News

Kansas Democrats select Matthew Brown as executive director

ELLY GRIMM

• Leader & Times

Many government entities will be seeing new leadership in the near future, and that includes the Kansas Democratic Party.

The KDP recently announced Matthew Brown will be the new executive director and as Brown tells it, he is no stranger to the work.

“I’ve worked on a number of large-scale campaigns on the management side of things. I worked on some legislative races in Alabama, including a special election legislative race we were able to flip because we were running on women’s reproductive healthcare and similar issues,” Brown said. “That followed almost in the footsteps of what had been done in Kansas. From there, I went to work for that state’s party as the finance director, where we were able to really able to improve the amount of money we invested in races. I’m really excited now to be taking on this next step working in Kansas.”

New commissioners sworn in, begin service

ROBERT PIERCE

• Leader & Times

The Seward County Commission welcomed three new members to its board and voted on its leadership Monday.

Prior to the commission’s regular meeting, County Clerk Stacia Long swore in the three newest commissioners, Jairo Vazquez, Clay Louderback and John Mettlen.

The three commissioners were chosen by the Seward County Republican Party to replace former Chair Scott Carr, former Vice Chair Tammy Sutherland-Abbott and former Commissioner Presephoni Fuller, all of whom resigned at the commission’s Dec. 15 meeting, exactly three months after the trio voted for a 14-mill increase over the Revenue Neutral Rate for the county’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget.

Empowering future leaders: Join the Collegiate Delegate Program

Tri-County Electric Cooperative

Are you ready to take your leadership skills to the next level?

The Collegiate Delegate Program (CDP) is a partnership with Tri-County Electric Cooperative that offers an unparalleled opportunity for Oklahoma Panhandle State University (OPSU) juniors and seniors to gain hands-on experience, connect with industry leaders, and make a lasting impact in their community.

Most importantly, delegates would become champions for the cooperative model.

TCEC is seeking OPSU juniors and seniors who are passionate about leadership and eager to make an impact.

Welcome, Baby New Year Jill

Southwest Medical Center

Southwest Medical Center is proud to announce the arrival of its 2026 New Year’s Baby, Jill Hannah Duran, born Jan. 2, at 11:47 a.m.

Jill was joyfully welcomed by her parents, Hannah and Roman Duran.

Baby Jill weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces and measured 21 inches long at birth. She was delivered by OB/GYN physician Dr. Dennis Knudsen, and her arrival has brought great happiness to her family and the SWMC team.

District purchases former Pantera Energy building

ELLY GRIMM

• Leader & Times

Agriculture programs at Liberal High School have been seeing growth and recently, USD 480 made a purchase to help with that.

During a quick special meeting that took place Dec. 22, the USD 480 school board voted 5-0 to approve the purchase of the former Pantera Energy building at 1707 W. 2nd St. Superintendent Dane Richardson said the purchase was necessary for planning needs.

“The Board of Education is always trying to look at needs that are immediate, but also trying to be proactive in planning for needs of the distant future,” Richardson said. “Safety is very important to our administration and board. This location provides the safest access for students because of its proximity to the high school. We have needed space for our Agriculture and FFA students since the program started two years ago and have been keeping our eye out for anything close to the high school that would facilitate the needs of this growing program. With our new Agriculture and FFA programs growing at the rate they are, we have been looking to add a space for them that would facilitate the large footprint that is required for these types of programs. This property was unique in the fact that the outside buildings and shop can already accommodate much of the needs needed for our programs. We were fortunate enough to come across this opportunity and look forward to making it work for our staff and students moving forward.”