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Aug 30, 2008
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Kansas City, Mo.

Mayor: Mark Funkhouser (to April 2011)

City Manager: Wayne Cauthen (apptd. April 2003)

2000 census population (rank): 441,545 (36); % change: 1.5; Male: 213,141 (48.3%); Female: 228,404 (51.7%); White: 267,931 (60.7%); Black: 137,879 (31.2%); American Indian and Alaska Native: 2,122 (0.5%); Asian: 8,182 (1.9%); Other race: 14,158 (3.2%); Two or more races: 10,780 (2.4%); Hispanic/Latino: 30,604 (6.9%). 2000 percent population 18 and over: 74.6%; 65 and over: 11.7%; Median age: 34.0.

2005 population estimate (rank): 444,965 (40)

See additional census data

Land area: 314 sq mi. (813 sq km);

Alt.: Highest, 1,014 ft.; lowest, 722 ft.

Avg. daily temp.: Jan., 25.7° F; July, 78.5° F

Churches: 1,100 churches of all denominations;1

City-owned parks and playgrounds: 211 (9,685 ac.);

Radio stations1: AM, 14; FM, 19;

Television stations1: 7

Civilian Labor Force (MSA) April 2006: 1,041,900;

Unemployed: 47,100,

Percent: 4.5;

Per capita personal income (MSA) 2004: $34,5852

Chamber of Commerce: Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, 911 Main St., Kansas City, MO 64105

1. Metropolitan area.
2. Kansas City, Mo.–Kans.

Kansas City is the largest city in Missouri. It is located in the western part of the state, at the junction of the Missouri and Kansas rivers. Kansas City is located in Jackson, Clay, Platte, and Cass counties.

In 1821, the year Missouri entered the Union, French trader François Chouteau came from St. Louis to establish a trading post on the site of the present city to take advantage of the growing fur trade with the Kansa, Osage, Wyandotte, and other tribes. In 1833, a settlement called Westport Landing was laid out by John Calvin McCoy and developed. The community became the Town of Kansas and was incorporated as a city in 1850 and renamed Kansas City in 1889. The city's name reflects its Native American heritage—its site was within the territory of the Kansa, or Kaw, Indians.

The city grew rapidly in the mid-1880s as the starting point for gold prospectors and settlers heading westward. The coming of the Missouri-Pacific Railroad in 1865 and the spanning of the Missouri River by the Hannibal Bridge in 1869 also contributed to the city's growth. It also prospered as a center for the nation's cattle business.

The Kansas City metropolitan area, once known primarily for agriculture and manufacturing, has expanded its economic base to include strong growth in areas of telecommunications, banking and finance, and the service industry. A transportation hub since the 1800s, the area enjoys a national and regional prominence as a distribution and manufacturing center. Kansas City ranks nationally as first in greeting-card publishing (Hallmark Cards is located there), frozen food storage and distribution, and hard winter-wheat marketing; second in wheat flour production; and third in auto and truck assembly. The area is one of ten federal regional centers, and the federal, state, and local governments are among the top employers. The city is also a regional center for health care.

See also Encyclopedia: Kansas City.

Selected famous natives and residents:

  • Robert Altman director;
  • Edward Asner actor;
  • Burt Bacharach composer;
  • Noah and Wallace Beery actors;
  • Robert Russell Bennett composer;
  • Jeanne Eagels actress;
  • Jean Harlow actress;
  • Ted Shawn dancer and choreographer;
  • Casey Stengel baseball player;
  • Virgil Thompson composer;
  • Tom Watson golfer.

Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Related content from HighBeam Research on: Kansas City, Mo.

Why was Blues deal nixed? Some say Kansas plan feared K.C. insurer's reputation.(planned merger between Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (MO)) (Modern Healthcare)

Teens offer diverse new agendas. (National Catholic Conference, Kansas, City, MO, Nov. 20-23, 1997)(Cover Story)(Column) (National Catholic Reporter)

Teens seek more 'youth friendly' liturgies: sponsors see youth conference as '17,000 pieces of good news.' (biennial National Catholic Youth Conference, Nov 20-23, 1997 at Kansas City, MO)(Cover Story) (National Catholic Reporter)

High Life Sales Co., Kansas City, MO, completed its purchase of Big Sky Distributors, a beer sales, marketing, and distribution business in metropolitan Kansas City owned in part by former Chiefs quarterback Joe Montana.(MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS) (The Food Institute Report)

Farmland Industries, Kansas City, Mo., will sell its Joplin, Mo., fertilizer production plant to Canada's Potash Corp. (Marketing News).(Brief Article) (Agri Marketing)

Ruskin (Kansas City, Mo.) is celebrating its 50th anniversary.(Manufacturers) (Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration News)

Bonneville International bought KCMO-AM-FM Kansas City, Mo., from Gannett Co. (Brief Article) (Broadcasting & Cable)

....In Kansas City, MO, an administrative law hearing will decide whether Farmland National Beef was using its market power.(Brief Article) (The Food Institute Report)

Ruskin Company and Swartwout, a division of Ruskin (Kansas City, MO), have both announced a 2% price increase on all steel products. (Price increases).(Brief Article) (Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration News)

Ruskin (Kansas City, Mo.) has changed the name of its sound control division to Ruskin Sound Control. (Manufacturers).(Brief Article) (Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration News)

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