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2 Law and government
The State Capital is Topeka.
The Governor of the State is Kathleen Sebelius (Democrat) and the two U.S. Senators are Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts (both Republicans).
Kansas has a reputation as a progressive state with many firsts in legislative initiatives including being the first state to institute a system of workers compensation (1910). The Council-manager government was adopted by many larger Kansas cities in the years following World War I while many American cities were being run by political machines or organized crime. Kansas schools both public and private continue to have some of the highest standards in the nation. Kansas was first among the states to ban the concept of separate but equal schools. Brown vs. Board of Education took place in Topeka, Kansas and banned racially segregated schools throughout the US.
See also:
List of Governors of Kansas; U.S. Congressional Delegations from Kansas
3 Geography
Kansas is bordered by Nebraska on the north, Missouri on the east, Oklahoma on the south, and Colorado on the west. It is located equidistant from the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean. The geographic center of North America is located in Osborne County. This spot is used as the central reference point for all maps produced by the government. The geographic center of the 48 contiguous states is located in Smith County, and the geographic center of Kansas is located in Barton County.
See also:
List of counties in Kansas
3.1 Landmarks
- The disputed World's Largest Ball of Twine created in Cawker City, Kansas August 15, 1953, is still growing.
- Big Brutus , the World's Largest Electric Shovel resides in West Mineral, Kansas. It is 160 ft tall and weighs 11 million pounds.
- Samuel Dinsmoor created the Garden of Eden in Lucas, Kansas in 1905, and opened it up to tourists in 1908. The garden features sculptures of biblical scenes and political messages. One scene has labor being crucified by a doctor, lawyer, banker, and preacher. Dinsmoor even built his own mausoleum in which you can still see him today in his concrete coffin by paying for the tour. [1]
- The Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant in De Soto, Kansas opened in 1942 to manufactor gunpowder and munition propellants for World War II. The plant sits on over 9000 acres (36 kmē) of land which was made up of more than 100 farms.
- The boyhood home of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Eisenhower Library, and his grave are located in Abilene, Kansas. The Greyhound Hall of Fame is located in Abilene. Abilene, Kansas is also the ending point of the Chisholm Trail where the cattle driven from Texas were rail loaded.
- Constitution Hall in Lecompton, Kansas is the location where the Kansas Territorial Government convened and drafted a pro-slavery constitution. [2]
- The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics where the largest collection of papers for a non president politician is located. The institute is located in Lawrence, Kansas on the campus of the University of Kansas. [3]
