News

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

Those interested in learning more about Seward County history will soon have just that chance thanks to the Seward County Historical Society.

The Seward County Historical Society (SCHS) will be hosting a free two-part course on Seward County history Jan. 10 and 17, with each session starting at 10:30 a.m.

“Our event is sort of a crash course in Seward County history, because we are, of course, the Seward County Historical Society, but we also know not everyone local who loves history knows where to start with it,” Coronado Museum Director Nathan Dowell said. “We wanted to provide a sort of an impromptu seminar that will go over some of the bigger topics in Seward County history so people have a chance to learn and really understand what we’re working from with everything that we do here. I will be talking about prehistoric Kansas, prehistoric Seward County, and the very early recorded history of people in this area. We then have a lot of other topics such as Native American presence in the area and Coronado’s journey and other major events. We will be talking about county seat wars, the railroads, the Dust Bowl and the Liberal Army Airfield, among other topics.”

EARL WATT

   • Leader & Times

Most people dug deeper in their wallets at the end of December to pay their property taxes on their homes, and in Seward County, many paid those under protest because of the massive increase that exceeded the Revenue Neutral Rate included questions of whether the commission followed statute.

What many may not know is the mill levy also affects the amount of annual taxes charged on automobiles as well.

According to the Kansas Department of Revenue, automobiles are considered taxable personal property, and the rate calculation includes the local mill levy.

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

The Liberal City Commission took care of some final business of 2025 at a special meeting Tuesday afternoon.

Up first for the commission was discussion of amendments to the 2025 Fiscal Year budget.

“It is necessary to amend our 2025 Fiscal Year Budget that was adopted Sept. 24, 2024,” Chief Financial Officer Brian Mannel said. “Enclosed, the commission will find the proposed State of Kansas Amended Budget Forms. The notice of Budget Hearing was published Dec. 18, 2025. For the library fund, an amendment is required to account for higher expenses due to delinquent taxes received by Seward County for disbursement. For the Airport Utility fund, an amendment is required to account for higher expenses due to grants received and the hiring of an administrative assistant. For the Water Utility fund, an amendment is required to account for higher expenses incurred due to end-of-year transfer to General Fund and an end-of-year Enterprise Fleet Transfer.”

Kansas Corn

The 2025 Kansas corn harvest is projected to set a new state record, and the top winner of the Kansas Corn Yield Contest has done the same.

With a record yield of 349.34 bushels per acre, Haskell County farmer Grant Webber was the overall winner of the Irrigated Class. Jeff Koelzer, from Pottawatomie County was the overall state winner of the Dryland Class with an impressive yield of 319.53 bushels per acre. Five Kansas entries, all in the irrigated class, were over 325 bushels per acre.