Kennewick Washington

Kennewick is a city in Benton County in the southeastern part of the state of Washington, near the Hanford nuclear site. It is the most populous of the three cities collectively referred to as the Tri-Cities (the others being Pasco and Richland). Kennewick is located along the southwest bank of the Columbia River, opposite Pasco and just south of the confluence of the Columbia and Yakima rivers. The population was 67,180 at the state Office of Financial Management's estimate in April 1, 2009.

The nearest commercial airport is the Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco, a regional commercial and private airport. Forbes magazine named Kennewick the #2 area in the United States for job growth, while nearby Yakima was named #1. The article cites the number of scientists employed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and area farmland for this outlook.

 Kennewick is the host city of the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League, as well as of the Indoor Football League's Tri-Cities Fever. They both play their home games in the Toyota Center, which hosts many other regional events. Every year during the summer, hydroplane racing takes place at the Water Follies event on the Columbia River. Residents from all of southeastern Washington come to Kennewick to shop in the city's commercial district, the center point of which is Columbia Center Mall. Also, every year in August, there is the Benton-Franklin County Fair held at the fairgrounds.

 Kennewick is also the site of the annual Titanium Man (International Distance) and Plutonium Man (Half-Iron Distance) triathlons. Public schools located in the city are part of the Kennewick School District. The Kennewick School District has thirteen elementary schools (Amistad, Canyon View, Cascade, Eastgate, Edison, Hawthorne, Lincoln, Ridge View, Southgate, Sunset View, Vista, Washington, Westgate), four middle schools (Park, Highlands, Desert Hills, Horse Heaven Hills), three high schools: Kennewick High School(the Lions), Kamiakin High School(the Braves), and Southridge High School(the Suns), and a vocational school operated by Kennewick and other local school districts, the Tri-Tech Skills Center.