Why did Kansas City officials put a new name on KCI’s terminal? Here’s the title
Kansas City is honoring President Harry Truman by adding his name to the terminal at Kansas City International Airport, city officials have announced.
The space will have the title “Harry S Truman Terminal,” after Kansas City Council members approved the move Thursday. The terminal was previously unnamed.
“President Harry S Truman represents the very best of Kansas City and Missouri,” Mayor Quinton Lucas said in a news release.
“He was a leader of uncommon courage, integrity, and vision who never forgot where he came from. From his early days as a Jackson County judge building the infrastructure that made our city great, to his presidency that shaped the free world, President Truman’s legacy deserves to be celebrated every time someone travels through our airport,” Lucas said.
City officials also said $150,000 in public improvement funds would be directed toward the installation of a statue of Truman at the airport.
The piece will be identical to one that is located in the U.S. Capitol rotunda in Washington, D.C. That bronze statue, created by sculptor Tom Corbin, shows Truman in his 60s, during the period he was president. The statue and a pedestal, which stand 11 feet tall, were installed in 2022.
“Those familiar with the role Harry Truman played in protecting the peace and advancing individual freedoms in the aftermath of World War II will certainly understand the appropriateness of naming the terminal at KCI after President Truman,” said Truman Library Institute Executive Director Alex Burden in a statement.
“We thank Mayor Lucas and the City Council for honoring this history and bringing this important story to a larger audience as our City prepares to shepherd a global audience through its airport in 2026,” Burden said.
Truman, the country’s 33rd president, was born in Lamar, Missouri, south of Kansas City, grew up in and lived many years in Independence and lived and worked in Kansas City.
“President Truman was our president,” Councilman Nathan Willett said in a statement. “From his days running a small business on 12th and Baltimore to laying the groundwork for modern aviation policy, his fingerprints are all over Kansas City. It’s only fitting that our city’s gateway to the world bears his name.”
The new $1.5 billion single terminal at Kansas City International Airport opened in 2023.
This story was originally published October 20, 2025 at 4:25 PM.
