This was us–we convinced our daughter to apply only to Midwestern LACs (we wanted to be able to drive in one day to move and visit her; we travel extensively and have lived overseas, so she has already experienced the world outside of the Midwest). Also, we needed merit, and many good Midwestern LACs offer it.
This being said, while Kenyon might have a higher proportion of students from the Midwest (I couldn’t find this info in their CDS), it has significant geographical diversity. The parent Facebook group has a thread going on about where families live, and I was surprised how many different states were represented. (I know you were arguing a different point, but I just wanted to mention this fact).