Kansas is named for the Kansas tribe of Native Americans who inhabited the area. The tribe’s name means “people of the wind”, an apt description of Kansan Dorothy Gale of The Wizard of Oz fame whose surname and mode of travel to Oz mark her as a person of the wind. Among the many areas in Kansas under the protection of the National Park Service is the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site established in Topeka, Kansas to commemorate the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision aimed at ending racial segregation in public schools.
Kansas has the second largest state highway system in the country behind only California. Due to immigration from outside the United States, Kansas’ population of 2,775,000+ continues to grow (albeit slowly) despite the rural exodus of some residents to urban areas. Its crops include cattle, sheep, wheat and sorghum, it counts transportation equipment, commercial and private aircraft, and food processing among its industrial outputs, and it ranks 8th in U.S. oil production. Because of its location in the great central plain, Kansas and its “people of the wind” figure prominently in plans to harness America’s wind power.
Roads
Interstate 35: In the Mexican border town of Laredo, Texas, I-35 begins its journey to Duluth, Minnesota. Along its way it travels 234 miles in Kansas, including spur routes I-235 to Wichita, I-135 to Salina, and part of the Kansas Turnpike (I-335) to Topeka.
Interstate 70: From its start in Cove Fort, Utah to its terminus in Baltimore, Maryland, I-70 spans most of America. It runs through Salina and Topeka as part of the 424 miles it spends in Kansas.