Editing Kennewick, Washington (section)

===1980 to present===
The [[1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens]] caused [[volcanic ash]] to fall on Kennewick.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dullenty |first=Jim |date=May 19, 1980 |title=Ash chokes Eastern Washington roads |page=1 |work=Tri-City Herald |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/118474119/ash-chokes-eastern-washington-roads/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=February 11, 2023}}</ref> Higher accumulations were recorded in surrounding communities, such as [[Ritzville, Washington|Ritzville]], and the ash plume was thick enough to trigger street lamps to turn on at noon. Cars that didn't have external filters stopped functioning during the eruption.<ref>{{cite news |title=6 inches of Mt. St. Helens ash fell on Lind, WA; half as much on closer cities |url=https://www.nbcrightnow.com/archives/inches-of-mt-st-helens-ash-fell-on-lind-wa/article_7298dd4b-8877-50a6-a01c-63aa4f0cf27e.html |publisher=KNDU-TV |date=May 15, 2017 |access-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-date=September 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200908035635/https://www.nbcrightnow.com/archives/inches-of-mt-st-helens-ash-fell-on-lind-wa/article_7298dd4b-8877-50a6-a01c-63aa4f0cf27e.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Kennewick and surrounding areas have been dusted by smaller eruptions of [[Mount St. Helens]] since.<ref>{{cite news |title=Volcano's ash burp dusts Tri-Cities |url=https://www.tri-cityherald.com/latest-news/article31767534.html |work=Tri-City Herald |date=February 15, 1991 |access-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-date=January 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200104043141/https://www.tri-cityherald.com/latest-news/article31767534.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The area was connected to the [[Interstate Highway System]] in 1986 when construction on [[Interstate 82]] (I-82) between [[Benton City, Washington|Benton City]] and the south end of Kennewick was completed.<ref>{{cite news |last=Woehler |first=Bob |date=February 23, 1986 |title=Final ribbon cut on I82, 182 highway links |page=B1 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref> This came after over a decade of fighting between Washington and Oregon regarding the planned route of the freeway. With backing from Tri-Cities and [[Walla Walla, Washington|Walla Walla]] area businesses, Washington had pushed for a route that connected those cities.<ref name="TCH-1984">{{cite news |last=Woehler |first=Bob |date=November 25, 1984 |title=I-82 saga was 25-year freeway tug-of-war |page=C4 |work=Tri-City Herald}}</ref> Oregon eventually opposing proposed routes that didn't cross the [[Umatilla Bridge]], a compromise was reached placing I-82 on its current alignment to the south and southwest of Kennewick while authorizing the construction of [[Interstate 182]] as a spur heading directly into Richland and Pasco.<ref>{{cite news |last=Abeyta |first=Terry |date=August 9, 1973 |title=1-82 county bypass: 'Inevitable' |page=5 |work=Walla Walla Union-Bulletin}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=June 8, 1969 |title=Two highway hearings set |page=2 |work=Walla Walla Union-Bulletin}}</ref>

The 1980s also brought the two most serious attempts to merge Kennewick with the other cities in the Tri-Cities, both of which failed. This resulted from an economic down turn in the area caused by the cancellation of two proposed nuclear power plants on the Hanford Site. The first proposal was to consolidate all three cities (Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland) into one, while the second only included Kennewick and Richland. Support for both of these attempts was strong in Richland, but voters in Kennewick and Pasco were not on board.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tri-Cities may become Bi-Cities; Pasco would get boot |last=Geranlos |first=Nicholas |work=[[The Spokesman-Review]] |date=May 23, 1988}}</ref>

The [[Toyota Center (Kennewick)|Toyota Center]] was used as a venue for ice hockey and figure skating during the [[1990 Goodwill Games]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Swenson |first=John |title=Tri-Cities welcomes Goodwill Games while Soviets fume |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/07/25/Tri-Cities-welcomes-Goodwill-Games-while-Soviets-fume/7494648878400/ |publisher=United Press International |date=July 25, 1990 |access-date=December 12, 2018 |archive-date=December 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215224827/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/07/25/Tri-Cities-welcomes-Goodwill-Games-while-Soviets-fume/7494648878400/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This international sporting competition was similar to the [[Olympic Games]], but significantly smaller in scale. Most of the events were held in the host city, [[Seattle]], but were also staged in other areas of the state, including [[Tacoma, Washington|Tacoma]] and [[Spokane, Washington|Spokane]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Wilma |first=David |title=Ted Turner's Goodwill Games open in Seattle on July 20, 1990 |url=http://historylink.org/File/5658 |work=HistoryLink |date=February 25, 2004 |access-date=December 12, 2018 |archive-date=March 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301015801/https://www.historylink.org/File/5658 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1996, an ancient human skeleton was found on a bank of the Columbia River. Known as [[Kennewick Man]], the remains are notable for their age (some 9,300 years). Ownership of the bones has been a matter of [[Kennewick Man#Ownership controversy|controversy]] with Native American tribes in the Inland Northwest claiming the bones to be from an ancestor of theirs and wanting them to be reburied. After a court litigation, a group of researchers were allowed to study the remains and perform various tests and analyses. They published their results in a book in 2014. A 2015 genetic analysis confirmed the ancient skeleton's ancestry to the Native Americans of the area (some observers contended that the remains were of European origin). The genetic analysis has notably contributed to knowledge about the [[peopling of the Americas]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-33170655 |title=DNA reignites Kennewick Man debate |last=Morelle |first=Rebecca |author-link=Rebecca Morelle |work=[[BBC News]] |date=June 18, 2015 |access-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-date=February 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202101119/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-33170655 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Kennewick fared better than most of the state during the [[Great Recession]], primarily due to consistent job growth in the metro area during that time. This was largely driven by the Hanford Site, which only had one significant period of layoffs which briefly caused economic uncertainty. Home sales experienced a small decline from 2007 to 2009, but rebounded in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/pdf/Kennewick-RichlandWA-CHMA-18.pdf |title=COMPREHENSIVE HOUSING MARKET ANALYSIS - Kennewick-Richland, WA |publisher=[[United States Department of Housing and Urban Development]] |date=October 1, 2018 |access-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-date=October 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016191144/https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/pdf/Kennewick-RichlandWA-CHMA-18.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.tricitiesbusinessnews.com/2018/05/experts-say-region-poised-for-continued-growth/ |title=Experts say region poised for continued growth |work=Tri-Cities Business News |date=2018 |access-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191230220144/https://www.tricitiesbusinessnews.com/2018/05/experts-say-region-poised-for-continued-growth/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Since the recession, Kennewick has expanded greatly. While growth has been experienced throughout the city, new development has been strongest in the Southridge area along [[U.S. Route 395 in Washington|U.S. Route 395]] (US&nbsp;395) and in the west part of the city thanks to their access to major roads and the ample land available in those areas when development started.<ref name=ComprehensivePlan>{{cite web |url=https://www.go2kennewick.com/DocumentCenter/View/9723/Comprehensive-Plan-Together-we-are-One-Kennewick |title=Together we are one Kennewick |publisher=City of Kennewick |date=2017 |access-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-date=October 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017000051/https://www.go2kennewick.com/DocumentCenter/View/9723/Comprehensive-Plan-Together-we-are-One-Kennewick |url-status=dead }}</ref>