Kansas City, Missouri, The Wanted but Unwanted City (St. Louis, Independence: homes, university)

[Truly Missouri]

The Annexation That Wasn

Kansas City, Missouri is sort of the wanted but unwanted city. To Missouri were the redheaded stepchild, secondary to our older and more favored sister St. Louis. To Kansas we are EVERYTHING that they'd ever love to have, with one exception, the fact that were in Missouri. Historically, they even tried several times to actually annex us from Missouri, but Missouri refused. But though Missouri refused their contempt for us as their city was (possibly) revealed by the notion that they actually considered retaining fifty years of Kansas City's tax revenue as price for allowing Kansas to annex us. The deal never fell through evidently. But this revelation of covet and lust for our city from Kansas while equally having such disregard and contempt from Missouri historically culminated into the many problems that this city is facing today. That historically Missouri has and is still is very nonchalant about this city, while Kansas is as covetous as ever. Upon the refusals of the actual annexation of Kansas City one could argue that Kansas resulted to the next sinister option, that if they couldn't annex Kansas City from Missouri literally, then instead they were going to try and annex as much of Kansas City perceptibly. Through poaching, transplanting, further perceptional annexations etc. All done to benefit themselves for their side of the state line. And very well, perhaps, they've had these secret ambitions of waging war on this city for who knows how long, though today we can witness firsthand more and more of these covetous desires being manifested through their selfish and hurtful practices upon of this entire area as a whole.

At some point in time Missourians will need to wake up and realize that if we as a city do not do something then we may find that in our lifetime that the core of this city, with most of the economic powers that be, along with the Royals and the Chiefs and perhaps even this regions main airport will have all become seized and transplanted across state lines. Into their selfish city, of "Kansas" City, (Missouri-less).

[kcmo]

TM, I like most of your posts, but that is very hard to read. You might try to break it up into paragraphs.

Just so you know, the city of KCMO wanted to be in Kansas at the time (for reasons you are sort of mentioning as well as other reasons). The attempts to move to KS originated from KCMO. Most KCMO residents considered themselves more tied to Kansas than Missouri and KCMO was more in line with Kansas (free state) than Missouri (slave state). Kansas was not the aggressor they are today toward KCMO, so don't get those two topics confused. The issue you are bringing up was a KCMO vs Missouri issue. KCMO wanted out of Missouri and Missouri wouldn't let them go. Missouri was actually okay with it at first till the city started growing and producing more tax revenue for the state. Missouri has never cared much about KCMO. The city has always been caught between the two states.

I have thought about what would have happened if KCMO were in Kansas. In some ways it seems like it would have been better to have the entire metro in Kansas. But all you have to do is look at KCK, Topeka and Wichita as examples of urban cities in Kansas and I think even with all that KCMO has gone through (at war with both Jeff City and Topeka), the city is probably better off in Missouri.

Kansas simply has a terrible track record with urban areas. Metro KC may be even more suburbanized and hollowed out had the entire core been in Kansas. So I honestly don't think KCMO would have been better off annexed into Kansas even though on paper, it seems like it would have fixed a lot of the problems that plague the metro.

[shindig]

Not to nitpick, but Wichita, as a lower tier city, actually isn't that bad, it just doesn't have the population base similar to other surrounding cities like KC, Tulsa, OKC. It compares more to Des Moines. Wichita started renovating their Old Town area in downtown Wichita in the late 1980's. They have continued to develop the areas around Old Town with a new pedestrian bridge over the Arkansas river (that is really quite cool), Exploration Science and a new arena (Intrust Center). The College Hill area of Wichita is very similar to older hoods in KC like Brookside, with most homes built in the 1910-1920's. WSU is also a nice University and is very well known for it's engineering and aerospace programs. Also they have a new airport terminal . Just sayin. Wichita isn't all that bad. I grew up there, but wouldn't want to live there now, but I still visit friends there. The Old Town area is similar to the River Market, but with a lot more bars/restaurants.

[SPonteKC]

Originally Posted by kcmo

I have thought about what would have happened if KCMO were in Kansas. In some ways it seems like it would have been better to have the entire metro in Kansas..

The other factor to consider is that in the 1850s KC and Independence were about the same size (though KC's boom began in the 1860s). It is quite possible the State Line-associated problems in the metro would have just moved 10 miles east but followed largely the same pattern, with KC/Independence (dis)functioning as KC/JoCo do(n't) today.

[Truly Missouri]

Originally Posted by s.davis

The other factor to consider is that in the 1850s KC and Independence were about the same size (though KC's boom began in the 1860s). It is quite possible the State Line-associated problems in the metro would have just moved 10 miles east but followed largely the same pattern, with KC/Independence (dis)functioning as KC/JoCo do(n't) today.

That's a really a good point. Never thought of that. I think it would be just as problematic today upon such a scenario.

[PA650]

Originally Posted by Truly Missouri

The Annexation That Wasn

Kansas City, Missouri is sort of the wanted but unwanted city. To Missouri were the redheaded stepchild, secondary to our older and more favored sister St. Louis. To Kansas we are EVERYTHING that they'd ever love to have, with one exception, the fact that were in Missouri. Historically, they even tried several times to actually annex us from Missouri, but Missouri refused. But though Missouri refused their contempt for us as their city was (possibly) revealed by the notion that they actually considered retaining fifty years of Kansas City's tax revenue as price for allowing Kansas to annex us. The deal never fell through evidently. But this revelation of covet and lust for our city from Kansas while equally having such disregard and contempt from Missouri historically culminated into the many problems that this city is facing today. That historically Missouri has and is still is very nonchalant about this city, while Kansas is as covetous as ever. Upon the refusals of the actual annexation of Kansas City one could argue that Kansas resulted to the next sinister option, that if they couldn't annex Kansas City from Missouri literally, then instead they were going to try and annex as much of Kansas City perceptibly. Through poaching, transplanting, further perceptional annexations etc. All done to benefit themselves for their side of the state line. And very well, perhaps, they've had these secret ambitions of waging war on this city for who knows how long, though today we can witness firsthand more and more of these covetous desires being manifested through their selfish and hurtful practices upon of this entire area as a whole.

At some point in time Missourians will need to wake up and realize that if we as a city do not do something then we may find that in our lifetime that the core of this city, with most of the economic powers that be, along with the Royals and the Chiefs and perhaps even this regions main airport will have all become seized and transplanted across state lines. Into their selfish city, of "Kansas" City, (Missouri-less).

That's a hell of a conspiracy.

[Truly Missouri]

Originally Posted by PA650

That's a hell of a conspiracy.

LOL

It sort of is, but if you went back some 20-30 years ago and tried to forecast a dire outline of what Kansas has done and achieved thus far up to today, then people back then would likely have been of a very skeptical mindset.

It just makes no sense what Brownback is doing. What are his secret motives and ambitions by senselessly squandering so much just to poach and transplant so much of what Kansas City, Missouri has across a state line? It and he just makes no sense whatsoever.

As for the Royals and the Chiefs that's really not a conspiracy. Kansas wants them. And would purpose and build stadiums in a heartbeat if they could.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by Truly Missouri

As for the Royals and the Chiefs that's really not a conspiracy. Kansas wants them. And would purpose and build stadiums in a heartbeat if they could.

Well, that came close to happening.

After Bistate II failed, I actually saw renderings of a new baseball stadium in western Shawnee. Olathe, Lenexa and Shawnee were all starting to put together plans for stadium along K-7. Meanwhile Mr Hunt was being wooed over to the Legends area by KCK and the governor of Kansas. Once this started to happen and news of the teams moving to Kansas began to leak out, Jackson County quickly put a plan on the ballet to fund the stadiums renovations alone and voters easily passed the measure. I really wanted to wait things out myself and was hoping for a better plan that included a downtown ballpark, but it was becoming clear that it was either renovate or lose the teams to Kansas. Jackson County should not be funding the stadiums alone. They should at least be getting some help from Clay and Platte and they still do get some help form them via city and state taxes, but, a regional tax would have been so much smaller and for a much shorter time span, especially if the KS side contributed. But yea, Kansas was about to lure the Royals and the Chiefs. I'm not sure where Kansas would have found the 1.5 billion dollars to do it when they didn't want to contribute 50-70 million for renovations, but they would have found it somewhere. Probably STAR bond Oak Park Mall or something.

[shindig]

Originally Posted by Truly Missouri

LOL

It sort of is, but if you went back some 20-30 years ago and tried to forecast a dire outline of what Kansas has done and achieved thus far up to today, then people back then would likely have been of a very skeptical mindset.

It just makes no sense what Brownback is doing. What are his secret motives and ambitions by senselessly squandering so much just to poach and transplant so much of what Kansas City, Missouri has across a state line? It and he just makes no sense whatsoever.

As for the Royals and the Chiefs that's really not a conspiracy. Kansas wants them. And would purpose and build stadiums in a heartbeat if they could.

I don't think anybody with a functioning brain understands what Brownback is doing. He won a second term by a very slim margin, mostly funded by Koch family money in Wichita. He's truly a right wing nut, the complete opposite of Sebellius, who was actually a good Governor and represented the state of KS well.

[Craziaskowboi]

I don't know if this is the place to discuss it, but if I had to live in a suburb of Kansas City, I'd choose the Clay County suburbs over both the Jackson County and Johnson County suburbs.