Because of that stereotype, Kansas has become one of a few US states to develop a statewide campaign that will use one consistent message for tourism, economic development, and other state organizations.
“The new state image provides a meaningful promise to people who live here, and to people who are considering doing business in the state, traveling to the state, or moving to the state,” said Howard Fricke, Secretary of the Kansas Department of Commerce.
The new motto: “Kansas. As big as you think.”
Kansas’s claim to bigness rests somewhat on its natives who include former US President Dwight D. Eisenhower and lost flyer Amelia Earhart.
Former president Eisenhower’s presidential library and boyhood home is a tourist
attraction in Abilene, while the small city of Atchison attracts visitors seeking out its Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum.
The state also boasts the world’s largest ball of twine in Cawker City, which may be more of an attraction than initially thought. The twine measures more than 38-feet in circumference and weighs 16,750 pounds. More than 300,000 people visit it each year.
Report by David Wilkening
