Lansing is a city in Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States. It is the second most populous city of Leavenworth County and is a part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. The Lansing Correctional Facility (formerly the Kansas State Penitentiary), which includes the state's main maximum-security prison, is located in Lansing.
History
Lansing is named for James Lansing, a pioneer settler. Formerly William Lansing Taylor, James changed his name upon his enlistment in 1862 as a hospital steward in the 7th Kansas Cavalry. Following the Civil War, he earned a position at the new state penitentiary in Kansas as a hospital steward. He later resigned and opened a general mercantile store, which held the post office and an apothecary business, in the area called “Town of Progress”. “Doc Lansing”, as he became known, and his friend John C. Schmidt became co-owners of of land that was platted into town lots in 1878; they named the area “Town of Lansing”. Lansing did not become an incorporated city until 1959.
The Kansas State Penitentiary, later renamed the Lansing Correctional Facility in 1990, was authorized by the Kansas Constitution in 1859; it is the state's largest and oldest facility for detention and rehabilitation of male adult felons.
Lansing was ranked 88 in the top 100 of Money Magazine's 2007 list of best places to live.
Geography
Lansing is situated along the western bank of the Missouri River, which also marks the Kansas-Missouri state border. It is bordered by the city of Leavenworth to the north; Kansas City is less than a half-hour to the southeast. U.S. Route 73 passes through the city.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
Climate
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Lansing has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.