Good morning, Wichita!

Some people ask why I take it as far as I do with some of these ideas, but I want to flip the question and ask you - why aren’t you taking it further?

Let’s get into it!

- Landon Huslig

p.s. Today is the Barton School of Business Centennial Bash at Wichita State complete with a F88 Run Club run - bring your student ID and get a shirt while supplies last !

Together with Wichita Festivals

The Wichita Festivals team behind beloved Wichita events like Wichita Riverfest and Autumn & Art is bringing a brand new event to the Wichita area - Flavor & Barbecue Fest!

This is going to be an event to remember. They are currently looking for more vendors though!

First off, this is a KCBS Sanctioned Event with $15,000 in prizes, so if you make the best bbq this side of the Mississippi, prove it.

Secondly, they are looking for non-bbq food trucks and VENDORS! This is an open call for all local artisans with handmade products and locally owned small businesses to participate.

Can’t wait to see you all there!

Interested in advertising with us?

How tall is the Keeper of the Plains?

A few years ago, we took to the streets at Open Streets ICT to quiz our fellow Wichitans on how big the Keeper of the Plains is. See the video here.

I did put people on the spot who were just trying to enjoy the weather, but we got a WIDE variety of answers:

150 ft, 110 ft, 1000 ft, 150 ft, 74ft (winner, winner, chicken dinner), 30 ft

The Keeper of the Plains is 44 feet tall and sits a top a 30 ft pedestal for a total of 74 feet.

Although the Keeper was installed in 1974, the pedestal was not always there, but installed decades later.

How does it stack up?

The Keeper of the Plains is one of the most iconic structures and icons we have in Wichita and you can’t go anywhere in town without seeing it used on a logo or t-shirt.

It did make me wonder how it stacks up to other ‘iconic’ structures. You can see a few here:

What if….

This brings us to my shower thought.

What if the Keeper of the Plains was bigger…much bigger?

What would it look like if we scaled up our 5-ton protector of our river?

Don't get me wrong, I have been going down to see the Keeper of the Plains for a long time and I love it just how it is, but just imagine if it was bigger and we could see it for miles and miles.

Unfortunately, I'm not a photoshop guru, so here we go:

Maybe not the best representation, I bet we can do better.

Here is another look at the Keeper of the Plains:

Visit Wichita

But what if it were…300’ tall?

Now we’re talking.

Scale it Up

As I mentioned before, the Keeper of the Plains is 74' tall on its pedestal. The tallest building in Kansas is the Epic Center - 320' at the top floor, 385' to the tip.

Greater Wichita Partnership

Swap out the Epic Center for the Keeper of the Plains and imagine how cool that would be (height wise).

One last example is the St. Louis Arch. I've only seen it once or twice during Arch Madness back when the Shockers were dominating the Valley (anyone else miss those days?).

It is 630 feet tall and makes a STATEMENT. I mean I want to see the Keeper from miles and miles out as you approach Wichita. So what does it look like if it matches the Arch?

Crunching the Numbers

This math makes little to no sense but hang with me.

If the Keeper currently stands at 44' (not including the pedestal) and weighs 5 tons. If we scale it up (630 / 44) it is ~14.3x.

14.3 x 5 tons = ~71.5 tons = 143,000 lbs

According to google, steel costs ~$0.57 per pound.

Our total cost of just raw materials = $81,500. This seems extremely low, so I'll just multiply it by 1000 (because math) = $81.5 million. This still seems too low, but hey maybe it's directionally correct?

Well, that's it for today.

Sorry to expose you to my hair-brain thoughts, but these rabbit holes are fun to go down sometimes. It really would be cool to think bigger for our city.

What do you think?