De Soto, Kansas - Midwest Public Risk

Winter 2015 MPR Messenger
The City of De Soto has remained true to
thier motto “Building on Small Town Values”
You do not need to spend much time with
De Soto’s City Clerk, Lana McPherson to discover that
she is proud of her home town. As well she should be.
De Soto was founded and grew out of the Louisiana
Purchase, the largest land acquisition in our country’s
history. It was forged by the hard work and ingenuity
of its residents and tempered by the boom and
bust of wartime supply efforts. De Soto’s roots, firmly
entrenched in small town values, have given them the
tools they need to face the challenges of a growing
premier Johnson County community.
Although, in the past, De Soto was known largely
for its agricultural and farming industry, today De
Soto provides the advantages of a Johnson County
location with the vibrant lifestyle benefits and close
business relationships of a small-town community. De
Soto has an abundance of recreational and cultural
activities, beautiful neighborhoods and a low cost of
living, all delivered with friendly attitudes and many
warm smiles.
Member Spotlight:
De Soto
residents are
afforded
the benefits
of living in
a growing
community
with easy
access to other communities in the Kansas City
Metropolitan area. From the beautiful city and
county parks, the award-winning USD #232 School
District and businesses who have their North
American headquarters located in De Soto, there
is something for everyone. The city of De Soto has
carefully planned its growth to provide a balanced
and welcoming community with a home-town
atmosphere.
When asked “When you tell people, who are not
from around here, about De Soto what do you tell
them?” Lana responded, “I, personally, tell people
De Soto, Kansas
Continued on page 11
Pictured in front of their beautiful City Hall is left to right: Mike Brungardt, City Engineer; Boots Linden, Court Clerk;
Steve Chick, Sr., Building Official; Ron Creason, Street Superintendent; Cynthia Wagner, City Administrator; and
Lana McPherson, City Clerk.
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www.MPRisk.org
MILO Range
Program Proving
to be a Valuable
Training Tool
Midwest Public Risk’s Director
of Risk Management, Aaron
Ambrose conducting training
utilizing the MILO Range Tactial
Simulator with Lt. Mike Prindle
of the Harrisonville Police
Department.
MPR aquired the MILO System
in 2015 and has been hosting
demonstrations and trainings with
Members in Kansas and Missouri.
If you are interested in the system,
please contact Aaron Ambrose
at [email protected].
Member Spotlight: De Soto, Kansas Continued from Page 4
De Soto is Johnson County’s best kept secret! De Soto
is my hometown. My family moved to De Soto when
I was 9 months old. I am a graduate of De Soto’s
excellent school district, USD #232, which continues to
offer a well-rounded education for our youth. To me,
De Soto has all the delights of a home-town friendly
atmosphere, plus the advantage of hopping on the
K-10 corridor and driving 15 minutes in any direction
for easy access to top-notch universities, museums,
entertainment, shopping, airport, rail and bus stations,
and basically anything a person could want. Yet, I
can enjoy the tranquility of walking through Riverfest
Park along the banks of the Kaw, smelling the crops
growing in the fertile Kaw River Valley fields, observing
the beautiful prairie sunsets, and soaking up the
richness of small-town living.”
A BRIEF HISTORY OF DE SOTO
De Soto was incorporated on October 3, 1857,
by the De Soto Town Company. John Possum, a
Shawnee Indian, received 740 acres from the U.S.
Government in May of 1854. His land, including all of
Kansas, was part of the Louisiana Purchase, costing
the U.S. about three cents per acre. Mr. Possum sold
80 acres of this land to the De Soto Town Company
at about $15 per acre, which was a fabulous sum in
the 1800’s! Mr. Possum operated a grist mill on Kill
Creek, and “Possum Spring’, a picnic area with a
huge flat rock, was where people gathered and the
women would heat water and wash clothes. There is
a historical marker today where visitors to De Soto can
view this area.
De Soto is bordered on the north by the Kansas
River and on the south by K-10. For over 150 years,
De Soto was well-known for its white and sweet
potatoes, watermelons, and corn grown in the
“De Soto Bottoms” along the banks of the Kaw River.
In the 1940’s, De Soto became a boom town
with the creation of the Sunflower Army Ammunition
Plant (SAAF) at the start of WWII. Around 25,000
workers infiltrated our small community of around 500
people. By the mid-40’s, De Soto’s population grew
to well over 1,000 and twice that number at times.
The population fluctuated dramatically for the next
50 years depending on the wars—WWII, Korea and
Vietnam. The SAAF plant closed in 1996, and was
eventually parceled out.
In 2007, De Soto was proclaimed a city of the
second class by the Governor. Today, De Soto’s
population is 5,911 and growing. De Soto is a great
place to live, work, and raise a family.
From 1990 to 2000, the population of De Soto
nearly doubled in size. With the upturn of the
economy, along with the business and residential
expansion currently taking place in northwestern
Johnson County, the city of De Soto is in a prime
position along the K-10 corridor to once again grow
exponentially. It will become another exciting
chapter in De Soto’s history.
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