Listening to America: Wichita residents discuss political climate in Kansas

The series shares how Americans across the nation feel about policies.

ByABC News
February 27, 2017, 6:07 PM

— -- President Trump will outline his plans for the nation in his first major address to Congress Tuesday night.

While the White House promises the message will be focused on the "renewal of the American spirit," Americans across the country are weighing in on the key issues they would like to see tackled in a new administration.

ABC News has launched a "Listening to America" series dedicated to sharing how Americans across the nation feel about the direction of the country.

The series begins in Wichita, Kansas, an industrial hub that is commonly referred to as the "Air Capital of the World" and is home to Koch Industries.

Wichita mayor, Jeff Longwell, describes the city as friendly, taking pride in its welcoming spirit.

"We’re the kind of city that when you walk by someone, a total stranger, they’re going to say 'Hi,' they’re going to wave," he said. "We’re that typical Midwestern city."

Longwell, a Republican elected to office in 2015, attended President Trump’s inauguration in Washington, D.C. Protests, following the inauguration and later policy announcements by the Trump administration, have been organized in cities across the country, including Wichita.

But, Longwell said he believes the political climate and feeling in his city are different from other places.

"We’ve had the friendly protests; we’ve had some marches here, but a different tone to them," he said. "I don’t know if it’s the same tone of the angriness you see in other places."

Wichita entrepreneur, Schane Gross said she has seen more residents become politically active since Trump was elected.

"There wasn’t a lot of political activation that happened in Wichita while Obama was in the presidency, but with Trump being in the presidency there’s a lot of political activation," Gross told ABC News. "There are people who have never been involved with politics before that are stepping up and running for office or supporting people that are running for office, that I’ve never seen before."

As all eyes turn to President Trump for his congressional address, Gross is hoping to get a sense of transparency –- something she says she expects from any administration, past, present or future.

"I feel like if everybody knows the tools that they have to work with, then there is no reason why they can’t get ahead."

President Trump’s congressional address begins at 9 p.m. ET and will stream live on abcnews.com/live.