Manletsburg

Manletsburg is a city in northern Trans-Antarctica, and is the fifth largest city in Trans-Antarctica, with a population of about 800,000 as of 2019, and is also the county seat of Lawrence County. The city also has a metropolitan area of around 3.2 million, making it the second largest metropolitan area in Trans-Antarctica. As the only major city for hundreds of miles coming from west or south, Manletsburg is an important stopping point for travelers, and is also a minor cultural center for northern Trans-Antarctica and southeastern Antarctic Peninsula.

The city was founded by a businessman in the late 1800s, who was sometimes known as "the Manlet" due to his short stature, though he was not related to the famous hockey player Chad Thunderbeak, who is more often known as Hockey Manlet in any way. Manletsburg was originally a small farming town known as Johnstown, but it would grow after a railway station was built in the city. It remained as a somewhat bustling small town for the following decades until the city began to grow significantly during the 1970s, and would continue to grow into a major city in Trans-Antarctica by the 2000s.

History
Manletsburg was originally founded by a businessman in the 1870s who had purchased large tracts of land in the surrounding area to farm the land. Eventually, a small community known as Johnstown, named after the founder, was established along the river that ran through the area, with the businessman as its first mayor. The town was originally very small, with only a few establishments, but a rail line was built in the 1880s with a stop in the town, connecting it with the rest of Antarctica, and Johnstown grew as more and more knew about the town and began to move there.

Eventually, the inhabitants began to call the town "Manletsburg", after the founder, who was known for its short stature, and the name stuck after his death. The railroad station at the town helped to foster its growth, and Manletsburg would continue to grow over the next few decades, albeit at a small rate, and its economy was mostly based on farming. The town was occupied during the Khanzem War by the forces of Khanzem, and was held for years until it was liberated by the Good Guys in 1918 during the final offensive on the capital of Khanzem, as it was located deep in Khanzem territory.

After the war, the population began to decrease due to the destruction left by the Khanzem War, and many others began to move away. However, over the next few years, the population of Manletsburg would begin to grow again, and soon reached its prewar numbers. Manletsburg began to industrialize after the Khanzem War in the 1920s as some factories were built in the outskirts of the city, which began to change the city's economy from being dependent on agriculture to instead being dependent on manufacturing, and many more would move to Manletsburg to work in the city's factories.

The city was occupied by Puffish forces during the Antarctic Revolution, but was soon liberated by a rebel army, though it would change hands between the Puffish and the rebels again during the war. After the United States of Antarctica was established after the war, and many began to move to the sparsely populated Trans-Antarctica, thousands moved to Manletsburg, increasing the population to about 700,000 by 2005. Some large companies also established themselves in Manletsburg, and the city was influenced by the technological center in Hashville, located two hours away from the city.

Government
Manletsburg has a council-manager system of government, where the mayor serves as one of the members of the city council and presides over the meetings of the city council. A city manager administers the multiple government departments in the city and carries out the policies of the city council as well. The city council of Manletsburg consists of nine members including the mayor, and elections are held every four years, with members of the city council being elected by their individual district, while the mayor is elected by the population of the entire city.

The Manletsburg Metropolitan Area consists of many other smaller cities and towns, and covers land across two different counties, Lawrence County, where the city of Manletsburg is in, and Stewart County, with a total population of about 3.2 million people, making it the second largest metropolitan area in Trans-Antarctica. Manletsburg is policed by the Manletsburg Police Department and the Lawrence County Sheriff's Department, while other parts of the metropolitan area are policed by the Stewart County Sheriff's Department and police departments in towns and cities in the area.

Economy
The city's economy was previously very dependent on agriculture in the past, but the tourism industry began to grow in the early 1900s as railway lines and more roads connected the city with other parts of Antarctica. Under Khanzem occupation, the manufacturing industry began to grow as Khanzem built some factories in the city to produce weapons for the front line during the Khanzem War. Though many factories were destroyed by the war and the city's economy was mostly destroyed after the war, the city quickly rebuilt and continued to rebuild its economy, and expanded manufacturing as well.

After the Khanzem War, the city's population grew greatly as thousands of former soldiers settled there with their families. More houses were built for the city's growing population as well, which further boosted Manletsburg's economy. In the 1990s, some major companies built offices or their headquarters in the city, which is home to many large corporations today. Some technological companies have moved their headquarters from major technological hubs such as Hashville and Snow Jose due to the ever increasing cost to maintain their headquarters in those cities.

Culture
Manletsburg is home to two professional sports teams; the Manletsburg Pirates in hockey and the Manletsburg Scorpions in football. The Pirates are a relatively new team in the Major Hockey League, founded in 2014 so that Manletsburg could have a hockey team. They currently play at Abulb Center in downtown Manletsburg, which was built shortly after the team was created as the team's home. The Manletsburg Scorpions have made it to the championships in football once but didn't win. They currently play at Four Puffles Stadium in the city of Prescott in neighboring Stewart County.

Transportation
Manletsburg has four highways, consisting of one Interstate highway and three state highways. The main highway, Interstate 2, or Highway 2, crosses through the city and much of its surrounding metropolitan area, and connects the city to other major cities in Antarctica, such as South Pole City to the east. Trans-Antarctic State Route 15, or just referred to as Highway 15, is another major highway that cuts through the city's downtown area. The two other highways, Trans-Antarctic State Routes 74 and 36, also connect to other cities and towns within the Manletsburg Metropolitan Area.