Is Kansas the Midwest? (Wichita, Hays: homes, unemployment rate, construction)

[MimzyMusic]

Kansas seems to have Southern, Western and Midwestern elements - but being in the exact center of the US, shouldn't it be the Midwest?

[athfo]

I don't think Kansans identify with any particular group, we're just people. *shrugs*

[GraniteStater]

Kansas is mostly a plains state overall. It is far too arid to be considered Midwest in large sections of the state.

[j_k_k]

It really depends who you ask. I had a spirited debate with a buddy from Indiana who insisted Indiana was the Midwest. To me a look at a map will tend to defeat that reasoning; to me that's the Ohio Valley. But most people call Kansas the Midwest, I think. Great Plains or Midwest, either way.

[OneSweetWorld]

Plains....

[GraniteStater]

One of the big differences between the Great Plains and the Midwest Core is the natural vegetation types. The Midwest and areas along and east of the Mississippi River get much more consistent rainfall during any given year, and have a greater amount of treecover overall. However, many areas are completely devoted to cropland so it is sometimes hard to gauge the natural landscape of particular areas. Another strike against being the Midwest (in Kansas) is the nearly complete lack of any coniferous trees and some types of decidious trees across large sections of the state. A great quantity and variety of tree types are found in IL, IN, MI, WI, MN, MO, and OH.

Kansas also has a highly variable climate, and is located mostly in the RAIN SHADOW of the Rocky Mountains. This leads to the suceptibility to drought across most of the western 1/3 of the state, particularly during the warm season when the sun angle is intense and evaporation rates are high. Some SW influences are also noted in some areas of Kansas due to the short types of grasses, yucca plants, and relative lack of water. The eastern 1/3 of the state is much wetter overall with a tallgrass prairie and cropland being the dominant features on the landscape. 30-45 inches of rainfall on average falls in this particular area. Kansas also has one of the mildest winter climates of any area in the plains or upper midwest. Downslope winds create large diurnal temperature swings, and the low latitude leads to fairly quick temperature rebounds.

[tazzy4u]

I live in McPherson Ks, it is located in the Central part of the states, right in the center of the US, we were over our average (30") rain fall 2 monts ago for the year...I also lived in the eastern half of the state (Iola Ks) for 15 yrs. the rain fall there was 1 yr ago due to the break of the Neosho River, it destroyed many homes in the western part of the town, I have a friend that lives right by the river, he had & stil is redoing the house, he had to gut the whole house, and raise it nearly a foot, most homeowners sold out to the city, the only other time they got alot of rain was the flood of 1956...
McPherson Ks is a wonderful place to live, I have been here 10 yrs now!
Our population is nearly 16,000 our unemployment rate is only 1%, we have many industries here, we even bus ppl from Wichita Ks to fill some of the spots, We have Hospira (formally Abbot) who provides injectibles and things like iv pumps and ships all over the States, We have a Flour Mill (they make flour for baked goods, cakes etc.) they even supply the flour for McDonalds buns, We have several Plastics factories, we also have Nations Pizza which makes the frozen Lean Quizine Panini Sandwiches..We also have a Refinery here (NCRA)...

[gwander]

I think of Kansas as the state that links everything together. Kansas is the state that connects both the South and the West to the Midwest.

Somewhere out there in the middle of Kansas (Hays) we transition from the midwest to the west. The folks out in the arid plains of western Kansas probably feel like they have a lot more in common with western state Colorado or southwestern state Oklahoma than they do with midwestern states Wisconsin or Ohio.

[Mathguy]

I wonder if the term "mid-west" originated during the 1800's. Heck Ohio used to be "the West" and St Louis had about 2000 inhabitants 200 years ago. It's just funny how our history hangs around in terminology that is still used today but no one remembers the initial meaning.

Phrases like:
Wooden Nickels, Whole Nine Yards, "Chinaman's Chance" not heard much today as it is deemed "racist" but it owes to their history with western railroad construction.

I would consider Kansas a plains state.

[drjones96]

Midwestern United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia