Wichita, Kansas

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Wichita
Nickname : The Air Capital Of The World
Panorama of Wichita
Panorama of Wichita
Flag of Wichita
flag
Location of Wichita in Sedgwick County (left) and Kansas (right)
Sedgwick County Kansas Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Wichita Highlighted.svg
Basic data
Foundation : 1868
State : United States
State : Kansas
County : Sedgwick County
Coordinates : 37 ° 41 ′  N , 97 ° 20 ′  W Coordinates: 37 ° 41 ′  N , 97 ° 20 ′  W
Time zone : Central ( UTC − 6 / −5 )
Inhabitants :
-  Metropolitan Area :		 389,902 (as of 2016)
644,672 (as of 2016)
Population density : 1,108.9 inhabitants per km 2
Area : 359.8 km 2  (approx. 139 mi 2 ) of
which 351.6 km 2  (approx. 136 mi 2 ) is land
Height : 396 m
Postcodes : 67202, 67203, 67204, 67205, 67206, 67207, 67208, 67209, 67210, 67211, 67212, 67213, 67214, 67215, 67216, 67217, 67218, 67219, 67220, 67223, 67226, 67227, 67228, 67230, 67230 67235, 67260
Area code : +1 316
FIPS : 20-79000
GNIS ID : 0473862
Mayor : Brandon Whipple ( D ) (since 2020)

With around 390,000 inhabitants (2016 estimate by the US Census Bureau), Wichita is the largest city in the US state of Kansas .

Wichita is named after the native Indian people who originally lived here, the Wichita . The city goes back to an Indian settlement that was on this site in 1863 . In 1870, Wichita became a railroad station that was used to transport cattle from Texas . The discovery of petroleum in 1914 ushered in the rise of Wichita to a wealthy city.

The Wichita State University , the first on the site Pizza Hut restaurant- stands, was founded 1895th Wichita is the seat of the Diocese of Wichita .

geography

Wichita is located in Sedgwick County in southern Kansas. Downtown is located southeast of the confluence of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas Rivers . A 30 km long relief channel built in the 1950s runs in the west of Wichita. It protects the city center from flooding from both rivers and from smaller feeders.

Population development

year Residents¹
1950 168.279
1960 254,698
1970 276,554
1980 279.272
1990 304.011
2000 351,793
2010 382.279
2016 389.902

¹ 1950–2010: census results; 2016: US Census Bureau estimate

economy

Several companies in the aircraft industry are located in the important industrial city: a branch of Boeing (until 1934: Stearman Aircraft Corporation ), the headquarters of Cessna , Learjet and Hawker Beechcraft (until 1994: Raytheon ), Spirit and other mechanical engineering companies. This concentration also explains the city's nickname "The Air Capital of the World". The meat industry also plays an important role in Wichita.

In January 2012 it was announced that Boeing intends to close the Wichita plant by the end of 2013. The reason is cuts in the US defense budget and the associated fewer orders. The closure of one of the main employers would affect 2160 employees who would be laid off from the 3rd quarter of 2012.

Wichita is the founding place and headquarters of Koch Industries , the second largest privately held company in the USA with over 100,000 employees worldwide and sales of over 100 billion US dollars (estimates).

From 1920 to 1993 the Derby refinery in Wichita was in operation.

traffic

Air traffic

Numerous airports surround the city. The Wichita Mid-Continent Airport is located in the southwest of Wichita and is the largest airport in Kansas and the most important for Wichita. The second civil airport, which is served by several airlines, is in the northeast, at the center of the local aircraft industry, Colonel James Jabara Airport . Other airports are only approved for smaller aircraft.

Car traffic

The highway with the highest national ranking is the toll Interstate 35 , called Kansas Turnpike , which branches off from the south to the northeast outside the city area. Exactly in the south the I235 branches off from it and leads west around the city on the KS96 towards Hutchinson in the north-west. The I135 (north-south) and the US54 / US400 (east-west) run through the city center. A network of rectified streets runs through the city center. Only the streets running in an east-west direction and only north of Douglas Street are numbered, north-south streets and streets south of Douglas Street have individual names.

railroad

Wichita was a major rail hub until the late 1970s. Although trains from various railway companies still run on their own tracks, there has been no passenger traffic since then. The former station building serves as an office center, the freight yard is now the Great Plains Transportation Museum . Amtrak rail travelers can take a bus shuttle to Newton , 25 km away .

Public bus transport

Public bus transport is poorly set up. Wichita Transit is responsible. In 2011 there were 58 buses that could be controlled by around 100 drivers. Most of the lines ran every hour except for one circular line that circulated every 10 minutes.

pedestrian

Of the 50 largest cities in the US, Wichita ranks 40th in a pedestrian-friendly study because most destinations would realistically only be accessible by car.

politics

Sedgwick County is located in Wichita.

Mayor and Council

Wichita is divided into six constituencies, each of which elects a representative to the city council for four years. Together with the mayor, who is also elected for four years by the whole city, they form the seven-member City Council . Until 1989 the mayor's office was representative and was held alternately by members of the city council for a year. The maximum term of office of City Council members is limited to eight years (two terms of office). The current mayor is Jeff Longwell.

see also: List of Mayors of Wichita (Kansas)

Town twinning

Wichita lists four twin cities :

city country since
Cancun MexicoMexico Mexico 1975
Kaifeng China People's RepublicPeople's Republic of China People's Republic of China 1985
Orleans FranceFrance France 1944
Tlalnepantla MexicoMexico Mexico 1974

Murder cases

The BTK case

The police of Kansas believes that Dennis Rader , who calls himself BTK killer calling serial killer who killed between 1974 and 1977 at least seven people and three other murders committed from 1985 to 1991.

The abbreviation BTK stands for B ind, T orture, K ill ( shackle, torture, kill) - that was the way in which the BTK killer treated his victims. Most of the victims were women. It was noticeable that written messages were leaked to various media representatives during the period mentioned above. After a long break, this started again in March 2004, which enabled the police to track down the alleged perpetrator.

Personalities

Born in Wichita

Famous residents

Climate table

Wichita, Kansas
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.
 
 
20th
 
4th
-7
 
 
24
 
8th
-5
 
 
62
 
14th
1
 
 
61
 
20th
7th
 
 
97
 
25th
12
 
 
110
 
30th
18th
 
 
80
 
34
21st
 
 
77
 
33
20th
 
 
89
 
27
15th
 
 
56
 
21st
8th
 
 
40
 
13
1
 
 
31
 
6th
-5
Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm
Source:
Monthly average temperatures and rainfall for Wichita, Kansas
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 4.3 7.7 14.0 20.2 24.9 30.4 33.8 32.6 27.4 21.4 12.9 6.1 O 19.7
Min. Temperature (° C) −7.1 −4.6 0.9 6.9 12.4 18.1 21.1 19.9 15.1 8.1 1.1 −5.0 O 7.3
Precipitation ( mm ) 20.1 24.4 61.7 60.5 96.8 109.5 79.5 76.7 88.6 56.4 40.4 30.5 Σ 745.1
Rainy days ( d ) 2.8 3.9 5.8 6.2 8.2 7.6 5.7 6.2 6.6 4.7 3.7 3.8 Σ 65.2
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
4.3
−7.1
7.7
−4.6
14.0
0.9
20.2
6.9
24.9
12.4
30.4
18.1
33.8
21.1
32.6
19.9
27.4
15.1
21.4
8.1
12.9
1.1
6.1
−5.0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
N
i
e
d
e
r
s
c
h
l
a
g 		20.1
24.4
61.7
60.5
96.8
109.5
79.5
76.7
88.6
56.4
40.4
30.5
  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Source:

Web links

Commons : Wichita, Kansas  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Wichita in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey , accessed April 6, 2015
  2. ↑ United States Army Corps of Engineers : Wichita and Valley Center Local Protection Project ( Memento from February 17, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ Handelsblatt: Boeing closes US site in Wichita
  4. ↑ Entry in Forbes 2016: America's Largest Private Companies
  5. ↑ Living in Wichita . walkscore.com (English)
  6. ^ Wichita Area Sister Cities . Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  7. ^ National Weather Service, US Dept of Commerce