in Leavenworth County, Kansas (just north of the city of Leavenworth) in the upper northeast portion of the state. It is the oldest active U.S. Army post west of the Mississippi River, in operation for over 170 years. During the country's westward expansion, Fort Leavenworth was a forward destination for thousands of soldiers, surveyors, emigrants, American Indians, preachers and settlers who passed through. The garrison supports the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) by managing and maintaining the home of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center (CAC). CAC's mission involves leader development, collective training, Army doctrine, and battle command (current and future). The fort occupies 5,600 acres (23 km²) and 7,000,000 ft² (650,000 m²) of space in 1,000 buildings and 1,500 quarters. (Read more...)  Manhattan is a city located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. As of the July 2005 census estimate, its population was 49,462, making it the eighth-largest city in Kansas. Manhattan is the county seat of Riley County. A small part of the town extends into Pottawatomie County. It is the principal town within the Manhattan, Kansas Micropolitan Statistical Area. Nicknamed The Little Apple in 1977 as a play on New York City's "Big Apple," it is most well-known for being the home of Kansas State University. Eight miles (13 km) west of the town is Fort Riley, a United States Army post. In 2007, CNN and Money magazine rated Manhattan as one of the ten best places in America to retire young.  Credit: User:Fir0002 The European honey bee Kansas' state insect.
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.jpg/140px-Frankcarlson(r-ks).jpg) Frank Carlson (January 23, 1893-May 30, 1987) was an American politician who served as thirtieth Governor of Kansas and United States Representative and United States Senator from Kansas. In 1946 Carlson was elected governor of Kansas. As governor, he pushed mental health programs as well as a long-term highway project. In 1949, Kansas senator Clyde M. Reed died, and Carlson appointed Harry Darby to fill the seat. Darby continued his service in the Senate until Carlson himself was elected to fill the seat in 1950. Instead of waiting until January to be sworn in, he took his seat on November 28, 1950, leaving the office of governor to Frank L. Hagaman who served less than two months. In 1952, he campaigned to get fellow Kansan Dwight D. Eisenhower into the White House, and then brokered a deal through Ohio Senator Robert Taft, known as "Mr. Republican" for his leadership of the party's right-wing, became majority leader. According to Billy Graham's biography Just As I Am, Carlson organized the first Presidential Prayer Breakfast, later known as the National Prayer Breakfast and sponsored behind-the-scenes by The Family, a Christian political organization. In 1950, Carlson traveled to Haiti on behalf of The Family and returned to urge Congress to support the regime of the dictator Papa Doc Duvalier. Carlson was re-elected twice, in 1956 and 1962, before returning to Concordia for retirement. (Read more...)  February 9, 2008 - U.S. presidential candidate Mike Huckabee won Saturday's GOP caucus in Kansas. January 30, 2008 - The Westboro Baptist Church has lost a lawsuit and has been ordered by United States District Court of Maryland to pay US$11 million to the family of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, a fallen soldier, who was killed while serving in Iraq. March 3, 2005 - Steven Fossett (60) landed safely back on US soil earlier this evening to claim the world record for flying non-stop by himself around the world. He landed at 7.49 pm UTC in Kansas after what had been a nerve racking last few hours. Subcategories of Kansas category: Botanical gardens - Buildings and structures - Census-designated places - Cities - Companies - Counties - Culture - Education - Geography - Geography stubs - Government - History - Images - Landmarks - Major league players - Maps - Media - Organizations - People - Politics - Registered Historic Places - Sports - Stubs - Transportation
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