- [Narrator] Even before Kansas became a state, a lively spirit, a leap of optimism and ambition sprang up in this land. The great trails west began at our eastern border, headed for Santa Fe, for Oregon, and for California. Carving history so deeply into our soil, the traces of the wagon ruts can still be clearly seen. Echoes from the days of the pony express into hover in the air at Hollandberg Station, last unaltered remount depot, along a route that once spanned more than half a continent. The bells of St. Fidelis, the cathedral of the plains, still ring out across the prairies at Victoria, but many of the forts that guarded the old trails or protected Kansas pioneers are quiet now, historic sites, except when Kansans celebrate their heritage.

- Aim. Fire.

- [Narrator] And the Mahaffey house, once a lonely stagecoach stop on the Santa Fe trail. Today is part of the action in lively, bustling Johnson County. Johnson County, among the world's most elegant metropolitan areas and a thriving center of commerce, enjoying one of the highest per capita income levels in the nation. Johnson County's busy executive airport is within a few hours flying time of almost any other industrial area in the United States. For Kansas is as it has always been in the middle of everything. Wichita, largest city in the state, owes a part of its growth and vitality to its geo center location. Halfway there to almost anywhere in the USA, the hub of a transportation network radiating outward from the very core of the country. Shipping costs to most markets range from 15 to 25% lower here than from coastal locations. And this geographic advantage close to the most customers, conveniently situated for fast individualized service, has led many nationally known firms to locate or relocate where all the direct route cross, north, south, east, or west in Kansas. Such pioneering entrepreneurs as Walter Beach, Clyde Cessna, Lloyd Steerman and Bill Leer laid the foundations upon which Wichita became a citadel of the air age with three fourths of all the planes used in general aviation around the world manufactured in this Kansas community. While the state's largest industrial workforce at Boeing supplies components for military aviation, the hard driving individualism of a new generation of Wichita entrepreneurs has helped raise Kansas near the top of recent business charts where it has virtually led the nation in the percentage increase in manufacturing jobs. In fact, Wichita's boundless enthusiasm for getting down to business has prompted a degree in entrepreneurism, the only one of its kind in the world from its university. The character of the Kansas worker ranks as one of the state's greatest assets. Kansans still believe in the work ethic. They're dedicated and cooperative, helping create a labor climate that supports the state's stable economy. Some of these workers have achieved productivity increases as high as 82% during periods when the nation's productivity as a whole was falling. But then we've been known for our incredibly high output since the first of our settlers began to turn vast acres of our rich soil into green machines for making bread. Kansas produces more wheat than all, but a handful of countries around the world, contributing appreciably to America's balance of payments from its position as number one wheat grower, USA. And although it's been almost a century since any steers were driven up the old trails to Dodge City and Abilene, Kansas is still providing much of the burger for the nation's bread. No other natural grassland on earth equals the beautiful Flint hills for putting size and weight on cattle. A million head fatten on these tall grass pastures every year, and these herds added to those in the feedlots make Kansas a prime producer of prime beef. What the Kansas farmer does, he does in spectacular fashion, pushing productivity to the limit, helping to feed or clothe 76 other Americans beside himself. For here is a state bursting with energy in more ways than one, sitting on top of one of the largest natural gas fields known, continuing to tap new reserves of oil. Rich in coal and humming with electrical power. Best of all, Kansas is energized from within, a dynamo of brain power. Education is a passion in a state where nearly 95% of the seniors graduate from high school and more than 60% of those graduates go on to pursue some form of post-secondary education, either in vocational and technical schools or at a wealth of public and private universities, colleges and community colleges with that KS mailing address. So great is the state's dedication to higher education that Kansas ranks among the top five in the union in the number of institutions of higher learning per capita. Augmenting traditional post-secondary educational facilities are the high tech training and research centers, which attest to the Kansas commitment to industrial technology. But Kansas is not all work and no play. You'll find art in dozens of parks throughout the summer and exciting collections for year-round viewing at a score of art museums. More people proportionately attend symphony concerts in Topeka than in Manhattan. The other Manhattan, the one claiming to be the big apple. And Wichita's Century II concert hall, is home to a city symphony orchestra to compare with the nation's finest. Festivals abound across the state. Festivals dedicated to the fall glory of maple leaves, festivals reaffirming Kansans pride in their polytechnic heritage. There are so many ways to enjoy life in the sunflower state that no one ever needs ask where the action is. You can wander through a rainforest in a zoological park. Play a course that's been home to a national golf association. Discover more about space than you could anywhere short of NASA headquarters or the Smithsonian Institution. Take a nostalgic look backward toward agriculture as it used to be. Walk through the humble rooms where the 34th president lived as a boy, browse through the historical collections of the Eisenhower years, or dare to live up to the name the Kanza Indians gave themselves and to us a name meaning people of the south wind. But whether you sail above the surface or on it, if water is your element, you'll be right at home in Kansas. We have more sunshine than large parts of the Sunbelt too. As many as 300 clear days a year in our Western half with nearly as many sunny days in the east. And an invigorating four season climate lends changing patterns of color to the Kansas kaleidoscope. High on any list of state attractions is Capital Square in Topeka. Here, the work of well-known Kansas artists is displayed and other famous Kansans are honored. Amelia Earhart, pioneer aviator. Arthur Capper, editor and philanthropist. William Allen White of the Emporia Gazette, as well as the late president. Topeka is home to the state Historical Society and the state historical museum, as well as to the other branches of the state government. Cedar Crest, the governor's gracious home is regularly opened to the public. Gifts from its public supporters, the Friends of Cedar Crest have helped make it a showplace. Nearby, the famed Menninger Clinic stands as one of the world's most respected teaching, research, and treatment centers. No doubt about it, Kansas rates superlatives. It is big on agribusiness, big on industry thanks to the efforts of groups such as the Kansas Cavalry. Bigger still in the strength of its banking community, big on business, including the one that cares enough to be the very best in its field. Big on education and biggest of all, perhaps in the quality of life it offers. Whether one prefers the stimulation of its metropolitan centers, the tranquility of its small towns, or the rugged energy of its farming areas, there's something here for everyone. This is a state where a man, a woman, or a child all have space to grow where there is elbow room to expand on personal horizons, to dream the dreams that are the forerunners of achievement. This is a state where there is infinite variety, a kaleidoscope of beauty, action, strength and resourcefulness. This is Kansas.