Salina, Kansas
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Salina is a city and the county seat of Saline County, KansasTemplate:GR. First settled by Preston B. Plum in 1856 along the Saline and Smoky Hill Rivers, and founded by William A. Phillips in 1858, Salina is situated at the intersection of Interstate Highways I-70 and I-135 in central Kansas. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 45,679. Recent estimates put the population at over 47,000.
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History
In 1860 Salina, the westernmost post on the Smoky Hill Trail, began to establish itself as a staging post for prospectors traveling to Pike's Peak, as well as a trading post between local native tribes, and Fort Leavenworth. After the Civil War, Phillips, then a colonel, used his influence to extend the Union Pacific Railroad to Salina in 1867. Starting in 1872, Salina began transporting meat shipped in refrigerated cars down the rails. During the 1870's, wheat became the dominant crop in Salina and a steam-powered flour mill was built. At the same time Dr. E. R. Switzer, of Salina, introduced alfalfa to Kansas farmers.
During World War II Salina's air field was one of several notable B-29 training grounds. The exponential growth of the 1950s of Salina was related largely to the re-opening of Smoky Hill Air Force Base, later renamed to Schilling Air Force Base, which was closed in 1965 by the Department of Defense.
On February 28, 2005, the city was home to the "Last Great Aviation Record" when Steve Fossett took off from the Salina Airport in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, to attempt the first solo, non-stop, non-refueled aerial circumnavigation of the globe by airplane. Fossett completed the record-breaking flight on March 3, 2005 when he landed back in Salina after 67 hours, 1 minute and 10 seconds, at an average speed of 342.2 mph. Support for the venture was provided by the Kansas State Aviation Research (KStAR) Lab.
Industry
Predictably, agriculture is the predominant industry in Salina, and its grain elevators are visible from miles away. This agrarian emphasis is even reflected in a local Catholic Church, Sacred Heart Cathedral, which is built in white cylindrical shapes intriguingly like grain silos. However, Salina has several other important employers. Surprisingly, the city has a strong manufacturing base. Tony's Pizza, a Schwan Food Company brand, is Salina's largest single employer with over 2000 workers employed. Tony's makes consumer retail frozen pizzas as well as food intended for school cafeterias and other institutions. Additionally, over 500 are employed in factories for Philips Lighting, Exide Battery, Great Plains Manufacturing (farm equipment), and Raytheon Aircraft. The high ratio of factory experience in the labor pool and Kansas' right-to-work status make Salina a very attractive location for factory operation.
The city has a local daily newspaper, The Salina Journal, several radio stations; 99.9FM KSKG, 910AM KINA, 92.7FM KILS, 95.5FM KQNS,Y93.7 KYEZ, 1150AM KSAL and 104.9FM KZBZ, though no local television news.
Salina is served by one commercial airline at Salina Municipal Airport, but most airtravel is done at larger airports in Wichita, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri.
Schools
In addition to a branch of Kansas State University (main campus located in Manhattan, Kansas) (this branch was previously the Kansas Technical Institute), Salina is the home of Kansas Wesleyan University, a private liberal arts college that affiliates itself with the United Methodist Church, and Brown Mackie College. Enrollment in Salina at each of these institutions is around 800.
Salina has four high schools. Salina High School Central, Salina High School South are public and are supplemented by Sacred Heart Catholic High School and St. Johns Military Academy. Total enrolment of the public school system is about 11,000.
Geography
Image:KSMap-doton-Salina.png Salina is located at 38°49'27" North, 97°36'26" West (38.824267, -97.607205)Template:GR.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 59.0 km² (22.8 mi²). 58.9 km² (22.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.18% water.
Salina is the closest city to the geographic and geodetic centers of the United States with a population of over 30,000. Salina stands at an elevation of 1281 feet.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 45,679 people, 18,523 households, and 11,873 families residing in the city. The population density was 775.9/km² (2,009.6/mi²). There were 19,599 housing units at an average density of 332.9/km² (862.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.76% White, 3.57% African American, 0.56% Native American, 1.96% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 3.78% from other races, and 2.32% from two or more races. 6.71% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 18,523 households out of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.8% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.9% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $36,066, and the median income for a family was $45,433. Males had a median income of $31,250 versus $21,944 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,593. 9.6% of the population and 6.7% of families were below the poverty line. 10.6% of those under the age of 18 and 9.2% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Salina is predominantly White and Christian, with over 80% of the population being White (non-Hispanic) and having approximately 65 churches. Of these 65, 5 are Restorationist churches (Church of Christ, Christian Church, Disciples of Christ).
Salina's Hometown Heroes
- Carl Belew - musician
- Thomas Braniff - Braniff airline co-founder
- Marlin Fitzwater White House Press Secretary 1985-1987
- Bill Graves - businessman and Kansas governor 1995-2003
- Steven Hawley - astronaut
- George Murphy - actor
- Glen Martin - aviation pioneer
- Terence Newman - football player (Dallas Cowboys)
- Ben Romans - musician (The Click Five)
External links
- Salina Kansas Official Site
- Rolling Hills Zoo
- The Salina Journal Newspaper
- Special Collections: A gift of William A. Phillips, the founder of Salina.
