News

2026 Pancake Day Parade seeking floats

ELLY GRIMM

• Leader & Times

Pancake Day 2026 is rapidly approaching, and one of the main events of the day seeking participation is the Pancake Day Parade.

The Pancake Day Parade will be at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, and it is the true wrap-up to all the Pancake Day festivities including the flipping and eating contests, the community breakfast, the races, etc. The parade will start at Trail Street and then go north. The five divisions are Commercial, Non-Profit Organizations, Schools, Antique Automobiles & Equipment, and Motorized Vehicles, and the judges will score the entries on originality, creativity and effort.

“It's an overall great way to wrap up all the Pancake Day fun, and the Rotary Club's been in charge of the parade since the beginning, and it's always a fun time for everyone who comes out,” Pancake Day Chairman Mike Brack said. “With everything being in February, we will take into consideration the weather, and we will give advance notice if it's supposed to be nasty. We had to cancel the parade last year, and it really is a sad deal when we have to cancel, because a lot of work goes into planning the parade and getting signs made and floats made, and the bands practice the music to play when they march.”

LIEAP application period opens in Kansas

Special to the Leader & Times

The Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) has announced that applications are now being accepted for the Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP). The application will run through 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 31.

LIEAP provides a one-time per year benefit to help qualifying households pay winter heating costs, whether the home is heated with electricity, natural gas, propane, or other home heating fuels. In 2025, more than 43,000 Kansas households received an average benefit of about $680.

Vazquez talks Community Benefit Report

ROBERT PIERCE

• Leader & Times

For Southwest Medical Center, 2024 was a year of expansion and milestones, and recently, hospital officials released the 2024 Community Benefit Report (CBR) highlighting some of those happenings and more.

SWMC Marketing and Development Director Janeth Vazquez said the report details how the hospital supports the health and well-being of the community through programs, services, financial contribution and outreach effort.

“It goes more into the clinical care,” she said. “It shows the ways the hospital invests in health education screenings, outreach and assistance for vulnerable and underserved populations.”

Vazquez said the report is important, and she feels it matters because it demonstrates SWMC’s commitment and impact on public health in Seward County and the surrounding regions.

Santa Fe Liquor a ‘total loss’ after fire

ROBERT PIERCE

• Leader & Times

The exact area of origin and cause of a fire at a Liberal business Sunday night has yet to be determined, as investigations began Monday.

Liberal Fire Chief Kelly Kirk said in a press release, shortly before 8:30 p.m. Sunday, firefighters were dispatched to the 400 block of South Kansas Avenue for a confirmed fire with flames visible.

“The exact location and nature of the fire was not known due to a language barrier with the 911 caller,” he said. “First arriving law enforcement units advised the fire involved the business at 432 S. Kansas, and heavy fire was visible in the front of the building.”

Kirk said the first arriving engine at 8:24 p.m. deployed two handlines and began attacking the fire through the vented windows while forcing entry to the main door.

City to reorganize tonight

ELLY GRIMM

• Leader & Times

After reorganizing itself, the Liberal City Commission should expect a relatively easy meeting this evening starting at 5:30. This evening’s meeting will be in the commission chambers at the Liberal Recreation Center at 950 S. Grant Ave.

Up first for the commission will be discussion of the designation of official city newspaper.

“Annually, the City of Liberal must designate a newspaper for official publications. As in previous years, staff recommends The High Plains Daily Leader & Times (print and online editions) to be the newspaper of record for the City of Liberal,” the agenda information noted. “Staff requests city commission consideration to designate The High Plains Daily Leader & Times as the newspaper of record for the 2026 Fiscal Year.”