Miner, Chapter 9, "Like the Nations"

The best way to describe what I would pull out of this chapter would be with a direct quote.
"The year 1985, close as it was to George Orwell's dystopian year 1984, was an unusual time in Kansas history. THe nuclear plant came on line, a serverance tax on oil and gas was in place; liquor by the drink and parimutuel betting bills cleared the legislature; L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Church of Scientology. was declared an honary Kansas citizen; the attorney general was charged in a sexual harassment suit; serial killers were tried for a murder rampage in western Kansas; and the governor was divorced for the second time during his term, with pundits doubting that it would affect his political career. No wonder a state legislator, desparate to preserve something of the state's traditional image, introduced a bill to make "wholesome" milk the official Kansas state drink,
Even though all of these things were happening and yet Kansas continued to be an example of the wholesome heartland.