Great Bend, Kansas

Great Bend is a city in Barton County, Kansas, United States. It is also the county seat of Barton County. It is named for its location at the place where the Arkansas River bends east then southeast. In 2010, 15,995 people lived there.
Geography.
Great Bend is at (38.3644567, -98.7648073). It has an elevation of 1,850 feet (564 m). It is in central Kansas, and it is at the intersection of U.S. Route 281 and U.S. Route 56. Great Bend is northwest of Wichita, west-southwest of Kansas City, and east-southeast of Denver.
The United States Census Bureau says that the city has a total area of . Of that, is land and is water.
Education.
Primary and secondary education.
Great Bend Public Schools (USD 428) has about 3,000 students. It runs eight schools in Great Bend:
Colleges and universities.
Barton Community College is a two-year community college. It is about three miles northeast of Great Bend.
Media.
The "Great Bend Tribune" is the city's daily newspaper. It makes over 6,200 copies.
Parks and recreation.
The city government's Park Department maintains 10 parks in Great Bend.
Culture.
Sports.
Greyhound racing started in the United States in the bottoms in 1886 during a formal coursing event.