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Kansas became the 34^th state on Jan 29 1861. Kansas is known as the sunshine state due to the fact that in the summer and early autumn months beautiful flowers including sunflowers grow abundantly.

Origin of state's name: The word Kansas owes its origins to the old Indian word for "south wind people"

Population: The population of Kansas is over 2.7 million people based on the census of 2000.

Driving

Driver's license information, applications, testing requirements, driver's manuals and testing locations can all be found on the Access Kansas website under the Driving Services section.

http://www.accesskansas.org/living/cars-transportation.html

Economy – The main forms of agriculture corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, cattle and dairy and the main industries are in the production of food, electrical equipment, chemical products and heavy machinery.

State Bird: The state bird is the Western Meadow Lark which is also the state bird of Oregon, North Dakota, Nebraska, Montana and Wyoming. The Meadow Lark is noted for its shyness and its square tail.

State Flower – The Sunflower is the state flower. The Sunflower is known for its characteristic beauty, bright yellow flowers with dark brown center and it long stem. The Sunflower can be seen growing wild throughout the state in July, August and September as this is when its flower blooms. Sunflower seeds which are edible are harvested from the Sunflower and sold as a food item and this was a typical food of the native US Indians.

State Song: The state song is the infamous "Home on the Range" that sings the praises of this great state.

State Motto: The state motto is "To the stars through difficulty"

Kansas – Interesting Facts

• Amelia Earhart who was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean was from Kansas.
• Kansas produced a record 492.2 million bushels of wheat in 1997, enough to make 35.9 billion loaves of bread.
• The American Institute of Baking is located in Manhattan.
• Dodge City is the considered to be the windiest city in the United States.
• Hatttie MacDaniel was the first black woman to win an academy award for her performance in "Gone with the Wind"
• Walnut Creek is the most common name for a town in Kansas.
• There is an enormous natural gas field located in Kansas, Houghton Gas which is considered to be the biggest in the US.
• Nabisco, the famous cookie makers owe the name of their delicious Graham cracker to a Reverend Sylvester Graham from Kansas.
• Pizza Hut opened its first store in Wichita and there are still some corporate offices located in the city.

Kansas – Famous People

There are many well known athletes, actors, politicians, and entertainers from the "Sunshine State". Arguable the most famous is the 24^th president of the US Dwight D Eisenhower. Another well known politician, Bob Dole is also from Kansas.

The actor Dennis Hopper and the baseball player Walter Johnson are also natives of this state.