WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.960 Let's unpack this. We are heading deep into the 00:00:02.960 --> 00:00:05.320 American heartland today. When most people think 00:00:05.320 --> 00:00:09.220 of Kansas, they conjure up these simple, almost 00:00:09.220 --> 00:00:11.080 fictional images, maybe a black and white farm, 00:00:11.160 --> 00:00:14.460 maybe a tornado, certainly just vast featureless 00:00:14.460 --> 00:00:18.179 plains. But the incredible stack of sources you 00:00:18.179 --> 00:00:21.100 provided, it shows a state defined by far more 00:00:21.100 --> 00:00:24.260 intense historical conflict, driven by massive 00:00:24.260 --> 00:00:27.719 economic machinery, and maybe most surprisingly, 00:00:27.739 --> 00:00:30.219 some real political volatility. That stereotype, 00:00:30.480 --> 00:00:32.640 the whole flyover state thing, it is the ultimate 00:00:32.640 --> 00:00:35.200 generalization. It just completely fails to capture 00:00:35.200 --> 00:00:38.479 the true complexity, the relentless drama that 00:00:38.479 --> 00:00:41.000 has unfolded on those planes. I mean, this is 00:00:41.000 --> 00:00:42.679 a state that didn't just participate in the Civil 00:00:42.679 --> 00:00:45.179 War. It essentially served as the bloody pregame. 00:00:45.320 --> 00:00:47.659 It was the critical proving ground where the 00:00:47.659 --> 00:00:50.659 fight over slavery turned from a political debate 00:00:50.659 --> 00:00:53.060 into outright guerrilla violence. And it seems 00:00:53.060 --> 00:00:54.880 like that role as a laboratory has continued. 00:00:55.020 --> 00:00:57.759 It has. Today, it continues to act as a lab for 00:00:57.759 --> 00:01:00.030 some of the most dramatic. high stakes economic 00:01:00.030 --> 00:01:02.869 and social policy experiments in the entire country. 00:01:03.090 --> 00:01:05.670 Exactly. And this deep dive is custom tailored 00:01:05.670 --> 00:01:08.489 for you, our dedicated learner. We're going beyond 00:01:08.489 --> 00:01:10.689 the sunflower state and the weed state to understand 00:01:10.689 --> 00:01:14.450 its complex, almost dualistic identity. Our mission 00:01:14.450 --> 00:01:17.230 is to synthesize all this meticulously gathered 00:01:17.230 --> 00:01:19.909 material, the history, the demanding geography, 00:01:20.109 --> 00:01:22.750 the robust and well, often contradictory economy 00:01:22.750 --> 00:01:25.480 and the unique culture. We want to highlight 00:01:25.480 --> 00:01:27.640 the essential nuggets you absolutely need to 00:01:27.640 --> 00:01:30.840 know to be truly well -informed about Kansas. 00:01:31.060 --> 00:01:33.439 And we're going to trace that identity meticulously. 00:01:33.579 --> 00:01:35.640 We'll start with its turbulent birth during bleeding 00:01:35.640 --> 00:01:38.260 Kansas. Then we'll examine that tectonic shift 00:01:38.260 --> 00:01:40.659 from being totally dependent on agriculture to 00:01:40.659 --> 00:01:43.040 becoming a modern aerospace and energy powerhouse. 00:01:43.219 --> 00:01:45.920 We'll also analyze the spectacular collapse of 00:01:45.920 --> 00:01:47.840 its radical tax experiment. And we'll finish 00:01:47.840 --> 00:01:50.420 by looking at how its 160 -year -old rivalry 00:01:50.420 --> 00:01:53.120 with Missouri. How it's been resurrected and 00:01:53.120 --> 00:01:55.780 transformed into a billion -dollar political 00:01:55.780 --> 00:01:57.900 wrestling match over professional sports. That 00:01:57.900 --> 00:02:00.340 is a lot of ground to cover, literally and figuratively. 00:02:00.540 --> 00:02:02.840 So let's start at the very beginning. The foundation 00:02:02.840 --> 00:02:05.420 of the state's identity, its name, and the blood 00:02:05.420 --> 00:02:08.199 that was shed to define its borders. What's truly 00:02:08.199 --> 00:02:10.719 fascinating is that the name Kansas is fundamentally 00:02:10.719 --> 00:02:12.979 tied to the land and its original inhabitants. 00:02:14.120 --> 00:02:16.870 The state is named after the Kansas River. often 00:02:16.870 --> 00:02:19.169 known as the Ka. The Ka, right. Which itself 00:02:19.169 --> 00:02:21.490 is named after the Ka people, also known as the 00:02:21.490 --> 00:02:24.129 Kanza, a federally recognized Native American 00:02:24.129 --> 00:02:29.110 tribe. The tribal name, natively Kakuzi, is commonly 00:02:29.110 --> 00:02:31.569 interpreted as meaning people of the south wind. 00:02:32.150 --> 00:02:35.219 Wow. So it immediately roots the state. in its 00:02:35.219 --> 00:02:37.719 indigenous past and connects it to the environment 00:02:37.719 --> 00:02:40.960 that dominates life there. Precisely. And tracing 00:02:40.960 --> 00:02:43.479 that history forward, the first major contact 00:02:43.479 --> 00:02:46.060 with Europeans was far earlier than many people 00:02:46.060 --> 00:02:49.180 realize. Spanish conquistador Francisco Vazquez 00:02:49.180 --> 00:02:52.639 de Coronado arrived in 1541. That's a full century 00:02:52.639 --> 00:02:54.719 before the Mayflower landed. A hundred years. 00:02:54.919 --> 00:02:56.939 That's incredible. It really serves as a stark 00:02:56.939 --> 00:02:59.139 reminder that the Great Plains region was part 00:02:59.139 --> 00:03:01.259 of the Spanish sphere of influence long, long 00:03:01.259 --> 00:03:03.659 before it was part of the United States. Exactly. 00:03:03.719 --> 00:03:06.659 For centuries, the territory remained contested, 00:03:06.659 --> 00:03:09.639 a crossroads of empires. While most of modern 00:03:09.639 --> 00:03:12.580 Kansas was acquired by the U .S. in 1803 as part 00:03:12.580 --> 00:03:14.639 of the Louisiana Purchase, we have to remember 00:03:14.639 --> 00:03:17.580 the southwestern corner. That part of the state 00:03:17.580 --> 00:03:20.020 was claimed territory belonging to Spain, then 00:03:20.020 --> 00:03:22.300 Mexico, and then the Republic of Texas. Until 00:03:22.300 --> 00:03:24.400 the Mexican -American War. Right. Until that 00:03:24.400 --> 00:03:27.659 war concluded in 1848. The boundaries we see 00:03:27.659 --> 00:03:29.879 today, they aren't just lines on a map. They're 00:03:29.879 --> 00:03:32.659 the result of global conflicts, treaties and 00:03:32.659 --> 00:03:35.479 massive land acquisitions over centuries. And 00:03:35.479 --> 00:03:38.139 once the U .S. had possession. Organized settlement 00:03:38.139 --> 00:03:40.300 followed pretty quickly, often centered around 00:03:40.300 --> 00:03:42.719 military installations. It did, and those were 00:03:42.719 --> 00:03:46.099 designed to project power and protect trade. 00:03:46.520 --> 00:03:49.340 Fort Leavenworth, established in 1827, stands 00:03:49.340 --> 00:03:51.759 out. It was the first permanent settlement of 00:03:51.759 --> 00:03:54.039 white Americans in the future state, marking 00:03:54.039 --> 00:03:56.620 a definitive shift toward an organized U .S. 00:03:56.620 --> 00:03:58.879 presence. And economically, the Santa Fe Trail 00:03:58.879 --> 00:04:00.979 was the first great artery of American commerce 00:04:00.979 --> 00:04:02.860 running right through the heart of the region. 00:04:03.240 --> 00:04:05.500 The original interstate highway for trade, really. 00:04:05.620 --> 00:04:09.240 It traversed Kansas from 1821 to 1880. It was 00:04:09.240 --> 00:04:11.300 a vital supply chain, transporting manufactured 00:04:11.300 --> 00:04:14.379 goods west from Missouri and bringing back high 00:04:14.379 --> 00:04:17.660 -value silver and furs from Santa Fe. If you 00:04:17.660 --> 00:04:20.079 travel there today, you can still see the deep 00:04:20.079 --> 00:04:23.259 wagon ruts, often yards wide, etched permanently 00:04:23.259 --> 00:04:26.060 into the prairie. like physical scar tissue on 00:04:26.060 --> 00:04:27.800 the landscape. That's a perfect way to put it. 00:04:28.420 --> 00:04:30.720 Documenting that historical traffic, that relentless 00:04:30.720 --> 00:04:33.519 movement of goods and ambition. That economic 00:04:33.519 --> 00:04:35.899 and settlement pressure brings us to the most 00:04:35.899 --> 00:04:39.620 defining and frankly violent period, the one 00:04:39.620 --> 00:04:41.680 that gave Kansas its unofficial hard -earned 00:04:41.680 --> 00:04:45.660 moniker, the Free State. Let's talk about the 00:04:45.660 --> 00:04:48.259 true genesis of the Civil War. Bleeding Kansas. 00:04:48.540 --> 00:04:50.899 This period is I mean, it's arguably the most 00:04:50.899 --> 00:04:52.779 critical for understanding the American identity, 00:04:52.959 --> 00:04:55.000 not just Kansas's identity. The political mechanism 00:04:55.000 --> 00:04:58.560 was the Kansas -Nebraska Act of 1854. It opened 00:04:58.560 --> 00:05:00.620 the territory to settlement, but also introduced 00:05:00.620 --> 00:05:02.899 the disastrous concept of popular sovereignty. 00:05:03.019 --> 00:05:04.959 Which meant the settlers themselves got to vote 00:05:04.959 --> 00:05:06.980 on whether it be a free state or a slave state. 00:05:07.120 --> 00:05:10.220 Yes. The national government essentially outsourced 00:05:10.220 --> 00:05:12.699 the decision, turning a political question into 00:05:12.699 --> 00:05:17.129 basically. A mandate for civil strife and Kansas 00:05:17.129 --> 00:05:19.529 immediately became a battlefield. An internal 00:05:19.529 --> 00:05:22.370 civil war simmering years before Fort Sumter. 00:05:22.509 --> 00:05:25.550 Absolutely. The conflict was immediate and ferocious. 00:05:25.790 --> 00:05:29.449 You had staunch New England abolitionist freestaters 00:05:29.449 --> 00:05:32.170 who founded towns like Lawrence, colliding directly 00:05:32.170 --> 00:05:34.850 with militant pro -slavery settlers streaming 00:05:34.850 --> 00:05:37.610 in, often illegally, from neighboring Missouri 00:05:37.610 --> 00:05:40.470 and Arkansas. The border ruffians? The border 00:05:40.470 --> 00:05:42.750 ruffians. And this wasn't just political debate. 00:05:42.850 --> 00:05:45.189 It was outright sustained guerrilla warfare. 00:05:45.810 --> 00:05:48.779 Assassinations? arson, earning the territory 00:05:48.779 --> 00:05:51.800 the nickname Bleeding Kansas. We have specific 00:05:51.800 --> 00:05:54.060 terrible examples that show just how ferocious 00:05:54.060 --> 00:05:56.540 it was. John Brown's Pottawatomie Massacre in 00:05:56.540 --> 00:05:59.339 1856. A horrifying escalation. And what made 00:05:59.339 --> 00:06:01.100 it so psychologically devastating was that the 00:06:01.100 --> 00:06:03.259 line between soldier and civilian was utterly 00:06:03.259 --> 00:06:05.759 erased. These fights weren't between uniformed 00:06:05.759 --> 00:06:07.939 armies. They were between neighbors, local militias, 00:06:07.980 --> 00:06:10.399 houses were burned, families targeted. It directly 00:06:10.399 --> 00:06:12.920 presaged the National Civil War. And when Kansas 00:06:12.920 --> 00:06:15.779 was finally admitted as the 34th state on January 00:06:15.779 --> 00:06:19.579 29th, 1861 it entered as a free state but the 00:06:19.579 --> 00:06:21.959 fighting didn't stop. No it didn't. The peak 00:06:21.959 --> 00:06:24.300 of this post -statehood violence was the incredibly 00:06:24.300 --> 00:06:27.360 destructive Quantrill's raid on Lawrence. August 00:06:27.360 --> 00:06:30.920 1863. A dark, dark day. Confederate guerrilla 00:06:30.920 --> 00:06:33.339 leader William Quantrill led a raid on Lawrence, 00:06:33.500 --> 00:06:36.079 specifically targeting the heart of the Free 00:06:36.079 --> 00:06:38.279 State movement. They burned much of the city 00:06:38.279 --> 00:06:40.420 to the ground and killed nearly 200 civilian 00:06:40.420 --> 00:06:43.319 men and boys. The sheer brutality of it led to 00:06:43.319 --> 00:06:45.500 Quantrill being condemned even by some in the 00:06:45.500 --> 00:06:48.240 Confederate military. It just shows how personal 00:06:48.240 --> 00:06:50.629 the violence remained. That foundational violence 00:06:50.629 --> 00:06:53.129 makes the next era, the post -war settlement, 00:06:53.350 --> 00:06:56.629 so remarkable. Once the Civil War was over, the 00:06:56.629 --> 00:06:58.769 state solidified its identity not just as a free 00:06:58.769 --> 00:07:02.410 state, but as a land of opportunity and a destination 00:07:02.410 --> 00:07:04.750 for freedom seekers. Here's where it gets really 00:07:04.750 --> 00:07:08.310 interesting. The Homestead Acts of 1862 spurred 00:07:08.310 --> 00:07:10.550 agricultural development, attracting countless 00:07:10.550 --> 00:07:13.149 farmers. But the most profound social development 00:07:13.149 --> 00:07:15.889 was the arrival of the Exodusters. Kansas became 00:07:15.889 --> 00:07:18.430 this powerful magnet for African -Americans seeking 00:07:18.430 --> 00:07:20.990 escape from Southern discrimination and the failed 00:07:20.990 --> 00:07:23.529 promise of reconstruction. A massive demographic 00:07:23.529 --> 00:07:26.569 shift driven by hope and the symbolism of Kansas. 00:07:26.870 --> 00:07:29.339 Tell us more about them. This movement was mainly 00:07:29.339 --> 00:07:32.420 in the late 1870s. Thousands of formerly enslaved 00:07:32.420 --> 00:07:35.500 people migrated to Kansas, seeing it as the symbolic 00:07:35.500 --> 00:07:37.639 land of John Brown, the abolitionist martyr. 00:07:37.899 --> 00:07:40.439 They were led by figures like Benjamin Papp Singleton, 00:07:40.680 --> 00:07:42.600 who was instrumental in organizing the migration, 00:07:42.959 --> 00:07:45.420 convincing thousands that Kansas was the new 00:07:45.420 --> 00:07:47.620 promised land. And what challenges did they face 00:07:47.620 --> 00:07:50.019 when they got there? Immense challenges. Poverty, 00:07:50.040 --> 00:07:52.959 lack of resources, sometimes hostility from white 00:07:52.959 --> 00:07:55.319 settlers. But they established numerous black 00:07:55.319 --> 00:07:57.600 colonies, often relying on incredible community. 00:07:57.769 --> 00:08:00.470 strength. The most famous of these is Nicodemus, 00:08:00.550 --> 00:08:03.970 founded in 1877. It's a powerful testament to 00:08:03.970 --> 00:08:06.449 the state's early, if complicated, commitment 00:08:06.449 --> 00:08:08.790 to freedom. And alongside this crucial migration 00:08:08.790 --> 00:08:12.009 came the most legendary chapter of American frontier 00:08:12.009 --> 00:08:15.230 mythology, the cattle trade. The Wild West era. 00:08:15.720 --> 00:08:17.720 The Chisholm Trail opens up, the cattle trade 00:08:17.720 --> 00:08:20.620 booms in the 1870s, all driven by the expanding 00:08:20.620 --> 00:08:23.899 railroads. Texas Longhorns were driven hundreds 00:08:23.899 --> 00:08:26.899 of miles north to the Kansas railheads, transforming 00:08:26.899 --> 00:08:29.899 sleepy rail stops into these booming, chaotic 00:08:29.899 --> 00:08:33.700 cow towns. Dodge City instantly became synonymous 00:08:33.700 --> 00:08:36.500 with lawlessness, commerce, and violence. Queen 00:08:36.500 --> 00:08:38.980 of the cow towns. The scale of that operation 00:08:38.980 --> 00:08:41.720 is just staggering. Our sources say in one year 00:08:41.720 --> 00:08:43.980 alone, 8 million head of cattle boarded trains 00:08:43.980 --> 00:08:46.769 there. Eight million. And that volume of commerce 00:08:46.769 --> 00:08:49.029 meant you had to impose order, often violently. 00:08:49.330 --> 00:08:51.950 The money drew both successful businessmen and 00:08:51.950 --> 00:08:54.029 the most notorious criminals. And this is where 00:08:54.029 --> 00:08:56.549 you see the careers of Wild Bill Hickok and Hayes 00:08:56.549 --> 00:08:59.070 and Abilene and both Bat Masterson and Wyatt 00:08:59.070 --> 00:09:02.149 Earp serving as lawmen in Dodge City. They were 00:09:02.149 --> 00:09:04.169 the agents of that change from frontier chaos 00:09:04.169 --> 00:09:06.580 to nascent civil order. Moving into the 20th 00:09:06.580 --> 00:09:09.139 century, Kansas continued its trend of pioneering 00:09:09.139 --> 00:09:11.779 social movements, often leading the nation. The 00:09:11.779 --> 00:09:13.620 temperance movement is the perfect example. It 00:09:13.620 --> 00:09:16.480 is. Kansas became the first U .S. state to adopt 00:09:16.480 --> 00:09:19.620 a constitutional amendment prohibiting all alcoholic 00:09:19.620 --> 00:09:23.740 beverages way back in 1881. This was a defining 00:09:23.740 --> 00:09:26.840 cultural force, epitomized by the notorious anti 00:09:26.840 --> 00:09:29.580 -saloon activist Carrie Nation. She started her 00:09:29.580 --> 00:09:31.879 campaign of smashing bars with a hatchet in Kiowa 00:09:31.879 --> 00:09:35.320 in 1900. Her actions, though criminal, really 00:09:35.320 --> 00:09:38.440 solidified Kansas' reputation as a hotbed of 00:09:38.440 --> 00:09:41.120 progressive social reform, albeit one rooted 00:09:41.120 --> 00:09:43.259 in a kind of moral conservatism. Absolutely. 00:09:43.480 --> 00:09:45.759 But before the state found its modern identity, 00:09:45.960 --> 00:09:48.360 it suffered catastrophic environmental and economic 00:09:48.360 --> 00:09:51.820 devastation in the 1930s. The Dust Bowl. It hit 00:09:51.820 --> 00:09:54.960 Kansas hard, particularly the Southwest, topsoil 00:09:54.960 --> 00:09:57.240 literally blowing away in massive black blizzards. 00:09:57.399 --> 00:09:59.779 Hard to imagine. But even as the dust settled, 00:09:59.899 --> 00:10:02.850 an entirely new economic storm World War II was 00:10:02.850 --> 00:10:05.110 forging a new industrial identity in the state's 00:10:05.110 --> 00:10:08.029 cities. That is the crucial pivot point. Our 00:10:08.029 --> 00:10:10.129 sources highlight the rapid growth in aircraft 00:10:10.129 --> 00:10:12.610 manufacturing near Wichita, dubbing it the Battle 00:10:12.610 --> 00:10:15.889 of Kansas. Companies like Boeing, Cessna and 00:10:15.889 --> 00:10:19.210 Beechcraft ramped up production. This wartime 00:10:19.210 --> 00:10:21.889 industrial boom created the economic spine of 00:10:21.889 --> 00:10:24.629 modern Kansas, moving the state from a purely 00:10:24.629 --> 00:10:27.649 agricultural dependence into a diversified industrial 00:10:27.649 --> 00:10:30.590 and engineering power. It firmly established 00:10:30.590 --> 00:10:33.389 Wichita's lasting identity as the air capital. 00:10:33.710 --> 00:10:36.169 That transition from dusty plains to industrial 00:10:36.169 --> 00:10:38.769 powerhouse leads us perfectly into part two, 00:10:38.889 --> 00:10:42.110 where we need to tackle the great enduring geographical 00:10:42.110 --> 00:10:45.149 misconception about Kansas. The idea that is 00:10:45.149 --> 00:10:48.370 completely boringly flat. It's the ultimate geographical 00:10:48.370 --> 00:10:50.730 myth. You hear Kansas, you picture Dorothy's 00:10:50.730 --> 00:10:53.669 flat farm, but it's a massive state, 15th largest 00:10:53.669 --> 00:10:55.909 by area. And it holds the distinction of having 00:10:55.909 --> 00:10:58.169 Lebanon, which is generally considered the geographic 00:10:58.169 --> 00:11:00.610 center of the contiguous United States. But let's 00:11:00.610 --> 00:11:02.570 finally debunk the infamous pancake argument. 00:11:02.990 --> 00:11:05.210 That 2003 study said it was flatter than a pancake. 00:11:05.370 --> 00:11:07.809 It made great headlines and the idea just stuck. 00:11:08.090 --> 00:11:11.149 The reality is much more nuanced. When you measure 00:11:11.149 --> 00:11:14.649 it by maximum topographic relief, the difference 00:11:14.649 --> 00:11:17.330 between its highest and lowest points, Kansas 00:11:17.330 --> 00:11:21.309 has a relief of 3 ,360 feet. That statistic places 00:11:21.309 --> 00:11:23.889 it only as the 23rd flattest state. So there 00:11:23.889 --> 00:11:26.149 are 22 states that are demonstrably flatter than 00:11:26.149 --> 00:11:28.529 Kansas. Exactly. Including Florida and Illinois. 00:11:28.809 --> 00:11:32.039 The land rises gradually as you move west. The 00:11:32.039 --> 00:11:34.340 highest point is Mount Sunflower, near the Colorado 00:11:34.340 --> 00:11:37.320 border, at over 4 ,000 feet. The lowest is the 00:11:37.320 --> 00:11:39.720 Verdigris River, down in the southeast. So you 00:11:39.720 --> 00:11:42.299 have these distinct copographical zones. The 00:11:42.299 --> 00:11:44.860 west is flat or undulating, the middle is hilly, 00:11:44.980 --> 00:11:47.720 but the eastern third has many forests and rolling 00:11:47.720 --> 00:11:49.919 hills. Sounds like three states rolled into one. 00:11:50.559 --> 00:11:53.000 And that diversity is reflected in the underlying 00:11:53.000 --> 00:11:55.820 geology, I assume. Absolutely. The eastern two 00:11:55.820 --> 00:11:57.940 -thirds are underlain by ancient sedimentary 00:11:57.940 --> 00:12:00.679 rocks, coal, and oil deposits. The western half 00:12:00.679 --> 00:12:02.679 is covered by younger sediments that wash down 00:12:02.679 --> 00:12:05.080 from the erosion of the Rocky Mountains. And 00:12:05.080 --> 00:12:07.399 the far northeast corner bears the unmistakable 00:12:07.399 --> 00:12:10.279 scars of Pleistocene glaciation. And these large 00:12:10.279 --> 00:12:12.559 geographic boundaries are defined by massive 00:12:12.559 --> 00:12:15.340 river systems. Water defines everything. The 00:12:15.340 --> 00:12:17.299 Missouri River defines the northeastern boundary. 00:12:17.759 --> 00:12:20.259 Then you have the critical Kansas River, the 00:12:20.259 --> 00:12:22.769 Kaw. which meets the Missouri at Kansas City. 00:12:22.870 --> 00:12:25.750 To the south, the massive Arkansas River system 00:12:25.750 --> 00:12:29.169 forms the southern drainage. So three distinct 00:12:29.169 --> 00:12:31.590 geographies, which leads logically to a highly 00:12:31.590 --> 00:12:34.730 volatile climate. Kansas sits right at a climatic 00:12:34.730 --> 00:12:36.769 boundary. It's a state of climatic extremes. 00:12:36.809 --> 00:12:38.970 It actually encompasses three different Cuppin 00:12:38.970 --> 00:12:41.289 climate classifications. Let's start with the 00:12:41.289 --> 00:12:44.009 most populated region, the eastern two -thirds. 00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:47.620 That area has a humid continental climate. It's 00:12:47.620 --> 00:12:50.259 cool to cold winters and hot, very humid summers. 00:12:50.539 --> 00:12:52.899 The combination of high temperatures and high 00:12:52.899 --> 00:12:55.919 humidity creates extreme heat indices, especially 00:12:55.919 --> 00:12:58.220 in the urban areas. I know the heat index there 00:12:58.220 --> 00:13:00.019 can be brutal. What kind of numbers are we talking 00:13:00.019 --> 00:13:01.759 about? We're talking life -threatening. In the 00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:05.120 Kansas City metro, Topeka, Lawrence, the heat 00:13:05.120 --> 00:13:08.379 index frequently reaches between 107 and 114 00:13:08.379 --> 00:13:11.440 degrees Fahrenheit. And it stays hot well into 00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:13.480 the night. It's dangerous. And then you move 00:13:13.480 --> 00:13:16.039 west. And the experience changes dramatically. 00:13:16.440 --> 00:13:19.860 Yes. The Western Third transitions into a semi 00:13:19.860 --> 00:13:23.419 -arid steppe climate. Hot, often very hot, but 00:13:23.419 --> 00:13:25.919 generally less humid summers and highly changeable 00:13:25.919 --> 00:13:28.639 winters. A surprising feature there is the Chinook 00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:31.639 wind. A warm, dry wind that can raise temperatures 00:13:31.639 --> 00:13:34.320 into the 80s even in the middle of winter. And 00:13:34.320 --> 00:13:36.360 the third zone is the transition area near the 00:13:36.360 --> 00:13:38.460 southern border. Correct. The south -central 00:13:38.460 --> 00:13:40.639 and southeastern portions, including Wichita, 00:13:40.879 --> 00:13:43.519 dip into a humid subtropical climate, sharing 00:13:43.519 --> 00:13:46.620 characteristics with Oklahoma. Hot, humid summers, 00:13:46.620 --> 00:13:49.279 but milder winters. So you have three distinct 00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:52.200 meteorological realities across one state. And 00:13:52.200 --> 00:13:54.259 because of this volatile location, we have to 00:13:54.259 --> 00:13:56.460 talk about its most famous and destructive weather 00:13:56.460 --> 00:13:59.450 trait. Tornado Alley. It sits squarely in the 00:13:59.450 --> 00:14:02.090 heart of it. Kansas averages more than 50 tornadoes 00:14:02.090 --> 00:14:05.570 annually. It also holds a painful record. 121 00:14:05.570 --> 00:14:08.769 degrees Fahrenheit recorded in 1936, tying for 00:14:08.769 --> 00:14:11.049 the fifth highest record high in the country. 00:14:11.250 --> 00:14:14.029 It is truly a land of meteorological extremes. 00:14:14.389 --> 00:14:16.690 Yet despite the intense agriculture and severe 00:14:16.690 --> 00:14:19.049 weather, it is a region of incredible natural 00:14:19.049 --> 00:14:22.299 heritage. It is. Key sites managed by the National 00:14:22.299 --> 00:14:25.240 Park Service include the Tallgrass Prairie National 00:14:25.240 --> 00:14:27.879 Preserve near Strong City, which protects the 00:14:27.879 --> 00:14:30.980 remnants of that once massive ecosystem. And 00:14:30.980 --> 00:14:33.179 historically, those protected sites tell the 00:14:33.179 --> 00:14:36.159 human story, too. The Brown v. Board of Education 00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:39.279 National Historic Site in Topeka is central to 00:14:39.279 --> 00:14:41.539 the civil rights struggle. And the Nicodemus 00:14:41.539 --> 00:14:44.279 National Historic Site preserves one of those 00:14:44.279 --> 00:14:46.779 key black colonies founded by the Exodusters. 00:14:47.059 --> 00:14:48.919 Moving from the natural landscape to the human 00:14:48.919 --> 00:14:51.490 landscape. Let's explore how people live there. 00:14:51.690 --> 00:14:54.070 Part three dives into the dramatic demographic 00:14:54.070 --> 00:14:58.090 divide. Rural flight versus metropolitan sprawl. 00:14:58.269 --> 00:15:00.809 This is perhaps the most crucial socioeconomic 00:15:00.809 --> 00:15:03.649 challenge facing Kansas today. Population density 00:15:03.649 --> 00:15:06.429 is low overall, but profoundly uneven. The focus 00:15:06.429 --> 00:15:08.690 on highly labor -efficient grain agriculture, 00:15:08.990 --> 00:15:11.629 it's resulted in a major sustained migratory 00:15:11.629 --> 00:15:13.789 pattern out of the countryside. The scale of 00:15:13.789 --> 00:15:16.429 that decline is shocking. It is. One historian 00:15:16.429 --> 00:15:19.490 noted Kansas has over 6 ,000 ghost towns and 00:15:19.490 --> 00:15:22.070 dwindling communities. 6 ,000. Thousands of lost 00:15:22.070 --> 00:15:25.350 towns, abandoned main streets. And contrast that 00:15:25.350 --> 00:15:28.179 rural decline with the explosive. growth in the 00:15:28.179 --> 00:15:30.259 metro areas, like Johnson County in the Kansas 00:15:30.259 --> 00:15:33.379 City metro. Cities like Lenexa and Gardner grew 00:15:33.379 --> 00:15:36.519 by around 20 percent in just a decade. It's a 00:15:36.519 --> 00:15:39.799 tale of two Kansas economies. Let's break down 00:15:39.799 --> 00:15:41.700 the major urban centers, starting with northeast 00:15:41.700 --> 00:15:44.639 Kansas, the Metropolitan Core. This region, the 00:15:44.639 --> 00:15:47.539 KC suburbs, Topeka, Lawrence, Manhattan, is home 00:15:47.539 --> 00:15:51.019 to over 1 .5 million people. It's also the intellectual 00:15:51.019 --> 00:15:53.139 center of the state. You have the University 00:15:53.139 --> 00:15:55.659 of Kansas in Lawrence, the largest public university. 00:15:55.899 --> 00:15:58.559 You have Haskell Indian Nations University, a 00:15:58.559 --> 00:16:01.299 key center for indigenous higher education. And 00:16:01.299 --> 00:16:03.080 then there's Kansas State University in Manhattan, 00:16:03.320 --> 00:16:06.159 the nation's oldest land -grant university. Moving 00:16:06.159 --> 00:16:08.899 south, we hit south -central Kansas with its 00:16:08.899 --> 00:16:11.440 distinct identity tied to manufacturing the air 00:16:11.440 --> 00:16:14.090 capital. Wichita. Its identity as the air capital 00:16:14.090 --> 00:16:17.289 is entirely earned. It's a critical global manufacturing 00:16:17.289 --> 00:16:20.149 center for the aerospace industry. It hosts major 00:16:20.149 --> 00:16:22.470 facilities for Spear Aerosystems, Bombardier, 00:16:22.570 --> 00:16:25.149 which produces Learjets, and Textron Aviation, 00:16:25.149 --> 00:16:27.990 which consolidated Cessna, Hawker, and Beechcraft. 00:16:28.230 --> 00:16:30.730 A staggering concentration of specialized industry 00:16:30.730 --> 00:16:34.330 and outside of aviation. You have some fascinating 00:16:34.330 --> 00:16:37.250 quirks. Hutchinson is built on one of the world's 00:16:37.250 --> 00:16:40.330 largest salt deposits. They have a museum inside 00:16:40.330 --> 00:16:42.970 the salt mines. And it's also home to the world 00:16:42.970 --> 00:16:45.490 -renowned Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center 00:16:45.490 --> 00:16:48.250 with one of the finest collections of space artifacts 00:16:48.250 --> 00:16:51.230 anywhere. And our sources highlight other diverse 00:16:51.230 --> 00:16:53.950 regions, the southeast, for instance. The southeast 00:16:53.950 --> 00:16:56.590 has a deep coal mining history. Pittsburgh is 00:16:56.590 --> 00:16:59.409 the largest city there, famously dubbed the fried 00:16:59.409 --> 00:17:02.549 chicken capital of Kansas. Unfortunately, it 00:17:02.549 --> 00:17:05.130 was also the site of the state's worst mine disaster 00:17:05.130 --> 00:17:09.089 at Frontenac in 1888. Then central Kansas with 00:17:09.089 --> 00:17:11.069 its presidential history. That's Abilene, the 00:17:11.069 --> 00:17:13.569 former Chisholm Trail trailhead, and importantly, 00:17:13.750 --> 00:17:16.230 the boyhood home of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. 00:17:16.329 --> 00:17:19.279 His presidential library is there. Finally, the 00:17:19.279 --> 00:17:21.660 southwest, the most famous for its wild west 00:17:21.660 --> 00:17:25.200 roots. The iconic Dodge City territory. But this 00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:28.119 region has also expressed deep regional frustration. 00:17:28.299 --> 00:17:31.940 In 1992, there was actually a short -lived secessionist 00:17:31.940 --> 00:17:34.619 movement here, which underscores the political 00:17:34.619 --> 00:17:36.799 and cultural distance between the far -flung 00:17:36.799 --> 00:17:39.259 agricultural counties and the power centers in 00:17:39.259 --> 00:17:41.380 the northeast. Looking at the demographic profile 00:17:41.380 --> 00:17:44.160 overall, what defines the modern Kansan? The 00:17:44.160 --> 00:17:46.740 state is defined by its deep northern European 00:17:46.740 --> 00:17:49.980 ancestry. Primarily white, non -Hispanic, but 00:17:49.980 --> 00:17:53.240 with significant Hispanic populations and a large 00:17:53.240 --> 00:17:55.519 historical black population descended from the 00:17:55.519 --> 00:17:58.880 Exodusters. Ancestry is overwhelmingly German, 00:17:58.980 --> 00:18:01.440 followed by Irish and English. You also pointed 00:18:01.440 --> 00:18:04.990 out a profound and, well, troubling metric. The 00:18:04.990 --> 00:18:07.190 stark difference in life expectancy, depending 00:18:07.190 --> 00:18:09.329 on which county you live in. Yes, it's a profound 00:18:09.329 --> 00:18:12.049 indicator of inequality. In Johnson County, the 00:18:12.049 --> 00:18:14.650 affluent Casey suburbs, life expectancy is 81 00:18:14.650 --> 00:18:17.789 .7 years. By contrast, in Wyandotte County, which 00:18:17.789 --> 00:18:19.890 faces more urban and lower income challenges, 00:18:19.970 --> 00:18:22.849 it's 75 .8 years. That six -year difference within 00:18:22.849 --> 00:18:25.150 the same state is a serious reflection of underlying 00:18:25.150 --> 00:18:29.039 disparities. A six -year gap is enormous. That 00:18:29.039 --> 00:18:31.680 leads us perfectly into part four, where we analyze 00:18:31.680 --> 00:18:34.420 the state's economic powerhouse and, more importantly, 00:18:34.539 --> 00:18:36.579 the dramatic and controversial tax experiment 00:18:36.579 --> 00:18:39.160 it recently underwent. Economically, the state 00:18:39.160 --> 00:18:43.500 is robust, with a GDP of $226 billion. But the 00:18:43.500 --> 00:18:46.619 foundation remains agricultural. Nearly 90 % 00:18:46.619 --> 00:18:49.259 of the land is devoted to farming. And when we 00:18:49.259 --> 00:18:51.460 talk agriculture, we have to talk about wheat. 00:18:51.700 --> 00:18:54.660 How dominant is Kansas in the wheat market? It's 00:18:54.660 --> 00:18:57.380 the undisputed heart of the grain belt. About 00:18:57.380 --> 00:18:59.839 40 % of all winter wheat grown in the U .S. is 00:18:59.839 --> 00:19:02.819 grown in Kansas, predominantly hard red winter 00:19:02.819 --> 00:19:05.579 wheat. Its high protein content makes it ideal 00:19:05.579 --> 00:19:08.700 for bread flour. That agricultural output fuels 00:19:08.700 --> 00:19:11.019 a massive food processing industry. And outside 00:19:11.019 --> 00:19:12.720 the wheat fields, we have the aerospace industry 00:19:12.720 --> 00:19:15.039 and a surprisingly large energy sector. Kansas 00:19:15.039 --> 00:19:17.160 is rapidly becoming a leader in renewable energy. 00:19:17.380 --> 00:19:19.990 It's a tight U .S. producer of wind power. In 00:19:19.990 --> 00:19:23.230 2019, wind generated a staggering 41 % of the 00:19:23.230 --> 00:19:25.849 state's electricity. They do still rely on traditional 00:19:25.849 --> 00:19:28.069 energy. It's ranked eighth in petroleum and gas 00:19:28.069 --> 00:19:30.289 extraction, but that production is declining. 00:19:30.509 --> 00:19:33.509 Now, let's pivot to the fiscal policy drama that 00:19:33.509 --> 00:19:35.849 put Kansas on the national map in the 2010s. 00:19:36.160 --> 00:19:39.759 The tax overhaul labeled the country's most aggressive 00:19:39.759 --> 00:19:42.960 experiment in conservative economic policy. This 00:19:42.960 --> 00:19:45.819 was a watershed moment driven by then -Governor 00:19:45.819 --> 00:19:49.160 Sam Brownback. The core legislation, HB 2117, 00:19:49.460 --> 00:19:51.640 was designed to create massive growth through 00:19:51.640 --> 00:19:54.579 supply -side theory. The idea was to dramatically 00:19:54.579 --> 00:19:58.180 trim income tax rates and, crucially, create 00:19:58.180 --> 00:20:00.960 expansive pass -through income tax exemptions. 00:20:00.960 --> 00:20:03.059 OK, so explain that pass -through income tax 00:20:03.059 --> 00:20:06.309 exemption in detail. Why was that specific mechanism 00:20:06.309 --> 00:20:08.630 the central point of the crisis? A pass -through 00:20:08.630 --> 00:20:11.849 entity is a business like an LLC or a sole proprietorship, 00:20:11.950 --> 00:20:14.230 where profits are passed through directly to 00:20:14.230 --> 00:20:17.250 the owner's personal income tax returns. By exempting 00:20:17.250 --> 00:20:19.849 this income from state income tax, the law instantly 00:20:19.849 --> 00:20:22.589 benefited about 300 ,000 businesses and their 00:20:22.589 --> 00:20:24.750 owners. So if you were a self -employed plumber 00:20:24.750 --> 00:20:27.309 or a partner in a small law firm, your tax burden 00:20:27.309 --> 00:20:30.220 just plummeted. Exactly. The sources note that 00:20:30.220 --> 00:20:33.819 it actively encouraged tens of thousands of Kansans 00:20:33.819 --> 00:20:36.980 to claim their wages and salaries as income from 00:20:36.980 --> 00:20:39.940 a business. People who were essentially employees 00:20:39.940 --> 00:20:42.799 suddenly had a massive incentive to reclassify 00:20:42.799 --> 00:20:45.140 as independent contractors just to claim the 00:20:45.140 --> 00:20:47.819 exemption. This, combined with the rate cuts, 00:20:48.039 --> 00:20:50.960 led to an instantaneous gaping hole in state 00:20:50.960 --> 00:20:53.799 revenue. And the fiscal strategy relied on a 00:20:53.799 --> 00:20:56.369 theoretical economic boom that just... Never 00:20:56.369 --> 00:20:58.910 happened. It never materialized. The plan was, 00:20:59.089 --> 00:21:01.470 one, the promise of massive trickle -down growth, 00:21:01.589 --> 00:21:04.490 and two, to cover the immediate gap, they raised 00:21:04.490 --> 00:21:07.829 the sales tax by 1%. But the sales tax increase 00:21:07.829 --> 00:21:10.630 was entirely inadequate to cover the colossal 00:21:10.630 --> 00:21:13.009 shortfall. The budget hemorrhaged almost immediately. 00:21:13.329 --> 00:21:15.809 What were the concrete painful consequences for 00:21:15.809 --> 00:21:18.279 state services? The state faced chronic budget 00:21:18.279 --> 00:21:20.920 shortfalls, culminating in a devastating $350 00:21:20.920 --> 00:21:25.680 million shortfall by February 2017. S &P downgraded 00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:28.339 Kansas' credit rating multiple times. Critically, 00:21:28.359 --> 00:21:30.680 the cuts had threatened the viability of schools 00:21:30.680 --> 00:21:32.740 and infrastructure. So when you say threatening 00:21:32.740 --> 00:21:34.279 schools, what does that actually look like on 00:21:34.279 --> 00:21:36.279 the ground? It meant school districts were forced 00:21:36.279 --> 00:21:38.799 to shorten school weeks, cut extracurriculars, 00:21:38.900 --> 00:21:41.619 institute hiring freezes, libraries cut their 00:21:41.619 --> 00:21:43.980 hours, state highway maintenance was deferred. 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:46.960 It created a deep sense of internal crisis. So 00:21:46.960 --> 00:21:48.980 how did the political system finally self -correct? 00:21:49.390 --> 00:21:52.809 The pressure became overwhelming. In 2017, a 00:21:52.809 --> 00:21:55.190 bipartisan coalition in the legislature composed 00:21:55.190 --> 00:21:57.670 of Democrats and moderate Republicans passed 00:21:57.670 --> 00:22:00.049 a bill to repeal the exemption and increase tax 00:22:00.049 --> 00:22:02.730 rates. Brownback vetoed it, but they successfully 00:22:02.730 --> 00:22:05.650 overrode his veto. The failure of this aggressive 00:22:05.650 --> 00:22:07.970 experiment became a national cautionary tale 00:22:07.970 --> 00:22:10.690 about fiscal prudence. An incredible political 00:22:10.690 --> 00:22:13.450 and economic swing. It underscores the political 00:22:13.450 --> 00:22:15.990 volatility of a state often thought to be uniformly 00:22:15.990 --> 00:22:20.140 conservative. That brings us to part five. Kansas' 00:22:20.359 --> 00:22:22.680 incredibly complex and contradictory political 00:22:22.680 --> 00:22:25.400 trajectory. Kansas' current political identity 00:22:25.400 --> 00:22:28.319 is defined by this contradiction. On one hand, 00:22:28.319 --> 00:22:31.720 it is deeply, reliably Republican. Since 1936, 00:22:31.980 --> 00:22:35.059 only one Democrat, LDJ in 64, has carried the 00:22:35.059 --> 00:22:37.819 state in a presidential election. Classic red 00:22:37.819 --> 00:22:39.940 state territory. But its foundational political 00:22:39.940 --> 00:22:42.799 DNA wasn't just anti -slavery. It was radically 00:22:42.799 --> 00:22:45.140 progressive in certain areas. That progressive 00:22:45.140 --> 00:22:47.240 route can be traced back to the populist movement 00:22:47.240 --> 00:22:50.299 of the 1890s. It translated into real reforms. 00:22:50.720 --> 00:22:53.559 Kansas permitted women's suffrage in 1912, almost 00:22:53.559 --> 00:22:56.279 a decade before the 19th Amendment. It was also 00:22:56.279 --> 00:22:58.059 the first state to institute workers' compensation 00:22:58.059 --> 00:23:01.000 in 1910 and regulate the securities industry 00:23:01.000 --> 00:23:04.240 in 1911. A powerful legacy of social protection. 00:23:04.539 --> 00:23:07.700 And globally, Kansas is cemented forever in the 00:23:07.700 --> 00:23:09.279 history of the American Civil Rights Movement. 00:23:09.500 --> 00:23:12.079 Irrevocably so. Kansas was the central location 00:23:12.079 --> 00:23:15.049 for the 1954 Supreme Court. Court decision, Brown 00:23:15.049 --> 00:23:17.769 v. Board of Education of Topeka, which banned 00:23:17.769 --> 00:23:20.670 racially segregated schools. But it's critical 00:23:20.670 --> 00:23:22.789 to understand that the decision was not universally 00:23:22.789 --> 00:23:25.710 embraced. Many residents initially opposed the 00:23:25.710 --> 00:23:28.680 ruling. So we see this duality. Deep progressive 00:23:28.680 --> 00:23:31.960 roots. Yet since the 1930s, it has solidified 00:23:31.960 --> 00:23:33.880 as one of the most socially conservative states. 00:23:34.099 --> 00:23:36.339 That modern conservatism has manifested in clear 00:23:36.339 --> 00:23:38.619 policy choices, like the 2005 constitutional 00:23:38.619 --> 00:23:41.240 amendment banning same -sex marriage. But 2022 00:23:41.240 --> 00:23:43.900 provided a massive shockwave that challenged 00:23:43.900 --> 00:23:47.079 that definition, the abortion referendum. How 00:23:47.079 --> 00:23:49.079 does a state that's been so conservative for 00:23:49.079 --> 00:23:51.420 generations suddenly deliver such a decisive 00:23:51.420 --> 00:23:54.839 pro -choice victory? That August 2022 vote was 00:23:54.839 --> 00:23:57.960 a crucial moment. Kansas voters soundly rejected 00:23:57.960 --> 00:24:00.140 the value them both amendment, which would have 00:24:00.140 --> 00:24:02.180 eliminated the constitutional right to an abortion. 00:24:02.539 --> 00:24:06.539 The outcome stunned many. The key lies in that 00:24:06.539 --> 00:24:09.779 demographic divide we discussed. The large, rapidly 00:24:09.779 --> 00:24:12.240 growing metropolitan areas, the Casey suburbs, 00:24:12.519 --> 00:24:15.200 Wichita, Lawrence, voted overwhelmingly to protect 00:24:15.200 --> 00:24:18.279 access, overriding the conservative rural vote. 00:24:18.440 --> 00:24:20.700 Let's touch on some of the lasting legal quirks, 00:24:20.720 --> 00:24:23.220 particularly around alcohol, which ties back 00:24:23.220 --> 00:24:26.059 to Cary Nation. The ghost of prohibition lingers. 00:24:26.480 --> 00:24:29.039 Although alcohol was legalized in 1948, the sale 00:24:29.039 --> 00:24:30.819 of liquor by the drink meaning at restaurants 00:24:30.819 --> 00:24:34.220 or bars was not legal until 1986. Even as recently 00:24:34.220 --> 00:24:37.559 as 2006, Kansas still had 29 dry counties. And 00:24:37.559 --> 00:24:39.859 bringing law right up to the minute, Kansas joined 00:24:39.859 --> 00:24:42.000 the sports betting wave. Governor Laura Kelly 00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:44.140 signed legislation legalizing sports betting 00:24:44.140 --> 00:24:47.759 in May 2022. This move generated new state revenue, 00:24:47.920 --> 00:24:49.859 but more importantly, it positioned Kansas to 00:24:49.859 --> 00:24:51.779 be highly competitive with its neighbor, Missouri, 00:24:52.099 --> 00:24:54.160 which is central to our final section on the 00:24:54.160 --> 00:24:56.549 border war. Before we get to that. Modern Battleground, 00:24:56.650 --> 00:24:58.529 let's explore the state's cultural footprint 00:24:58.529 --> 00:25:01.970 in part six. Kansas has provided the fictional 00:25:01.970 --> 00:25:04.309 setting for some of the most iconic pieces of 00:25:04.309 --> 00:25:07.089 American literature and film. It's a state defined 00:25:07.089 --> 00:25:10.029 by myth and popular culture. Its most famous 00:25:10.029 --> 00:25:12.509 appearance is in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, 00:25:12.690 --> 00:25:15.869 establishing Kansas as the flat, gray, mundane 00:25:15.869 --> 00:25:19.170 starting point for Dorothy. That single book 00:25:19.170 --> 00:25:22.200 gave us the idiom. We're not in Kansas anymore. 00:25:22.480 --> 00:25:25.200 Which makes the shift to Truman Capotes and cold 00:25:25.200 --> 00:25:28.839 blood so jarring. The dark, true crime side of 00:25:28.839 --> 00:25:31.380 that narrative. That nonfiction novel chronicled 00:25:31.380 --> 00:25:35.359 the gruesome 1959 Holcomb murders. Capote deliberately 00:25:35.359 --> 00:25:38.559 chose a small, idyllic town to heighten the sense 00:25:38.559 --> 00:25:41.119 of shock. It highlighted the contrast between 00:25:41.119 --> 00:25:43.880 the perceived innocence of the plains and sudden, 00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:47.079 inexplicable horror. Kansas is also the quintessential 00:25:47.079 --> 00:25:49.160 heartland setting for science fiction and comics. 00:25:49.319 --> 00:25:51.059 Absolutely. The fictional town of Smallville, 00:25:51.140 --> 00:25:53.920 Kansas, is the childhood home of Superman, the 00:25:53.920 --> 00:25:55.880 ordinary setting that breeds the extraordinary 00:25:55.880 --> 00:25:58.599 hero. And stepping away from the fictional, Kansas 00:25:58.599 --> 00:26:00.740 is home to a piece of verified Guinness World 00:26:00.740 --> 00:26:03.269 Record history in the film world. The Plaza Cinema 00:26:03.269 --> 00:26:07.450 in Ottawa, built on May 22, 1907. It's listed 00:26:07.450 --> 00:26:09.390 by the Guinness Book of World Records as the 00:26:09.390 --> 00:26:12.029 oldest operating cinema in the world. A unique 00:26:12.029 --> 00:26:15.769 cultural landmark. Okay, let's shift gears one 00:26:15.769 --> 00:26:18.349 last time and discuss the fierce, enduring rivalry 00:26:18.349 --> 00:26:21.390 that is now shaping the state's massive policy 00:26:21.390 --> 00:26:24.750 decisions. the modern border war with Missouri. 00:26:24.910 --> 00:26:27.170 This is a perfect historical loop bringing us 00:26:27.170 --> 00:26:30.130 back to the 1850s. The bitterness from bleeding 00:26:30.130 --> 00:26:32.650 Kansas continues to define the relationship between 00:26:32.650 --> 00:26:35.309 these two states, not least in the famous border 00:26:35.309 --> 00:26:37.930 war sports rivalry. Kansas is defined by its 00:26:37.930 --> 00:26:40.309 deep devotion to college sports, particularly 00:26:40.309 --> 00:26:43.000 KU basketball. KU basketball is a foundational 00:26:43.000 --> 00:26:45.880 institution. They rank first in all -time NCAA 00:26:45.880 --> 00:26:49.200 victories. KSU also has a strong tradition, particularly 00:26:49.200 --> 00:26:52.079 in football. But the rivalry extends far beyond 00:26:52.079 --> 00:26:54.480 the court. It became an economic conflict. The 00:26:54.480 --> 00:26:56.920 economic border war in Kansas City. For decades, 00:26:57.099 --> 00:26:59.319 both states offered massive financial incentives 00:26:59.319 --> 00:27:01.339 to poach businesses from across the state line. 00:27:01.559 --> 00:27:04.200 It was a net zero -sum game, wasting massive 00:27:04.200 --> 00:27:06.240 amounts of public resources. But a truce was 00:27:06.240 --> 00:27:09.180 called. In 2019, the governor signed an agreement 00:27:09.180 --> 00:27:12.150 to stop. It was hailed as a return to common 00:27:12.150 --> 00:27:14.950 sense. However, that truce came with a crucial 00:27:14.950 --> 00:27:17.869 asterisk. And that asterisk is now defining the 00:27:17.869 --> 00:27:20.329 state's current political landscape. The truce, 00:27:20.329 --> 00:27:22.089 according to the governor of Kansas, does not 00:27:22.089 --> 00:27:25.000 cover professional sports teams. This omission 00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:27.819 has ignited the most intense phase of the border 00:27:27.819 --> 00:27:31.259 war since the 1860s. The Kansas City Chiefs and 00:27:31.259 --> 00:27:33.660 the Kansas City Royals both currently play on 00:27:33.660 --> 00:27:36.099 the Missouri side, just a few miles from the 00:27:36.099 --> 00:27:38.799 Kansas border. Luring them across would be a 00:27:38.799 --> 00:27:41.819 massive cultural and economic coup. And Kansas 00:27:41.819 --> 00:27:44.539 is making a massive unprecedented financial play 00:27:44.539 --> 00:27:48.119 to do just that. In 2024 and early 2025, the 00:27:48.119 --> 00:27:50.279 Kansas legislature passed bills offering over 00:27:50.279 --> 00:27:54.140 $1 billion in star bonds. Now, star bonds are 00:27:54.140 --> 00:27:56.359 special tax revenues collected only within a 00:27:56.359 --> 00:27:58.579 defined entertainment district. They fund the 00:27:58.579 --> 00:28:00.900 development by redirecting future sales tax revenues 00:28:00.900 --> 00:28:03.160 generated within the new stadium district. But 00:28:03.160 --> 00:28:05.220 the risk is redirecting a billion dollars of 00:28:05.220 --> 00:28:07.180 future revenue away from the general fund that 00:28:07.180 --> 00:28:09.599 supports schools and infrastructure. Precisely. 00:28:09.599 --> 00:28:13.039 It's a huge gamble. And both teams are actively 00:28:13.039 --> 00:28:16.500 engaging with this. Both hired lobbyists in 2024 00:28:16.500 --> 00:28:19.640 to appeal to the Kansas legislature. Talks are 00:28:19.640 --> 00:28:21.960 intensifying about bringing at least one team, 00:28:22.019 --> 00:28:24.640 maybe two, to the Kansas side. This is the modern 00:28:24.640 --> 00:28:27.619 manifestation of Bleeding Kansas. Not ideological 00:28:27.619 --> 00:28:30.940 violence, but a high -stakes fiscal war over 00:28:30.940 --> 00:28:34.730 cultural icons. It is the climax of 160 -year 00:28:34.730 --> 00:28:37.369 -old rivalry with bond notes instead of rifles. 00:28:37.670 --> 00:28:40.009 So what does this all mean for you, the learner? 00:28:40.230 --> 00:28:42.930 Kansas is not just a flyover state. It's geographical 00:28:42.930 --> 00:28:45.650 crossroads that birthed the Civil War era's most 00:28:45.650 --> 00:28:48.450 ferocious conflicts. It proved radical progressive 00:28:48.450 --> 00:28:51.150 policies could flourish in the Midwest. Yet in 00:28:51.150 --> 00:28:53.509 the modern era, it served as a painful national 00:28:53.509 --> 00:28:56.210 laboratory for a dramatic and ultimately disastrous 00:28:56.210 --> 00:28:59.269 tax experiment. It's a land of extremes in climate 00:28:59.269 --> 00:29:01.730 and in politics. The key takeaway is sympathy. 00:29:01.799 --> 00:29:04.880 The historical tension between Kansas and Missouri, 00:29:05.039 --> 00:29:07.819 rooted in a fight over slavery, is still defining 00:29:07.819 --> 00:29:10.539 the state's choices today. The tension hasn't 00:29:10.539 --> 00:29:12.920 vanished. It's simply morphed, transferring from 00:29:12.920 --> 00:29:14.759 the battlefield to the halls of the legislature, 00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:17.240 where billions of dollars in public funding are 00:29:17.240 --> 00:29:19.500 the new weapons. That makes the final question 00:29:19.500 --> 00:29:22.140 so relevant, especially considering the economic 00:29:22.140 --> 00:29:25.220 history we just analyzed. The failed Brownback 00:29:25.220 --> 00:29:28.259 tax experiment caused severe budget shortfalls 00:29:28.259 --> 00:29:30.160 that critically threatened funding for schools 00:29:30.160 --> 00:29:33.809 and infrastructure. A painful lesson. Now the 00:29:33.809 --> 00:29:35.890 state is risking over a billion dollars in public 00:29:35.890 --> 00:29:38.650 financing to settle a 160 -year -old rivalry 00:29:38.650 --> 00:29:41.410 and lure a sports team across the border. If 00:29:41.410 --> 00:29:43.269 Kansas succeeds in winning this modern border 00:29:43.269 --> 00:29:45.990 war, what will be the true long -term fiscal 00:29:45.990 --> 00:29:48.490 cost? And will the price of historical pride 00:29:48.490 --> 00:29:50.410 jeopardize the stability that the state fought 00:29:50.410 --> 00:29:53.150 so hard to regain? That's a question worth exploring 00:29:53.150 --> 00:29:55.109 as the state looks to define its next chapter, 00:29:55.309 --> 00:29:57.690 balancing rivalry and ambition against the necessity 00:29:57.690 --> 00:29:58.750 of fiscal prudence.