Monday, 28 August 2017

Day 53 of Mentor on Road, USA

Infinite patience, infinite purity, and infinite perseverance are the secret of success in a good cause.”
-
Swami Vivekananda

Day 52 of Mentor on Road, USA is a drive from Omaha to Kansas city, Missouri. It’s a short drive of 3 hours.

We started driving on 4th June from Boston and passed through states of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Washington DC, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska. Driven 11,700 kilometers / 7,208 miles till now and will drive 15,450 kilometers / 9602 miles in total. We have now entered the 35th state of the road drive – Missouri.

                                                  









Kansas City is the largest city in Missouri and the sixth largest city in the Midwest. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city had an estimated population of 481,420 in 2016, making it the 37th largest city by population in the United States. It is the anchor city of the Kansas City metropolitan area, which straddles the KansasMissouri border.

Kansas City was founded in the 1830s as a 
Missouri River port at its confluence with the Kansas River coming in from the west. On June 1, 1850 the town of Kansas was incorporated; shortly after came the establishment of the Kansas Territory. Confusion between the two ensued and the name Kansas City was assigned to distinguish them soon thereafter.

The federal government is the largest employer in the Kansas City metro area. More than 146 federal agencies maintain a presence there. Kansas City is one of ten regional office cities for the US government. The 
Internal Revenue Service maintains a large service center in Kansas City that occupies nearly 1,400,000 square feet (130,000 m2). It is one of only two sites to process paper returns.

The IRS has approximately 2,700 full-time employees in Kansas City, growing to 4,000 during tax season. The 
General Services Administration has more than 800 employees. Most are at the Bannister Federal Complex in South Kansas City. The Bannister Complex is also home to the Kansas City Plant, which is a National Nuclear Security Administration facility operated by Honeywell

Honeywell employs nearly 2,700 at the Kansas City Plant, which produces and assembles 85% of the non-nuclear components of the United States nuclear bomb arsenal. The Social Security Administration has more than 1,700 employees in the Kansas City area, with more than 1,200 at its downtown Mid-America Program Service Center (MAMPSC).

Numerous agriculture companies operate out of the city. Dairy Farmers of America, the largest dairy co-op in the United States is here. Kansas City Board of Trade is the principal trading exchange for hard red winter wheat, the principal ingredient of bread. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and The National Association of Basketball Coaches are based in Kansas City.

The business community is serviced by two major business magazines, the Kansas City Business Journal (published weekly) and Ingram's Magazine (published monthly), as well as other publications, including a local society journal, the Independent (published weekly).


Missouri is the only state to have two of the 12 Federal Reserve Bank headquarters (the second is in St. Louis). Kansas City's effort to get the bank was helped by former mayor James A. Reed, who as senator, broke a tie to pass the Federal Reserve Act.

Three international law firms, Lathrop & Gage, Stinson Leonard Street, and Shook, Hardy & Bacon are based in the city.

The top ten principal employers of Kansas city are as follows:
  • Public School System 
  • Federal Government 
  • State/County/City Government 
  • Cerner Corporation 
  • HCA Midwest Health System 
  • Saint Luke's Health System 
  • Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics 
  • Sprint Corporation 
  • The University of Kansas Hospital 
  • Hallmark Cards, Inc.

Kansas City is often abbreviated as KC (abbreviations often refer to the metropolitan area). It is officially nicknamed the "City of Fountains". The fountains at Kauffman Stadium, commissioned by original Kansas City Royals owner Ewing Kauffman, are the largest privately funded fountains in the world. The city has more boulevards than any other city except Paris and has been called "Paris of the Plains".

Soccer's popularity, at both professional and youth levels, as well as 
Children's Mercy Park's popularity as a home stadium for the U.S. Men's National Team has to the appellation as the "Soccer Capital of America". The city is sometimes referred to as the "Heart of America", as it is near both the population center of the United States and the geographic center of the 48 contiguous states.

Looking forward to an eventful day tomorrow.

Jai Ho! (Let victory be yours)

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