attention Kansas drivers

Are you heading to the DMV? If so, I wish you short lines, helpful and friendly employees, and a photo that resembles more of you, less of the haunting-form-of-self that you wouldn't recognize even on a bad day.

Even if all the above wishes were to come true, there is yet another thing that would be new to this visit—the overall design of the license itself.




BEFORE
Courtesy Kansas Department of Revenue





AFTER
Courtesy Kansas Department of Revenue



The new license design boasts numerous security measures which make it even harder for fakes to be produced. According to a news release from Fox 4 News KC, those updates include:        

• Ultra-violet image of the cardholder’s portrait and date of birth on the back of the card (viewable with UV light)
• Multi-colored, highly detailed holograms
• Highly detailed ultra-violet (UV) image of the state flower (viewable with UV light)
• Two ghost images of the cardholder’s portrait in addition to the conventional photograph
• Tactile printing that you can feel

You had me at tactile printing!

As mentioned before, Kansas’ driver’s license and ID card design was last changed in 2004; states typically change their designs every four to six years.

"The new Kansas driver’s license card is among the most secure in the country," said Alcoholic Beverage Control Director Dean Reynoldson, who also oversees the department’s Office of Special Investigations, which investigates driver’s license fraud. "The card, combined with a new more secure driver’s license and ID card application process, makes Kansas one of the most difficult states to commit driver’s license or identification card fraud."

One thing hasn't changed—the format for printing cards for drivers who are under 21 years of age. Those licenses will remain in a vertical format so it's easier to tell if the cardholder is of a legal drinking age or not.



the 'under 21' license
Courtesy Kansas Department of Revenue



looking back

This Dutch windmill in Lawrence, Kansas was photographed between the years of 1890 and 1899.

This is a cyanotype showing the old Dutch windmill, which stood on west Ninth Street in Lawrence, Kansas. Construction on the windmill started July 1, 1863 by A. Plum and G. H. Wilder. Fourteen men were brought from Sweden by Plum to build the windmill. It was destroyed in Quantrill's Raid and rebuilt in 1864.

It was octagon shaped, four stories in height, and the basement had walls of stone six feet thick. The mill had four millstones, two for wheat and two for corn. The capacity of the mill was twenty bushels daily each of flour and meal. With the wind blowing at the rate of twenty-five miles an hour the mill would have eighty horse power. The mill ceased running in July 1885 and a fire destroyed it in 1905.

photo courtesy of  Kansas Historical Society
Item Number: 227455 Call Number: FK2.D4 L.7 *23
KSHS Identifier: DaRT ID: 227455

hold on tight, Kansas

According to the Associated Press, Kansas driver's licenses are about to get a new look and some new features.

The Department of Revenue is unveiling the new design at an event Tuesday with Governor Sam Brownback and Revenue Secretary Nick Jordan.

Motorists will begin receiving the new licenses this week. Among the elements are new security features to protect against identity theft or illegal duplication.

Revenue Department spokeswoman Jeannine Koranda says Kansas updates its driver's licenses every four to six years as technology changes.

Stay tuned for the results...