Secession movements in places like eastern Oregon continue to make headlines today, but back in the 1990s, parts of western Kansas made an effort to secede that previewed the political divisions that still cause people in the U.S. to consider cutting ties from their governments. In Kansas, the effort involving nine southwest Kansas counties all started with a disagreement over school funding policies. After people in western Kansas felt a new school funding law adversely affected rural schools, some residents of the nine counties were so upset that they petitioned to leave the state. They proposed a new state called West Kansas. In the heart of one of those counties, tucked behind endless rows of corn and milo, Sharon Concannon takes a trip down memory lane, thumbing through a book of newspaper clippings and documents from the time. The navy blue book’s cover exclaims, “Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore” in large white letters. The laminated book documents the reactions to a secession movement that grew out of the region 30 years ago.
Source: KAKE – News
