Emporia, Kansas

Emporia is a city in Lyon County, Kansas, United States. It is also the county seat of Lyon County. In 2010, 24,916 people lived there. Emporia is between Topeka and Wichita at the intersection of U.S. Route 50, Interstates 335 and 35 on the Kansas Turnpike. Emporia is also a college town because it has Emporia State University and Flint Hills Technical College.
History.
Emporia was created in 1857. It was named after ancient Carthage, a place known in history as a prosperous center of commerce.
In 1953, Emporia was where Veterans Day was first celebrated in the United States. U.S. Representative Edward Rees introduced legislation in The United States Congress to rename Armistice Day as Veterans Day. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill into law on October 8, 1954.
On June 8, 1974, an F4 tornado hit Emporia. It killed six people, and it injured 200 people. It caused $25 million in damages.
On Sunday, March 6, 1988 a heavily armed gunman walked into the Calvary Baptist Church during services and started shooting. The gunman was Cheunphon Ji, who was 29 years old. He killed one person and injured four people.
Geography.
Emporia is in east-central Kansas. It is about southwest of Kansas City, southwest of Topeka, and northeast of Wichita. It is on the eastern edge of the Flint Hills. The United States Census Bureau says that the city has a total area of . Of that, is land and is water. The Neosho River goes along the northern part of the city. The Cottonwood River, one of its tributaries, goes along the city's southern edge and of two large city parks, Peter Pan and Soden's Grove.
Weather.
The city gets about 60 rainy days per year. It gets about 59 days with high temperatures of or higher, and 124 days with low temperatures below freezing. The average temperature in January is , and in July it is . It gets about of snow every year.
People.
Emporia is the principal city of the Emporia Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Lyon and Chase counties.
2010 census.
The 2010 census says that there were 24,916 people, 9,812 households, and 5,571 families living in Emporia.
Economy.
Emporia has several big private-sector employers. In the past, a Tyson Foods beef-packing plant employed more than 2,400 workers. Hostess Brands has a bakery in Emporia. Hopkins Manufacturing Corporation, created in Emporia in 1953, makes products for the car market. The Braum dairy store chain, based in Oklahoma City, started in Emporia in 1952 under the name "Peter Pan." Simmons Pet Food has a multi-acre plant in Emporia that makes wet dog food.
On January 25, 2008, Tyson said it would fire 1,500 workers (more than 60 percent) by March 25, 2008. The company said it needed to move to western Kansas, where the cattle are raised. The Tyson plant creates almost 10 percent of the local economy.
Infrastructure.
Transportation.
The city is served by the Emporia Municipal Airport.
Bus.
LCAT or Lyon County Area Transportation provides bus service in Emporia. It provides fixed-route bus service to the city of Emporia, and paratransit service to the disabled and the rest of Lyon County. The buses are a service of Lyon County. It gets a lot of financial support from the Kansas Department of Transportation. The Greyhound Lines has a bus stop in Emporia.
Media.
The "Emporia Gazette" is the city's main newspaper. It is published six days per week. The "Gazette" also publishes a Spanish language monthly newspaper, "La Voz". Emporia State University publishes a bi-weekly student newspaper, the "Emporia State University Bulletin".
Emporia is an important place for broadcast media for east-central Kansas. One AM radio station and ten FM radio stations are licensed to and/or broadcast from the city. Emporia is in the Topeka, Kansas television market. One television station, a translator of the Fox affiliate in Topeka, broadcasts from the city.
Famous people.
Famous people who were born in and/or have lived in Emporia include actor R. Lee Ermey, journalist William Allen White, and college basketball coach Dean Smith.