Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
, and the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of
Wyandotte County
Wyandotte County (; county code WY) is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 169,245, making it Kansas's fourth-most populous county. Its county seat and most populous city is Kansas City, with which ...
.
It is an
inner suburb
''Inner suburb'' is a term used for a variety of suburban communities that are generally located very close to the centre of a large city (the inner city and central business district). Their urban density is usually lower than the inner city ...
of the older and more populous
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
, after which it is named. As of the
2020 census, the population of the city was 156,607,
making it one of four principal cities in the
Kansas City metropolitan area
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...
. It is situated at
Kaw Point
Kaw Point is the point where the Kansas River (Kaw River) terminates at the Missouri River in the West Bottoms area of Kansas City, Kansas. It is also where the Missouri River ceases its southerly course and turns to flow generally east throug ...
, the junction of the
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
and
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
rivers. It is part of a
consolidated city-county
In United States local government, a consolidated city-county is formed when one or more cities and their surrounding county ( parish in Louisiana, borough in Alaska) merge into one unified jurisdiction. As such it has the governmental powers o ...
government known as the "Unified Government". It is the location of the
University of Kansas Medical Center
The University of Kansas Medical Center, commonly referred to as KU Med or KUMC, is a medical campus for the University of Kansas. KU Med houses the university's schools of medicine, nursing, and health professions, with the primary health science ...
and
Kansas City Kansas Community College
Kansas City Kansas Community College (KCKCC) is a public two year community college in Wyandotte County, Kansas, United States. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, a commission of the North Central Association and the K ...
.
History
In October 1872, "old" Kansas City, Kansas, was incorporated. The first city election was held on October 22 of that year, by order of Judge Hiram Stevens of the Tenth Judicial District, and resulted in the election of Mayor James Boyle. The mayors of the city after its organization were James Boyle, C. A. Eidemiller, A. S. Orbison, Eli Teed and Samuel McConnell. In June 1880, the
Governor of Kansas,
John St. John, proclaimed the city of Kansas City a city of the second class with Mayor McConnell present.
In March 1886, "new" Kansas City, Kansas, was formed through the consolidation of five municipalities: "old" Kansas City, Armstrong,
Armourdale, Riverview, Wyandotte. The oldest city of the group was Wyandotte, which was formed in 1857 by
Wyandot
Wyandot may refer to:
Native American ethnography
* Wyandot people, also known as the Huron
* Wyandot language
Wyandot (sometimes spelled Wandat) is the Iroquoian language traditionally spoken by the people known variously as Wyandot or Wya ...
Native Americans and Methodist missionaries.
In the 1890s, the city saw an explosive growth in population as a
streetcar suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. This growth continued until the 1930s. It was one of the nation's 100 largest cities for many
U.S. Census counts, from 1890 to 1960, including 1920, when it had a population of over 100,000 residents for the first time.
As with adjacent Kansas City, Missouri, the percentage of the city's most populous ethnic group,
non-Hispanic whites
Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Ame ...
, has declined from 76.3% in 1970 to 40.2% in 2010.
In 1997, voters approved a proposition to unify the city and county governments creating the Unified Government of Wyandotte County.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water.
Neighborhoods
Neighborhoods of Kansas City, Kansas, include the following:
* Downtown
*
Argentine
Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...
– former home to the silver smelter for which it was named; it was consolidated with Kansas City in 1910.
*
Armourdale – formerly a city, it was consolidated with the city of Kansas City in 1886.
* Armstrong – a small town sitting on the northern bluff of the Kansas River, absorbed in the merger of Wyandotte, Kansas City, and Armourdale.
*
Arrickary Subdivision
* Bethel – a neighborhood located generally along
Leavenworth Rd., between 72nd and 77th Streets. It was never incorporated as a municipality.
*
Fairfax District – an industrial area along the
Missouri River.
*
Hanover Heights
The Hanover Heights Historic District area was developed between 1912 and 1930. It is a district containing 90 contributing buildings located between State Line Road and Rainbow Boulevard to Olathe Boulevard and West 43rd Avenue in Kansas Cit ...
*
Historic Westheight
*
Muncie
Muncie ( ) is an incorporated city and the seat of Delaware County, Indiana. Previously known as Buckongahelas Town, named after the legendary Delaware Chief.http://www.delawarecountyhistory.org/history/docs/lenape-villages.pdf It is located in ...
* Maywood – until the late 1990s, Maywood was a quiet, isolated residential area; it is now part of the "Village West" project that includes the Legends shopping and entertainment district, the
Children's Mercy Park
Children's Mercy Park is a soccer-specific stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, United States, and is the home of Sporting Kansas City. The stadium is located near Kansas Speedway, on the far west side of Wyandotte County, Kansas. It opened during t ...
soccer stadium, Monarchs' Community America baseball park, the
Schlitterbahn
Schlitterbahn is an American brand of water parks and resorts owned by Cedar Fair. It was previously a company family-owned-and-operated by the Henry family that was based in New Braunfels, Texas. Schlitterbahn opened its first location, Schlitt ...
amusement water park, the Kansas Speedway racetrack and Hollywood Casino.
*
McGrew Grove
McGrew is a village in Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Scottsbluff, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 105 at the 2010 census.
History
McGrew was incorporated as a village in 1911 when t ...
* Nearman
* Northeast Neighborhoods
*
Parkwood
*
Piper
Piper may refer to:
People
* Piper (given name)
* Piper (surname)
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters Comics
* Piper (Morlock), in the Marvel Universe
* Piper (Mutate), in the Marvel Universe
Television
* Piper Chapman, lea ...
*
Polish Hill
Polish Hill ( pl, Polskie Wzgórze) is a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Primarily a residential area, it is home to Pittsburgh's Immaculate Heart of Mary church.
History
Large numbers of Polish immigrants settled the neighborhood after ...
* Pomeroy – a late-19thearly-20th-century Train Depot, Trading Post, Saw Mill, and river landing for barges to load and unload.
* Quindaro Bluffs
* Riverview – like Armstrong, a small town on the northern river bluff, absorbed in the merger of Wyandotte, Kansas City, and Armourdale.
*
Rosedale – consolidated with Kansas City in 1922.
* Stony Point
*
Strawberry Hill
*
Turner
Turner may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
* Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name
*One who uses a lathe for turni ...
– community around the Wyandotte-Johnson County border to the
Kansas River
The Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, is a river in northeastern Kansas in the United States. It is the southwesternmost part of the Missouri River drainage, which is in turn the northwesternmost portion of the extensive Mississippi River dr ...
north-south, and from I-635 to I-435 east-west.
* Vinewood
* Wolcott
* Welborn
Parks and parkways
* City Park
* Wyandotte County Lake Park
* Big Eleven Park
* Boston Daniels' Park (Dedicated to the first Black Chief of Police in the United States)
Climate
Kansas City lies in the
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
, as well as near the geographic center of the country, at the confluence of the longest river in the country, the
Missouri River, and the
Kansas River
The Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, is a river in northeastern Kansas in the United States. It is the southwesternmost part of the Missouri River drainage, which is in turn the northwesternmost portion of the extensive Mississippi River dr ...
(also known as the Kaw River). The city lies in the
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(Köppen ''Dfa'') zone, with four distinct seasons, and moderate precipitation, and is part of USDA plant
hardiness zone
A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
6. Being located in the center of
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
, far removed from a significant body of water, there is significant potential for extremes of hot and cold swings in temperature throughout the year. Unless otherwise stated, normal figures below are based on data from 1981 to 2010 at Downtown Airport. The warmest month of the year is July, with a 24-hour average temperature of . The summer months are hot, but can get very hot and moderately humid, with moist air riding up from the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
. High temperatures surpass on 5.6 days of the year, and on 47 days.
The coldest month of the year is January, with an average temperature of . Winters are cold, with 22 days where the high is at or below the freezing mark and 2.5 nights with a low at or below .
The official record maximum temperature is , set on August 14, 1936, at Downtown Airport, while the official record minimum temperature is , set on December 22 and 23, 1989.
Normal seasonal snowfall is at Downtown Airport and at Kansas City International Airport. The average window for freezing temperatures is October 31 to April 4, while for measurable () snowfall, it is November 27 to March 16 as measured at Kansas City International Airport. Precipitation, both in frequency and total accumulation, shows a marked uptick in late spring and summer.
Kansas City is situated on the edge of the "
Tornado Alley
Tornado Alley is a loosely defined area of the central United States where tornadoes are most frequent. The term was first used in 1952 as the title of a research project to study severe weather in areas of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, So ...
", a broad region where cold air from the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
in Canada collides with warm air from the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
, leading to the formation of powerful storms especially during the spring. A few areas of the
Kansas City Metropolitan Area
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...
have had some severe outbreaks of
tornado
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...
es at different points in the past, including the
Ruskin Heights tornado in 1957, The
Tornado Outbreak Sequence of May 2019
The tornado outbreak sequence of May 2019 was a prolonged series of destructive tornadoes and tornado outbreaks affecting the United States over the course of nearly two weeks, producing a total of 400 tornadoes, including 53 significant events ...
and the
May 2003 tornado outbreak sequence
The tornado outbreak sequence of May 2003 was a prolonged and destructive series of tornado outbreaks that affected much of the Great Plains and Eastern United States in early May 2003. Most of the severe activity was concentrated betw ...
. The region can also fall victim to the sporadic
ice storm
An ice storm, also known as a glaze event or a silver storm is a type of winter storm characterized by freezing rain. The U.S. National Weather Service defines an ice storm as a storm which results in the accumulation of at least of ice on e ...
during the winter months, such as the
2002 ice storm during which hundreds of thousands lost power for days and (in some cases) weeks. Kansas City and its outlying areas are also subject to flooding, including the
Great Flood of 1993
The Great Flood of 1993 (or Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993) was a flood that occurred in the Midwestern United States, along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and their tributaries, from April to October 1993. The flood wa ...
and the
Great Flood of 1951
In mid-July 1951, heavy rains led to a great rise of water in the Kansas River, Missouri River, and other surrounding areas of the Central United States. Flooding occurred in the Kansas, Neosho, Marais Des Cygnes, and Verdigris river basins. ...
.
Demographics
According to the 2010 census, there were 145,786 people, 53,925 households, and 35,112 families residing in the city.
The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was . There were 61,969 housing units at an average density of .
The median age in the city was 32.5 years. 28.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.7% were from 25 to 44; 23.7% were from 45 to 64; and 10.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.4% male and 50.6% female.
There were 53,925 households, of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.1% were
married couples living together, 18.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.9% were non-families. 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.32.
The racial composition of Kansas City, Kansas, as of 2010, was as follows:
*
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
: 52.2%
*
Black or African American: 26.8%
*
Native American: 0.8%
*
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
: 2.7%
*
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
: 0.1%
*
Other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
: 13.6%
*
Two or more races
2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...
: 3.8%
*
Hispanic or Latino
''Hispanic'' and '' Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, for example, by the United States ...
(of any race): 27.8%
*
Non-Hispanic Whites
Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Ame ...
: 40.2%
As of the
2000 census, the median household income in the city was $33,011, and the median income for a family was $39,491. Males had a median income of $30,992 versus $24,543 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the city was $15,737. About 13.0% of families and 17.1% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 23.8% of those under age 18 and 11.5% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
Bureau of Labor Statistics
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is a unit of the United States Department of Labor. It is the principal fact-finding agency for the U.S. government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics and serves as a principal agency of t ...
data shows that employment in Wyandotte County, Kansas increased 4% from March 2011 to March 2012. The sharp rise in the number of workers resulted in Wyandotte County ranking 19th in the nation and 1st in the Kansas City metropolitan area for job growth as of September 28, 2012.
Kansas City is the home to the
General Motors Fairfax Assembly Plant
The Fairfax Assembly & Stamping is a General Motors automobile factory at 3201 Fairfax Trafficway, Kansas City, Kansas in the United States. As of 2022, the plant employs over 2,100 hourly and salaried employees. Employees are represented by UA ...
, which manufactures the
Chevrolet Malibu
The Chevrolet Malibu is a mid-size car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet from 1964 to 1983 and again since 1997. The Malibu began as a trim-level of the Chevrolet Chevelle, becoming its own model line in 1978. Originally a rear-wheel-dr ...
and the
Cadillac XT4
The Cadillac XT4 is a subcompact luxury crossover SUV manufactured by General Motors since 2018 under the luxury Cadillac marque.
Overview
The XT4 (short for "Crossover Touring 4") is Cadillac's second crossover SUV, slotting below the mid-size ...
. The
Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...
maintains its North Central Region Office in the city. In addition,
Associated Wholesale Grocers
Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc. (AWG) is the United States's largest cooperative food wholesaler to independently owned supermarkets and grocery stores. It serves more than 4,000 locations in 36 states and from 8 full-line wholesale divisions ...
and
Kansas City Steak Company
Kansas City Steak Company based in Kansas City, Missouri, manufactures and markets premium beef (including USDA Prime beef), poultry, seafood, and other foods for foodservice and home delivery.
History
Kansas City Steak Company was founded by G ...
are based within the city. The largest employer is the
University of Kansas Hospital
The University of Kansas Health System, commonly known as KU Med and formerly known as The University of Kansas Hospital, is a nonprofit, academic medical center located in Kansas City, Kansas, United States, with branch hospitals and education c ...
. The adjoining
University of Kansas Medical Center
The University of Kansas Medical Center, commonly referred to as KU Med or KUMC, is a medical campus for the University of Kansas. KU Med houses the university's schools of medicine, nursing, and health professions, with the primary health science ...
, including the schools of medicine, nursing, and allied health, is also among the city's largest employers (with a student population of about 3,000).
Village West is a business and entertainment district located at the intersection of Interstates
70 and
435
__NOTOC__
Year 435 (Roman numerals, CDXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Theodosius and Valentinianus (or, less f ...
. Anchored by the
Kansas Speedway
Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in the Village West area near Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also held races at the venue until 20 ...
, tenants include Hollywood Casino,
The Legends At Village West
Legends Outlets Kansas City, formerly The Legends at Village West, is a super-regional shopping mall located in the Village West development in Kansas City, Kansas. The mall has a gross leasable area of .
The shopping center is surrounded by v ...
,
AMC Theatres
AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (d/b/a AMC Theatres, originally an abbreviation for American Multi-Cinema; often referred to simply as AMC and known in some countries as AMC Cinemas or AMC Multi-Cinemas) is an American movie theater chain fou ...
IMAX
IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating.
Graeme F ...
,
Cabela's
Cabela's Inc. is an American retailer that specializes in hunting, fishing, boating, camping, shooting and other outdoor recreation merchandise. The chain is based in Sidney, Nebraska. Cabela's was founded by Richard N. Cabela in 1961. Cabela' ...
,
Nebraska Furniture Mart,
Great Wolf Lodge
Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements
* Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size
* Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent
People
* List of people known as "the Great"
*Artel Great (born ...
,
Monarchs Stadium, the home stadium of the
Kansas City Monarchs
The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by J. L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 19 ...
of the
American Association of Professional Baseball
The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...
, over three dozen restaurants, and
Children's Mercy Park
Children's Mercy Park is a soccer-specific stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, United States, and is the home of Sporting Kansas City. The stadium is located near Kansas Speedway, on the far west side of Wyandotte County, Kansas. It opened during t ...
, the home stadium of the
Sporting Kansas City
Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and t ...
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
franchise.
Schlitterbahn Vacation Village, a resort and waterpark, opened across I-435 from Village West in June 2009, however it has been closed since the end of the 2018 season.
Kansas City was ranked in 2010 as the #7 best city in the U.S. to start over after foreclosure. Average rent in Kansas City is only $788, which is low in relation to the national average of $1,087 spent on rent.
On March 30, 2011,
Google
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
announced that Kansas City had been selected as the site of an
experimental fiber-optic network that it would build at no cost to the city. Kansas City was chosen from a field of 1,100 U.S. communities that had applied for the network. The network became operational in 2012.
Piper, Kansas Piper is a neighborhood within Kansas City, Kansas, United States. Before Piper was annexed in 1991, it was formerly an unincorporated semi-rural area, similar to Turner.
History
Piper was first laid out as a village in 1888. A post office was op ...
, became the first full community in the nation (based on actual residential votes and pre-registration counts) to have residential broadband internet network infrastructures using fiber-optic communication of 1Gbit/s download and upload speeds provided by
Google Fiber.
Largest employers
According to the city's 2013 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the largest employers in the city are:
Government
City government
Kansas City, Kansas, has a
consolidated city-county
In United States local government, a consolidated city-county is formed when one or more cities and their surrounding county ( parish in Louisiana, borough in Alaska) merge into one unified jurisdiction. As such it has the governmental powers o ...
government in which the city and county have been merged into one jurisdiction. As such, it is simultaneously a city, which is a municipal corporation; and a county, which is an administrative division of a state. The Kansas Legislature passed enabling legislation in 1997 and voters approved the consolidation proposal the same year.
The Kansas City, Kansas Police Department was founded in 1898. By 1918, the department had begun taking photographs and fingerprints of all the felons its officers had arrested.
The Kansas City, Kansas Fire Department was founded on December 25, 1883. The fire department is part of the Firefighter's Relief Association and the International Association of Fire Fighters. IAFF Local 64 is a charter member and was organized on February 28, 1918. The department has 18 fire stations in the city, and covers an area of approximately 127 square miles. The department also has specialty teams including heavy rescue, hazardous materials, foam team, water rescue, tactical medic, trench rescue, high angle/rope rescue, and technical urban search and rescue. The fire department has four public service programs: a citizens assist program, fire prevention, safe place, and a smoke detector program.
;Mayor/CEO
*
Tyrone Garner
Tyrone "Ty" Garner (born July 27, 1978) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was drafted by the New York Islanders in the fourth round, 83rd overall in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft.
Playing career
Garner was born in Stoney Creek, Ontar ...
;Board of Commissioners
* At-Large District 1: Melissa Bynum
* At-Large District 2: Tom Burroughs
* District 1: Gayle Townsend
* District 2: Brian McKiernan
* District 3: Christian Ramirez
* District 4: Harold L. Johnson Jr.
* District 5: Mike Kane
* District 6: Angela Markley
* District 7: Chuck Stites
* District 8: Andrew Davis
Law enforcement
The
Kansas City Police Department (Kansas)
Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County, Kansas, Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after whi ...
performs law enforcement in the city and county. The department was established in 1898 with a staff of 46.
Of the statistics available in 2000 based on data collected by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
(FBI) as part of its Uniform Crime Reporting Program, which represent from arrests made by State and local law enforcement agencies as reported to the FBI, there were a total of 696 incidents.
Education
Colleges and universities
Private
*
Donnelly College
Donnelly College is a private Catholic college in Kansas City, Kansas. The college offers bachelor's, associate degrees, and Nursing certifications. It is the only college or university in the state designated as a Hispanic-serving institutio ...
Public
*
Kansas City Kansas Community College
Kansas City Kansas Community College (KCKCC) is a public two year community college in Wyandotte County, Kansas, United States. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, a commission of the North Central Association and the K ...
*
University of Kansas Medical Center
The University of Kansas Medical Center, commonly referred to as KU Med or KUMC, is a medical campus for the University of Kansas. KU Med houses the university's schools of medicine, nursing, and health professions, with the primary health science ...
(home of KU's Schools of Medicine, Nursing and Health Professions)
Public and private school districts
*
Kansas City USD 500
Kansas City USD 500, also known as Kansas City Kansas Public Schools, is a public unified school district headquartered in Kansas City, Kansas, United States. As of 2021, it has approximately 23,690 students enrolled in the district in grades P ...
* Piper USD 203
* Turner USD 202
*
Bonner Springs–Edwardsville USD 204
Bonner Springs–Edwardsville USD 204 is a public unified school district headquartered in Bonner Springs, Kansas, United States. The district includes portions of the cities of Bonner Springs, Edwardsville, Kansas City, and nearby rural area ...
* Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas Catholic Schools
Secondary schools
*
Bishop Ward High School
* Fairfax Learning Center
* J. C. Harmon High School
* Kansas City Kansas Community College: Technical Education Center
*
Piper High School, Kansas City (
Piper, Kansas Piper is a neighborhood within Kansas City, Kansas, United States. Before Piper was annexed in 1991, it was formerly an unincorporated semi-rural area, similar to Turner.
History
Piper was first laid out as a village in 1888. A post office was op ...
)
*
F.L. Schlagle High School
F. L. Schlagle High School is a fully accredited, public high school located in Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It serves students in grades 9 to 12 and is operated by the Kansas City USD 500 school district. The principal is Yolanda Tho ...
*
Kansas State School for the Blind (KSSB)
*
Sumner Academy of Arts & Science
* Turner High School
* Washington High School
*
Wyandotte High School
Wyandotte High School is a fully accredited public high school located in Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It serves students in grades 9 to 12 and operated by the Kansas City USD 500 school district. The building itself is a historic and n ...
, Kansas City
Public libraries
The
Kansas City, Kansas Public Library
Kansas City, Kansas Public Library (KCKPL) is the public library system of Kansas City, Kansas, headquartered in the Main Library. The library serves Wyandotte County, Kansas. It is governed by the Board of Education of Kansas City Kansas Public ...
system has five branch libraries spread throughout Wyandotte County: the Main Library, South Branch Library, Turner Community Library, West Wyandotte Library, and the Mr. & Mrs. F.L. Schlagle Environmental Library in Wyandotte County Lake Park. The system was formed in 1895. In 1899, it came under the authority of the Kansas City, Kansas Public School District Board of Education.
Transportation
River transportation was important to early Kansas City, Kansas, as its location at the confluence of the Missouri and Kansas Rivers afforded easy access to trade.
Kansas City Area Transportation Authority
The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) is a public transit agency in metropolitan Kansas City. It operates the Metro Area Express (MAX) bus rapid transit service in Kansas City, Missouri, and 78 local bus routes in seven coun ...
provides transportation for 60k riders daily. A portion of I-70 was the first project in the United States completed under the provisions of the new Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 (though not the first constructed or to begin construction).
Major highways
*
Interstate 35
Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican border ...
– To
Des Moines
Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...
, Iowa, to the north and
Wichita, Kansas, to the south.
*
Interstate 70
Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the co ...
– To
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
, Missouri, to the east and
Topeka
Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central Uni ...
, Kansas/
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, Colorado, to the west.
Spur routes and roads
*
Interstate 435
Interstate 435 (I-435) is an Interstate Highway beltway that encircles much of the Kansas City metropolitan area within the states of Kansas and Missouri in the United States.
Route description
I-435, a loop route of I-35, is long and i ...
– A bi-state loop through the Missouri and Kansas suburbs, providing access to
Kansas City International Airport.
*
Interstate 635 – Connects the Kansas suburbs with Kansas City, Kansas, and Riverside, Missouri, just north of Kansas City, Missouri.
*
Interstate 670 – A southern bypass of I-70 and Southern portion of the downtown loop. Signed as East I-70 when exiting from I-35 while traveling north.
*US-24-40 – Combination of the
US-24 and
US-40 highways that pass through Kansas City.
*
K-5 – A minor freeway bypassing the north of Kansas City, Kansas, connecting the
GM Fairfax plant with I-635. K-5 continues as Leavenworth Road west to I-435 then on to
Leavenworth, Kansas.
*
K-7 – A freeway linking
Leavenworth County
Leavenworth County (county code LV) is located in the U.S. state of Kansas and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 81,881. Its county seat and most populous city is Leavenworth.
Histo ...
, Kansas,
Wyandotte County
Wyandotte County (; county code WY) is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 169,245, making it Kansas's fourth-most populous county. Its county seat and most populous city is Kansas City, with which ...
, Kansas and
Johnson County, Kansas.
*
K-32 K32 or K-32 may refer to:
* K-32 (Kansas highway)
K-32, also known as the Kaw Valley Scenic Highway, is an approximately east–west state highway in the Kansas City metropolitan area of Kansas. K-32's western terminus is just outside Lawren ...
– A highway that links
Leavenworth County
Leavenworth County (county code LV) is located in the U.S. state of Kansas and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 81,881. Its county seat and most populous city is Leavenworth.
Histo ...
, Kansas,
Wyandotte County
Wyandotte County (; county code WY) is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 169,245, making it Kansas's fourth-most populous county. Its county seat and most populous city is Kansas City, with which ...
, and
Douglas County, Kansas.
Roads
*
US-169, 7th Street Trafficway
* South 18th Street Expressway
*
State Avenue and
Parallel Parkway
Parallel Parkway is a roadway in Kansas City, Kansas. Its western terminus is at US 73 and K-7 near the Leavenworth County line and its eastern terminus is at North 5th Street in downtown Kansas City near the Missouri River.
The Parallel Parkwa ...
* Kansas Avenue and the
Turner Diagonal
Culture
Kansas City, Kansas, has a number of buildings that are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
. The city is home to the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas
The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas ( la, Archidioecesis Kansanopolitana in Kansas) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical province or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the United States of America.
The archbishop's episcopal seat is locate ...
, which covers in eastern Kansas.
Memorial Hall
A memorial hall is a hall built to commemorate an individual or group; most commonly those who have died in war. Most are intended for public use and are sometimes described as ''utilitarian memorials''.
History of the Memorial Hall
In the aft ...
is a 3,500-seat indoor arena/auditorium located in the city's downtown. The venue, which has a permanent stage, is used for public assemblies, concerts and sporting events. In 1887, John G. Braecklein constructed a
Victorian home
In Great Britain and former British colonies, a Victorian house generally means any house built during the reign of Queen Victoria. During the Industrial Revolution, successive housing booms resulted in the building of many millions of Victorian ...
for John and Margaret Scroggs in the area of
Strawberry Hill. It is a fine example of the
Queen Anne style architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...
erected in Kansas City, Kansas.
The
Rosedale Arch
The Rosedale Arch is dedicated to the men of Rosedale, a neighborhood district and former municipality on the southern edge of Kansas City, Kansas, who served in World War I. Inspired by the Arc de Triomphe, the Arch was designed by John LeRoy Mar ...
, dedicated to the men of Kansas City, Kansas, who served in World War I, is a small-scale replica of France's famous
Arc de Triomphe
The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile (, , ; ) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile—the ''étoile'' ...
. It is located on Mount Marty in Rosedale, overlooking the intersection of
Rainbow
A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...
and Southwest Boulevards.
Wyandotte High School
Wyandotte High School is a fully accredited public high school located in Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It serves students in grades 9 to 12 and operated by the Kansas City USD 500 school district. The building itself is a historic and n ...
is a public school building located at 2501 Minnesota Avenue. Built in 1936 as a
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
project, the school was later designated as a Historical Landmark by the city in 1985 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 30, 1986. In 1889, the Wyandotte County Museum and Historical Society was established as a permanent repository of the county's history. The
Argentine Carnegie Library
The Argentine Branch Library, sometimes known as the Argentine Carnegie Library is a building located at 2800 Metropolitan Avenue in the Argentine neighborhood of Kansas City, Kansas that formerly served as a branch of the Kansas City, Kansas Publi ...
, the only
Carnegie library that exists in the metropolitan area, was built in 1917. The library has moved the collections and staff from Argentine to the new South Branch, at 3104 Strong Ave., a few blocks to the west and north, which opened September 26, 2012. The library has turned over the building to the Kansas City, Kansas USD 500.
Other points of interest in the Kansas City, Kansas, area include
Fire Station No. 9,
Granada Theater,
Hanover Heights Neighborhood Historic District,
Huron Cemetery
The Huron Indian Cemetery in Kansas City, Kansas, also known as Huron Park Cemetery, is now formally known as the Wyandot National Burying Ground. It was established circa 1843, soon after the Wyandot had arrived following removal from Ohio. T ...
,
Judge Louis Gates House
The Judge Louis R. Gates House is located at 4146 Cambridge Street in Kansas City, Kansas. Clarence E. Shepard was the architect of this example of a Prairie School residence. It was placed on the Register of Historic Kansas Places on July 3, ...
, Kansas City, Kansas Hall, Kansas City, Kansas Fire Headquarters,
Great Wolf Lodge
Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements
* Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size
* Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent
People
* List of people known as "the Great"
*Artel Great (born ...
,
Schlitterbahn Vacation Village,
Quindaro Townsite,
Sauer Castle
The Sauer Castle is an Italianate architecture home at 935 Shawnee Road in Kansas City, Kansas, built from 1871 to 1873. It was designed by famed architect Asa Beebe Cross as the residence of Anton Sauer. He had married Francesca in Vienna, Aus ...
,
Scottish Rite Temple,
Shawnee Street Overpass
The Shawnee Street Overpass (also known as the Shawnee Road Bridge) is an overpass in Kansas City, Kansas, Kansas City, Kansas, United States. The bridge allows traffic Shawnee Road to go over South 7th Street, a section of U.S. Route 169 in Kansa ...
, Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building, St. Augustine Hall, Theodore Shafer House, Trowbridge Archeological Site, Westheight Manor and Westheight Manor District, White Church Christian Church, Wyandotte County Courthouse and the
Muncie
Muncie ( ) is an incorporated city and the seat of Delaware County, Indiana. Previously known as Buckongahelas Town, named after the legendary Delaware Chief.http://www.delawarecountyhistory.org/history/docs/lenape-villages.pdf It is located in ...
area.
Media
Kansas City, Kansas, is part of a bi-state media market that comprises 32 counties in northeastern Kansas and northwestern Missouri. The Kansas City media market (ranked 32nd by
Arbitron
Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...
and 31st by
Nielsen) includes 10 television stations, and 30 FM and 21 AM radio stations. Due to its close proximity to the
Topeka
Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central Uni ...
media market, most of the television and radio stations from that city are receivable
over-the-air in portions of the Kansas City, Kansas, area.
KCTV
KCTV (channel 5) is a television station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Gray Television alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate KSMO-TV (channel 62). Both stations share studios on Shawnee Mission Parkway ...
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
is licensed to Kansas City, Missouri, but operates out of Kansas City, Kansas.
Newspapers
Kansas City, Kansas is served by the ''
Kansan'', a daily newspaper which ceased its print publication and became an online-only paper in 2009. Newspapers serving the city's suburbs include ''The Record'' (serving Turner, Argentine and Rosedale), ''Piper Press'' (serving Piper) and ''The Wyandotte West'' (weekly publication for western Wyandotte County).
Weekly newspapers include alternative publication ''
The Pitch The Pitch may refer to:
* "The Pitch" (''Seinfeld'')
* ''The Pitch'' (TV series), an AMC original series
* ''The Pitch'' (podcast), an American podcast
* ''The Pitch'' (newspaper), a newspaper in Kansas City
* A segment in '' The Gruen Transfer ...
'', faith-oriented newspaper ''The Kansas City Metro Voice'', ''
The Wyandotte Echo
''The Wyandotte Echo'' is a legal newspaper for Kansas City, Kansas. The ''Wyandotte Echo'' is published every Wednesday. The newspaper is owned by and operated by M.R.P.P. Inc. The ''Wyandotte Echo'' is the official newspaper for the Wyandotte C ...
'' (which focuses on legal news), ''The Call'' (which is focused on the African-American community), business newspaper ''
Kansas City Business Journal
American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor News ...
'' and the bilingual publication ''Dos Mundos''.
Broadcast media
The major U.S. broadcast television networks have affiliates in the Kansas City market, including
WDAF-TV
WDAF-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. The station is owned by Nexstar Media Group, and maintains studios and transmitter facilities on Summit Street in the Signal H ...
4 (
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
),
KCTV
KCTV (channel 5) is a television station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Gray Television alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate KSMO-TV (channel 62). Both stations share studios on Shawnee Mission Parkway ...
5 (
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
),
KMBC-TV
KMBC-TV (channel 9) is a television station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, affiliated with American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It is owned by Hearst Television alongside The CW, CW affiliate KCWE (channel 29). Both stations share stud ...
9 (
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
),
KCPT
KCPT (channel 19), branded on-air as Kansas City PBS or KC PBS, is a PBS member television station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. It is owned by Public Television 19, Inc., alongside adult album alternative radio station KTBG (90.9 FM ...
19 (
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
),
KCWE
KCWE (channel 29) is a television station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, affiliated with The CW. It is owned by Hearst Television alongside ABC affiliate KMBC-TV (channel 9). Both stations share studios on Winchester Avenue in the Rid ...
29 (
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
),
KSHB-TV
KSHB-TV (channel 41) is a television station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside Lawrence, Kansas-licensed independent station KMCI-TV (channel 38). Both stations share ...
41 (
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
) and
KSMO-TV
KSMO-TV (channel 62) is a television station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, affiliated with MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Gray Television alongside CBS affiliate KCTV (channel 5). Both stations share studios on Shawnee Mission Parkway ...
62 (
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...
). Other television stations in the market include
Saint Joseph, Missouri
St. Joseph is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri. Small parts of St. Joseph extend into Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the principal city of the St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which inclu ...
-based
KTAJ-TV 16 (
TBN),
KCKS-LD
KCKS-LD, virtual channel 25 (UHF digital channel 19), is a low-powered Buzzr- affiliated television station licensed to Kansas City, Kansas, United States. The station is owned by Heartland Broadcasting, LLC.
KCKS-LD, branded as tv25.tv, simulc ...
25,
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas River, Kansas and Waka ...
-based
KMCI-TV 38 (
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
), Spanish-language station
KUKC-LD 20 (
Univision
Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...
), and
KPXE-TV
KPXE-TV (channel 50) is a television station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, affiliated with Ion Television. Owned by Inyo Broadcast Holdings, the station maintains offices on Oak Street and Cleaver Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri, ...
50 (
Ion Television
Ion Television is an American broadcast television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network first began broadcasting on August 31, 1998, as Pax TV, focusing primarily on family-oriented enter ...
).
Sports
Sporting Kansas City
The
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
franchise
Sporting Kansas City
Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and t ...
(which was originally known as the ''Kansas City Wiz'' for its inaugural year in 1996 and the ''Kansas City Wizards'' from 1997 to 2010) currently plays its home games at
Children's Mercy Park
Children's Mercy Park is a soccer-specific stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, United States, and is the home of Sporting Kansas City. The stadium is located near Kansas Speedway, on the far west side of Wyandotte County, Kansas. It opened during t ...
in the Village West district. The team originally planned to move to
Trails Stadium, a planned stadium facility in Kansas City, Missouri, in 2011, but the project was scuttled in 2009. The developer of the planned venue moved the project to the Village West area, near Legends Field, and received the needed approvals in January 2010.
Kansas City Current
The
Kansas City Current
Kansas City Current is an American professional women's soccer team based in Kansas City, Kansas. It began play as an expansion team in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in 2021.
History Establishment
Kansas City last had an NWSL t ...
replaced the now defunct
National Women's Soccer League team
FC Kansas City which ceased operations in 2017. The Current played its inaugural season at
Legends Field (Kansas City), but will play the 2022 season at
Children's Mercy Park
Children's Mercy Park is a soccer-specific stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, United States, and is the home of Sporting Kansas City. The stadium is located near Kansas Speedway, on the far west side of Wyandotte County, Kansas. It opened during t ...
. The ownership has committed to building a soccer specific stadium across the state line in Kansas City, MO Berkley Riverfront Park.
Kansas City Monarchs
The
Kansas City Monarchs
The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by J. L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 19 ...
is an
independent baseball
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independen ...
team in the
American Association American Association may refer to:
Baseball
* American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891
* American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997
* American Association of Profe ...
, which moved to Kansas City, Kansas in 2003 and through 2019 played its home games at Legends Field, located adjacent to the Village West development in western Wyandotte County. The team was previously a member of the
Northern League (which was not affiliated with
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
), until it dissolved following the 2010 season. While the remaining Northern League teams became members of the
North American League as part of the Northern League's merger with the
Golden Baseball League
The Golden Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in San Ramon, California, with teams located in the western United States, western Canada and northwest Mexico.
The GBL was not affiliated with Major League Baseball or the orga ...
and
United Baseball League
United League Baseball was an independent baseball league that operated in Texas. The league operated from 2006 to 2009. The league then temporarily merged with the Northern League and the Golden Baseball League to form the North American League ...
, the T-Bones joined many other former Northern League teams in the relatively new American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. The T-Bones won the Northern League Championship in 2008 and the American Association Championship in 2018. The Unified Government evicted it from its stadium on October 14, 2019, for nonpayment of rent and utilities.
Auto racing
The
Kansas Speedway
Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in the Village West area near Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also held races at the venue until 20 ...
is an auto racetrack adjacent to the Village West area in western Wyandotte County. The speedway, which is used for races that are part of the
NASCAR Cup Series and other racing series, is a
tri-oval
A tri-oval is a shape which derives its name from the two other shapes it most resembles, a triangle and an oval. Rather than meeting at sharp, definable angles as the sides of a triangle do, in a tri-oval these angles are instead rounded into s ...
with turns which bank at a 15° angle. The track held its first race on June 2, 2001, when the
Winston West Series
The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racin ...
contested the Kansas 100. The top-level NASCAR Cup Series holds the annual
Hollywood Casino 400
The Hollywood Casino 400 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car racing, stock car race held at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. This race is the second of ten races in the NASCAR playoffs, Cup Series playoffs; since 2022, it is the second race ...
at the track. The
IndyCar Series
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...
previously ran the
RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300
The RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas was an IndyCar Series race held at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. The IRL Indycar Series debuted the race in 2001.
The first Indy/Championship races in the Kansas City area city took place in 1922 ...
from 2001 to 2010; with IndyCar driver
Scott Dixon
Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
setting the overall lap record for all series.
Notable people
Notable individuals who were born in or have lived in Kansas City, Kansas include actor
Ed Asner
Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' a ...
, jazz saxophonist
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...
, Olympic track and field athlete
Maurice Greene, Muppet performer
Matt Vogel, and musician and actress
Janelle Monáe
Janelle Monáe Robinson (; born December 1, 1985) is an American singer, rapper and actress. She is signed to Atlantic Records, as well as to her own imprint, the Wondaland Arts Society. Monáe has received eight Grammy Award nominations. Monà ...
.
Further reading
''Tuttle and Pike's Atlas of Kansas City, Kansas & Vicinity'' Tuttle & Pike; 13 pages; 1907.
* ''Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas - Historical and Biographical''; Goodspeed Publishing Co; 932 pages; 1890.
Notes
References
External links
Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, KansasKansas City, KS/Wyandotte County Convention and Visitors BureauKansas City map KDOT
*
{{Authority control
Cities in Kansas
Cities in Wyandotte County, Kansas
County seats in Kansas
Cities in Kansas City metropolitan area
Populated places established in 1868
Consolidated city-counties
Kansas populated places on the Missouri River