Kansas

"SB 244 says that any driver’s license with a gender marker that is inconsistent with sex at birth is invalid as of February 26, 2026. The law contains no grace period. The Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR) must provide written notice to anyone whose license is affected by this law, and many people have already received a letter informing them that their state-issued driver’s license is now invalid."

"Kansas law puts transgender people in an impossible position. For transgender people, using the restroom consistent with their gender and how they live their lives, is now against the law in government buildings. But using the restroom consistent with their sex at birth in government buildings may out them as transgender and be unsafe. Either way, transgender people may be punished and harassed."

"Although it is now covered with agriculture, Kansas was at one time very historic. It was the on-scene location of the "Wild West," where "longhorns" riding "six-shooters" used to "rustle up" some "varmints." This era eventually ended due to a shortage of quotion marks, but Kansans are still proud of their state's rough-and-tumble tradition, and will often greet a stranger by warmly breaking a chair over his head. Kansas also contains manufacturing and tumbleweeds, which are plants that form themselves into ginat balls that roll across the prairie and burst into your motel room at night, which is why the American Automobile Association recommends that you always sleep with a weed whacker."

"The state of Kansas was named after a tribe of Indians called Kansa or Kaw. This tribe arrived in what is now Kansas around 1720. They settled in temporary villages near the current cities of Leavenworth and Atchison. The tribe's name meant "People of the South Wind." Later, to be closer to the best bison hunting grounds, they established their principal village where the Big Blue River joins the Kansas River, near the present city of Manhattan. From 1492 to 1845, land that became Kansas was at various times claimed by six different countries. The first European to see this land was the Spanish conquistador Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, who explored the area in search of Seven Cities of Gold in 1541. French trappers and explorers came to this land in the late 1600s and early 1700s. The United States bought the land that is now Kansas from the French in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase. Although the state's name honors the Kaw people, the first explorers to this region found it occupied by the Indians of Quivira, most likely the Wichita tribe and the Pawnee people. However, the Wichita spent most of their time in what is now Oklahoma and Texas. At the time when Spain ruled much of North and South America, Kansas was commonly called "Harahey." The people of Harahey were probably Pawnee. Native Americans played an important role in the history of Kansas and their heritage and influence will be apparent at many locations along I-70."

"Kansas is not crowded. It ranks thirteenth among the states in size but only thirty-first in population. That leaves plenty of space for nature. Kansas is home to almost 800 kinds of vertebrates, including 141 species of fish, 32 kinds of amphibians, 14 types of turtles, 53 different reptiles, and 87 kinds of mammals. More than 450 different bird species have been seen in Kansas. More than 2,000 kinds of plants grow wild in Kansas, including 200 types of grass. You can see many of these plants and animals along I-70."

"Manhattan is the home of Kansas State University, with more than 20,000 students from all over the world. Radio commentator Paul Harvey once called the university the "student scholar capital of America." Since 1986, KSU has been number one among the nation's 500 public universities in having students receive nationally prestigious scholarships. Its students have won ninety such scholarships compared with fifty-eight for the second-place public university. KSU's agricultural teaching and research programs are internationally recognized; its student livestock and crop judging teams have won numerous national championships and are consistently among the best in the nation; and in 2002 the university was selected as the site for the Food Safety and Security Research Center to combat bioterrorist threats on our agricultural systems. KSU's speech and debate teams have won several national championships in recent years. The College of Veterinary Science performs more rabies testing than any other lab in the world. KSU is the home of Colbert Hills Golf Course. Developed by KSU alum and PGA golfer Jim Colbert, it successfully integrates nature conservation with economic development and university education. In 2002 it was one of only six golf courses in the world that met requirements to be designated an Audobon International Silver Signature Sanctuary."

"One after another, countries such as Spain and Greece, states such as Wisconsin, Michigan, and Kansas, and American colonies such as Puerto Rico-are becoming laboratories for how much pain can be inflicted on a population for the purpose of satisfying creditors and ideologues."

"Where did Kansas come from? From New England and the South, in a proportion of three or four to one. The abolitionists pumped in, armed with "Beecher's Bibles" (rifles) and the printing press, an equally important weapon, to keep the state free; they waged their own pre-Civil War with the Southerners already there. Everybody knows the story of John Brown of Osawatomie. After the war, emigration from the North continued; any federal veteran was entitled, after 1865, to settle on 160 good acres of Kansas land, and there came- as in Nebraska- a great influx of Grand Army of the Republic officers and men. The first New England stock became diluted with that of Iowa, Indiana, and Illinois. Nevertheless, southern influence has always remained fairly strong, though not so strong as in Missouri, I say. As of today, there are Jim Crow theaters in Topeka. The remarkable thing is that Kansas did become so homgenous. It is an extraordinarily well-integrated state, overwhelmingly "Nordic," middle class, and Protestant. One factor making for homogeneity was of course the ineffable richness of the land. The soil of Kansas absorbed, colored, and made virtually identical the Methodist preachers from Iowa small towns, the younger sons of the Salem clipper captains, workmen from the Susquehanna, and even Ozark crackers from Arkansas. The Kansan is, as has been well said, the most average of all Americans, a kind of common denominator for the entire continent."

"The various processes of assimilation, of wrestling a commodious life out of soil, of chaining new communities to the plains, weren't always easy. On one occasion a Russian grand duke came to Kansas to hunt buffalo. The lieutenant governor, honoring him at an official banquet, pointed to a banner on which was emblazoned the state motto, Ad Astra per Aspera, and explained, "Duke, them there words is Latin, and they mean to the stars after a hell of a lot of trouble.""

"Really Kansas is two states, or maybe even three. One line of division is of course that which cuts through the Dakotas and Nebraska too, the 98th meridian. Western Kansas is short-grass country, sparsely settled, with scanty rainfall and big mechanized farms, based on wheat. The east is moist, with thick alluvial soil; here we touch the corn belt. In between is an area more difficult to define, "central" Kansas, which is mostly (of course I am oversimplifying) alfalfa and grazing country. South of Kansas is cotton, and north is spring wheat; Kansas grows neither, and its two great crops are of course winter wheat and corn. The gist of the Kansas "story" is, in a way, a struggle between wheat and corn, although plenty of farmers grow both. Corn is cultivated in every county now. It doesn't, however, come anywhere near the importance of wheat in the state's economy, and Kansas is the greatest wheat state in the Union by far. Wheat, as we know, is a crop not without risks; also, in Kansas at least, it used to be called a "lazy man's crop." In the old days you planted it in September, whereupon there was nothing to do until you harvested it the next summer, whereupon you paid off the bank. Not now. Wheat farmers are busy all the year. They have hogs, soy beans, sheep, lespedeza, and sorghums like feterita, to lessen their dependence on wheat, and to provide an income all the year around. Above all, land planted in wheat (until it starts to "joint") may be used for grazing; the wheat is green before the snow comes, and then again in spring; a most remarkable thing in this part of the world is that the miore you pasture wheat, the better will be the wheat produced; it does wheat good to be eaten as it grows!- almost as cropping a beard in an adolescent makes the beard stronger. This technique of growing livestock on growing wheat means, in effect, that the wheat farmer gets two wheat crops a year, one in the form of meat. I asked the Capper editors what distinguished Kansas farmers as against those of any other state. They replied: (1) aggressiveness; (2) willingness to experiment; (3) the gambling instinct, imposed of necessity by the risks of wind and rain; (4) modernity. It may seem a poor figure, but at least one-third of Kansas farms are electrified."

"I'm as corny as Kansas in August I'm as normal as blueberry pie No more a smart little girl with no heart I have found me a wonderful guy."

"Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam, Where the deer and the antelope play, Where seldom is heard a discouraging word And the skies are not cloudy all day."

"Home, home on the range, Where the deer and the antelope play; Where seldom is heard a discouraging word And the skies are not cloudy all day."

"Where the air is so pure, the zephyrs so free, The breezes so balmy and light, That I would not exchange my home on the range For all of the cities so bright."

"The red man was pressed from this part of the West, He's likely no more to return To the banks of Red River where seldom if ever Their flickering camp-fires burn."

"How often at night when the heavens are bright With the light from the glittering stars, Have I stood here amazed and asked as I gazed If their glory exceeds that of ours."

"Oh, I love these wild flowers in this dear land of ours, The curlew I love to hear scream, And I love the white rocks and the antelope flocks That graze on the mountain-tops green."

"Oh, give me a land where the bright diamond sand Flows leisurely down the stream; Where the graceful white swan goes gliding along Like a maid in a heavenly dream."

"Ad Astra Per Aspera"

"Few Americans know how savagely the Civil War raged or how strange and varied were its issues in what is now Oklahoma and the neighboring states of Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas. Rifles for Watie was faithfully written against the historical backdrop of the conflict in this seldom-publicized, Far-Western theater."

""I jined up fer a frolic," laughed a tall fellow from Republic County with warts on his face. He turned to his messmate, a blond boy from Fort Scott. "Why did you come in?" "Wal, by Jack, because I thought the rebels was gonna take over the whole country." "I joined up because they told me the rebels was cuttin' out Union folks' tongues and killin' their babies. After I got here, I found out all it was over was wantin' to free the niggers," complained another, disgustedly. "I decided I'd jest as well be in the army as out in the besh. Now I'm about to decide I'd druther be in the bresh," snorted another. They were nearly all frowsy-headed, boot-shod, and lonely-looking, fresh from the new state's farms, ranches, and raw young prairie towns. Before the war ended, Kansas furnished more men and boys to the Union forces in proportion to its population than any other state. And all of them were volunteers."

"What's the farthest you ever walked on one trip?" Jeff asked. Noah gazed distractedly at the parched ground passing beneath their feet. Then his white teeth flashed briefly in his tanned, leathery face. "I guess it was two years ago when I hiked from Topeka, Kansas, to Galveston, Texas. Why?" Jeff shrugged. "Oh, no particular reason. I just wondered." They tramped fifty yards more in the broiling sunshine. "How come you walked clear from Kansas to Galveston?" Noah turned his somber face seriously toward Jeff. "You probably won't believe me, youngster, but I wanted to see the magnolias in bloom." Jeff caught his breath in surprise. Estimating fast, he reckoned it was roughly about nine hundred miles from Topeka to Galveston. If a fellow could stand all that walking, it would take about a month and a half to hoof it down there and another month and a half to hoof it back. Eighteen hundred miles just to see some flowers. Jeff stole another look at Noah. If anybody would do it, Noah Babbitt would be the man. Jeff said simply, "I believe you. Did you get to see them?" Noah nodded solemnly. "Shore did. An' they was worth every foot of the trip."

"Restless, he climbed through the open window to keep from awakening his family and spread his blankets on the Bermuda outside. Sleeping outdoors on the ground was a habit he would have for many years. He settled back comfortably upon the blanket. The Kansas sky was spangled with blazing stars. They shone so brightly that he imagined he could almost hear the crackle of their fires. Down in the corral a cowbell tinkled faintly. He felt a slight movement at his side and saw that Ring had joined him and was lying close by, his head upon his forepaws. Reaching over with his hand, Jeff gave the big dog a couple of pats. Then he closed his eyes. Soon he began to breathe deeply and regularly."

"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore. We must be over the rainbow!"

"At the People's College in Fort Scott, Kansas, my mother met Arthur Le Sueur, who with Helen Keller, Eugene Debs, and Charles Steinmetz had founded the greatest workers' school in the country. Thousands of farmers and hillbilly men, miners, and other workers took correspondence courses in workers' law and workers' English and workers' history."

"Kansas suffers from two great robbers, the Sante Fe railroad and the loan sharks. The common people are robbed to enrich their masters."

"What would you do if your government identification suddenly ceased to exist? In the state of Kansas last month, hundreds of residents received a notice that their driver’s licenses had been revoked. They hadn’t done anything wrong to warrant this action – except change their gender identity. Under a new state law that was passed on Feb. 26, Kansans are now forced to have their documentation reflect their biological sex at birth. As a result, the trans community in Kansas has been left reeling. Forcing trans individuals to renounce their own gender identity is deeply wrong, and it reflects a wider assault on trans rights in the U.S. that serves to dehumanize and minimize their existence. To understand the law’s harmful impact, we must dig deeper into the details. Known as S.B. 244, it orders that gender markers on a driver’s license or birth certificate must reflect someone’s assigned sex at birth. Previously, Kansas allowed people to change their gender on government IDs. S.B. 244, however, instantly changed that rule as soon as it became law, affecting about 1700 people in the state. It’s also worth mentioning that Kansas bills usually become law on July 1, in the year that they are passed, but this one was specifically ordered to take effect just a few days after it was signed. The application of the law was so sudden that those affected had to have friends or family drive them to the DMV so that they could get new licenses. If they had tried to drive themselves, they would have already risked getting pulled over."

"The law also prohibits trans people from using bathrooms in public places according to their preferred gender identity and allows citizens to sue for up to $1000 in damages if they believe someone has violated these rules. According to the Movement Advancement Project (MAP), 20 states currently have laws that prohibit in some form the ability of trans people to enter the bathroom of their choice. With this law, Kansas has put itself near the top of these states in discriminatory severity, since it applies to all public spaces and violations represent a criminal offense. When you add in the amount people can ask for in so-called “damages,” S.B. 244 represents a particularly draconian and disgusting law. It weaponizes the government and the state’s own citizens to discriminate against trans individuals. These restrictions on trans rights have already spurred many members of the trans community to think about leaving Kansas. Those who stay are now essentially considered nonexistent until they comply, since their current gender identity has been invalidated. To Kansas, there is no such thing as transitioning anymore – only your initial biology matters. It is especially notable that the law defines gender as a person’s “biological sex at birth,” even though gender is a social construct and not biological. At the same time, while genetics cannot be altered, some aspects of one’s biological sex can change. The law’s language therefore fundamentally misunderstands the actual science and social aspects in favor of catering to anti-trans sentiment."

"Kansas’ law follows the growing efforts of the American right to restrict the rights of trans people and LGBTQ+ individuals in general. In the past few years, especially after Trump was elected to a second term, Republicans have honed in on attacking trans rights. Several Republican states, including Florida and Texas, have already passed laws prohibiting trans individuals from officially changing their gender identity in the future. Kansas is simply the first state to take a drastic step and revoke documents that were already on file. Trans people have had to deal with an increasing amount of discriminatory legislation. According to Trans Legislation Tracker, 2025 saw the highest number of anti-trans bills both considered and passed. Just through the first couple of months in 2026, 15 bills restricting trans rights have already been passed. In addition, the ACLU has tracked 489 anti-LGBTQ+ bills that are currently waiting on votes. This surge in restrictive legislation is in line with the Trump administration, which prevented transgender, intersex and nonbinary people from updating their gender designation on his first day in office. The onslaught on trans rights, both at the state and federal level, represents a concerted effort from Republicans to eliminate their legal standing. Kansas’ law should serve as a fresh reminder that the right will not stop in its attempt to roll back the protections trans individuals had just started to enjoy. By forcing trans people to go against their own identity, Kansas is throwing the weight of the state against their ability to simply live their lives comfortably. Policing bathroom use while revoking driver’s licenses and birth certificates is a clear sign that trans people are no longer welcome in the state of Kansas. If the law is allowed to stand, anti-trans discrimination and dehumanization will continue to get worse."

"Kansas, however whittled down, was still a giant in size and potential productivity. Conceived in cold calculation, born in a rending hatred, she was to be baptized in blood. It was not a christening. It was a deep-river baptism."

"The Civil War was fought, and won, in the East by accepted rules, by chessboard maneuvers to gain position through surprise flank movements and well-planned and well-executed frontal attacks, and to hold position through fortification, troop placement, and anticipation of enemy moves. Many men from Kansas went off to be chessmen in those important plays, far more per capita than from any other Northern state. Every quota sent by the Union Kansas met doubly, for the new state was peopled by men who had come there to fight against slavery. Many Kansans were assigned to formal fighting, but others were incorporated under local commands and fought the war out in the same roles, now legalzied, that they had played in the curtain-raiser. Men who had been raiders were now authorized to wear the uniform of the Union Army. Many of them did not bother, any more than did their brothers across the border bother to don the gray of their Confederacy. Frontier dress lent itself well to guerrilla tactics."

"Kansas was four years old when the Civil War came to an end. And in that brief time she had suffered not only four more years of blood and thunder but also a bond-issue scandal and an impeachment trial. Horace Greeley had in a way predicted it all on his visit in 1859. "The twin curses of Kansas, now that Border Ruffians have stopped ravaging her,' he said, 'are Land Speculators and One Horse Politicians." These were her twin curses from the beginning. They remained her twin curses throughout the war, and afterward."

"Land Speculators and One Horse politicians. Blood and thunder, drouth and exploitation. Certainly no new state ever chose a more fitting motto than did young Kansas. Ad Astra per Aspera. It had been and would always be 'To the stars by hard ways.'"

"John Brown was a hero, undaunted, true and brave, And Kansas knew his valor when he fought her rights to save; And now, though the grass grows green above his grave, His soul is marching on."

"I grew up in Kansas, General. I'm about as American as it gets."

"As of Thursday, transgender people in Kansas whose driver’s licenses do not reflect their sex assigned at birth are breaking the law if they drive, after the Republican-controlled legislature stripped them of previously valid credentials by overriding Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a sweeping new measure. More than 1,500 residents are affected, and the change took effect immediately with no grace period. “This is what fascism looks like," the Human Rights Campaign said in a post on Instagram. The letters notifying trans residents of the move are blunt, bureaucratic, and devastating in their implications. “If you have received this notice,” the Kansas Division of Vehicles tells transgender residents, “your current Kansas credential will no longer be valid.”"

"According to Reuters, the change affects transgender residents whose gender markers on driver’s licenses and birth certificates had previously been corrected. Kansas officials have estimated roughly 1,700 driver’s licenses and a similar number of birth certificates are impacted, according to the Kansas City Star. The law also bars future changes to gender markers on those documents and requires residents to pay for replacement credentials. Kansas now stands apart nationally. While several GOP-controlled states have blocked future updates to gender markers, Kansas is retroactively voiding documents already issued in a rare and expansive step that effectively erases prior legal recognition. Kansas’s current stance marks a dramatic reversal from where the state stood just seven years ago. In June 2019, after a federal lawsuit, Kansas agreed to allow transgender residents to update the sex listed on their birth certificates to match their gender identity. That policy was one of the last in a series of incremental legal recognitions of transgender rights in the state before subsequent litigation and Republican-led legislation began rolling it back."

"The law extends beyond identification cards. It requires transgender people to use bathrooms and locker rooms in public buildings that correspond to their sex assigned at birth. “Instead of meeting the needs of their constituents, Kansas lawmakers have prioritized cruelty,” HRC President Kelley Robinson said after the legislation’s passage. For many residents, the consequences are immediate and practical. A driver’s license is not merely permission to operate a vehicle; it is a key to employment, housing, air travel, and voter participation. Kansas requires photo identification to vote, meaning the sudden invalidation of IDs could disrupt civic participation. The policy also places people in legal limbo. Under Kansas law, driving without a valid license is a misdemeanor that can carry fines or possible jail time. The state’s own letter emphasizes that filing an appeal “will not preserve the validity of your current credential and associated driving authority.” For transgender Kansans now scrambling to replace essential documents, the inconvenience is anything but abstract. “We apologize for the inconvenience this causes you,” it concludes."

"Kansas is one of five states to prohibit trans people from changing the gender marker on their licenses, but it is the first to pass a law that retroactively cancels licenses that were already changed. The law also invalidated birth certificates for those who updated their gender markers. Hundreds of trans drivers already received letters from the state informing them their documents were “invalid immediately” and they “may be subject to additional penalties” if they continue to drive, unless they surrender the license to the Kansas Division of Vehicles and receive a new one with their birth sex. “I’m pretty heartbroken,” said Jaelynn Abegg, a 41-year-old trans woman living in Wichita who received a letter. She said she will not turn in her license and plans to move this month to another state. “It is a continuation of the message that the Legislature has been sending out for years now, and that is that transgender people are not welcome in Kansas,” she said. Two anonymous trans residents sued Kansas last month, arguing that the law violates state protections for personal autonomy, privacy, equality, due process and freedom of speech. On Tuesday, Douglas County District Judge James McCabria declined to grant a temporary restraining order against the law while the case proceeds. McCabria wrote in his decision that there isn't enough evidence to show that trans people will face harassment and discrimination if they have to use bathrooms or show IDs that conflict with their gender identities."

"Over the last five years, dozens of states have considered bills targeting transgender people, but the majority of those have targeted people’s ability to play on school sports teams that align with their gender identities and minors’ access to transition-related care. In the last few years, state and federal policies have shifted to focus on changing legal definitions of sex and restricting access to updated identity documents. Logan Casey, director of policy research at the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ think tank that tracks legislation, described these broader laws as “gender regulation laws” that attack the fundamental rights and identity of trans people. “The point all along for the people pushing these bills and these attacks has been to single out transgender people and create a license to discriminate against transgender people and remove them from public life,” he said. “In effect, trying to get them to stop being transgender.”"

"Kansas’ law took effect immediately after it was published in the register Feb. 26. A spokesperson for the Kansas Department of Revenue told the Kansas Reflector that the law invalidated about 1,700 licenses. The department did not respond to a request for comment. During the court hearing Friday, Kobach said the department had so far sent letters to 275 Kansans and 138 had received new licenses. Andrea Ellis, a 34-year-old trans woman living in Wellington, said she received a letter Wednesday even though she never changed the gender marker on her license — she only legally changed her name on it in December. She drove to the DMV the next day, where she said staff were confused about what to do and said her license had a “flag” on it. They cut the corner off her license and gave her a temporary one. But later that day, they called her and said she had to return to the DMV because they made an error. When she went back, she said they gave her another temporary license that looked the same as the first. “They claim that it was thought out, and everything else, but there was no grace period unlike any other kind of rollout program,” Ellis said. “There was no plan whatsoever.”"

"Kansans have always taken their history seriously. The slavery controversy left an indelible mark upon the inhabitants, who were inordinately proud of the role their state had played. The heavy influx of veterans after 1865 served to keep that sentiment alive. Early writers concentrated on territorial days and sought to interpret Kansas history solely in terms of a highly idealistic struggle to save not only the territory but the whole country from slavery. The careers of early residents were eulogistically written; Kansas developed its own hagiography."

"Contrary to popular belief, men were drafted in Kansas, although it really was not necessary. Under Lincoln's final call of December 19, 1864, the state was asked for 3,636 men, but it was discovered that the adjutant general's figures were incorrect and the number was reduced to 1,222. A re-examination of the figures still showed that Kansas had a surplus on all earlier calls, but by then more than 100 men had been conscripted. Several towns paid a total of $57,407 in the form of enlistment bounties, which was the smallest sum paid in any state. There were 8,498 casualties, and Kansas had the highest mortality rate of any of the states in the Union."

"During the war prominent Kansans continued to be critical of federal policies. The "unconditional surrender" goals of Roosevelt and Morgenthau's plan to reduce Germany to a potato patch after the war drew savage criticism from Landon. At the beginning of the war he had denounced Roosevelt's "guess and be damned" approach to international affairs, and in 1944 before a Sabetha audience he scored the Big Three meetings and the President: "It is a delusion to say he has been holding his own with either Stalin or Churchill, to say nothing of both.""

"V-J Day was hailed with prayer and rejoicing in Kansas, and the people prepared to enjoy the fruits of victory. Would the spirit of isolationism return to Kansas? Many felt that it would, but a new spirit seemed to be sweeping the prairies. On June 26, 1949, an article by Kenneth S. Davis appeared in the New York Times Magazine in which he spoke of the "burgeoning internationalism" in Kansas. Eisenhower hailed the new Kansas spirit, which, he claimed, was of world significance. Kansas, geographically and spiritually the heart of the United States, stood balanced at the midpoint of a nation, which faced toward Europe and Asia. He predicted that Kansas was in a decisive and strategic position to determine national policies. Along these lines, Milton Eisenhower became an important figure in UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), and it was through his leadership that Kansas became the first state to call a conference and establish and organization for the advancement of its work."

"Manhattan is the home of Kansas State University, with more than 20,000 students from all over the world. Radio commentator Paul Harvey once called the university the "student scholar capital of America." Since 1986, KSU has been number one among the nation's 500 public universities in having students receive nationally prestigious scholarships. Its students have won ninety such scholarships compared with fifty-eight for the second-place public university. KSU's agricultural teaching and research programs are internationally recognized; its student livestock and crop judging teams have won numerous national championships and are consistently among the best in the nation; and in 2002 the university was selected as the site for the Food Safety and Security Research Center to combat bioterrorist threats on our agricultural systems. KSU's speech and debate teams have won several national championships in recent years. The College of Veterinary Science performs more rabies testing than any other lab in the world. KSU is the home of Colbert Hills Golf Course. Developed by KSU alum and PGA golfer Jim Colbert, it successfully integrates nature conservation with economic development and university education. In 2002 it was one of only six golf courses in the world that met requirements to be designated an Audobon International Silver Signature Sanctuary."

"I know a spot that I love full well, 'Tis not in forest nor yet in dell; Ever it holds me with magic spell, I think of thee, Alma Mater."

"K-S-U, we'll carry thy banner high. K-S-U, long, long may thy colors fly. Loyal to thee, thy children will swell the cry. Hail, hail, hail. Alma Mater."

"When I graduated in 1958, K-State was a good university. By most measures, Kansas State was a good university through the 1960s's, the 1970's, and into the 1980's. Then came Jon Wefald, or, as I have said at numerous K-State pep rallies, "And now, the man who has led us from the valley of despair and defeat to unprecedented pride and victory... Jon 'Moses' Wefald." This book is about the Wefald years at K-State, when a very good university aimed high and became an excellent university. During the Wefald years, Kansans have pointed with pride to the greatest turnaround in the history of Division I football, and K-State becoming a football power among the nation's elite. They know that between 1986 and 2000, student enrollment also reversed a serious decline and increased from 14,000 to 22,000. Alumni and visitors to campus see a new library and a new art museum. And there is much more attributable to Jon Wefald's term as president."

"In assessing the "Wefald Years," one is reluctant to single out accomplishments because in truth, there were many, large and small. (Don't ever tell Jon Wefald something can't be done!) In sum, they illustrate what can be accomplished by creativity, team planning, and- most of all- leadership at the top. K-State has a long and grand history, written by good and respected presidents: Denison, Anderson, Fairchild, Will, Nichols, Waters, Jardine, Eisenhower, McCain, and Acker. Now, we add the Wefald years and the contributions of a man who, during difficult times, literally grabbed a university by the scruff of its academic and athletic neck and gave it a good shake. They are years of progress and striving for excellence in all areas of the university. They are the renaissance years."

"Kansas State University has erased further influences of diversity, equity, and inclusion programming after receiving a student whistleblower complaint alleging some lingering policies did not align with state law. This month, a top campus official reported to the State Finance Council it has resolved the complaint and ended mandatory DEI training for the student government and student fee funding allocations to groups that promote DEI, the Kansas Reflector reported. Kansas last year passed Senate Bill 125, which included language prohibiting the funding of DEI programs after August 2025. The new law caused the university to take steps toward the reduction of DEI, such as eliminating diversity initiatives, removing pronouns from email signatures, and replacing the word “diversity” with the word “all” in its mission statement."

"Marshall Stewart, executive vice president for external engagement at K-State, told the council campus leaders took the complaint “very seriously” and “there was language in student government where they were providing funds for DEI-related work that would be in conflict with Senate Bill 125.” It led him to inform the student government of the need for changes, as reported by the Journal. Stewart said the KSU Student Government cancelled any funds scheduled toward groups promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and distanced itself from those with mission statements promoting the ideology. The College Fix sent multiple emails to the Kansas State University Student Government Association, Stewart, as well as Kansas State University media affairs division, and did not receive a response. However, Reagan Dugan, director of higher education initiatives at Defending Education, told The College Fix that “DEI programs inevitably lead to divisive identity-based and ideological groups. While Kansas Senate Bill 125 was clear that these sorts of things have no place in higher education, it is entirely unsurprising that compliance with the bill has taken so long.”"

"The presence of DEI at KSU had inspired Young America’s Foundation, a conservative youth organization present at campuses across America, to also weigh in, issuing its own complaint last year to the Department of Education civil rights office last March. In its 29-page complaint to the Office for Civil Rights, the group warned the department of “significant and ongoing civil rights violations against conservative students” at the university, including the presence of a “Spectrum Center,” diversity-focused policies, and a “Committee on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging.” A major focus of Trump’s second administration has been the elimination of DEI and gender politics in higher education. The president issued multiple executive orders within his first couple days in office, while cracking down on colleges promoting the ideology. State legislators continue their attempts at improving the quality of education in Kansas, raising concerns about the effects of permitting diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in higher education. “At Defending Education we’ve found more than two hundred institutions across the country still operating DEI offices, many of which merely changed the office’s name on the website,” Defending Education’s Dugan told The College Fix. “Passing legislation is only the first step in cleaning out the rot. I’m encouraged that the state of Kansas sees the importance of enforcement too.”"