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The other side of Wichita

Wichita. First off, people from outside Kansas never spell it correctly. They spell Witchita. Or Wicheta. Or, if they're feeling particularly phonetic, Weechetaw. At any rate, it only gets worse from there, image-wise. People in large cities elsewhere actually have asked such questions as:

1. Is there indoor plumbing?
2. Are the streets paved?
3. Isn't it in Texas? (No...that's Wichita Falls.)
4. Is there really no place like home? (A general and generally bad Kansas joke)

And to give you a bit of insight and trivia into the town that has been taken over by BTK Mania:

Wichita is known as the Air Capital of the World because it has been home to big aircraft-related businesses and industry, to-wit, Boeing, Cessna, Raytheon, Learjet, Beechcraft, and so on. It is the largest city in Kansas, with more than 300,000 residents, but it is NOT the capital. (Topeka is.) It is located in southcentral Kansas, at the confluence of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas rivers. Famous Wichitans include: Don Johnson, Kirstie Alley, Hattie McDaniel, Barry Sanders, Arlen Spector, Jim Lehrer, Dan Glickman, and Jeff Probst. Famous Wichita State University alums: NFL coaching legend Bill Parcells, former baseball star Joe Carter, and Pizza Hut founders Dan and Frank Carney.

Don't hold Wichita's bad tagline—Wichita, We got the Goods—against its citizens. Generally, it's a fun place to be, with a terrific Old Town district featuring great restaurants, bars, clubs, movie theaters, stage production venues, shopping, and more. We were married at a Methodist church in Wichita in 2000, and we spent our wedding night in a CASTLE along the river. If you'd care to read more, or if you're eager to make upcoming vacation plans, check out the Greater Wichita Convention and Visitors Bureau.

BTK killed in Wichita. He worked for a while in Wichita. He went to school in Wichita. And now the suspect's being held in a Wichita jail, after being arrested by Wichita police, awaiting trial against Wichita's top prosecutors. But, let's not forget...

Dennis Rader lived in Park City.

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