News

Special to the Leader & Times

The slate of racers for the 2026 International Pancake Day Race has been announced.

Alondra Brito

Alondra is a 25-year-old mother to 6-month-old Emiliano and a student in the Respiratory Therapy program at Seward County Community College. This is her second time competing in the International Pancake Race. In 2023, she placed 3rd overall. Heading into this year’s race, she’s hoping for the best and has been preparing with walks and runs. Her advice for first-time runners: “Just have fun, it’s a great experience.”

ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

There has been a lot of work done in recent times to acquire grant funding for projects and other work throughout the City of Liberal, and as Finance Director Kristyn Reust tells it, 2025 was a busy year in that regard.

“In 2025, the City of Liberal submitted a total of 18 grant applications. Out of those, eight have been awarded so far, six are still pending, and the others were not awarded,” Reust said. “That represents approximately $1.2 million in grant funds awarded this year. That does not include the Drug Court funding, which brings in another $221,000, which would bring the overall total to $1.4 million. About 45 percent of our applications have been awarded, 33 percent of them are still pending, and the remaining 22 percent were not awarded. The pending category is important because several of those applications are still in competitive review cycles and may result in additional funding later this year, hopefully in the next couple months.”

ELLY GRIMM

    • Leader & Times

The 2026 Pancake Day festivities are on the horizon, and while Liberal is preparing for its part of the fun, so is its sister city, Olney, England.

As Olney Pancake Board member Ruth Martin tells it, the community is well in the thick of preparations.

“We've launched the entries – we do it slightly differently than Liberal – we launched all of that online and through social media, and we already have all the individual places taken,” Martin said. “We've got 25 runners, and we're waiting for more of the three-legged race runners. All of that is currently under way, and we're also busy working on the poster competitions with the kids, and all the arrangements with the schools to bring runners down, and everything else involved in making Pancake Day a successful event.”

ROBERT PIERCE

   • Leader & Times

Valentine’s Day is near, and for the fifth year in a row, Liberal’s Rainbow Players is giving lovers a fun way to celebrate.

This Feb. 14, the community theater group will present its fifth annual “An Evening of Romance” at the Friends Family Center at 1650 N. Western Ave. in Liberal.

Rainbow Players Board President Maddy Sander said she and others are thrilled to put on the event, which she said will be very similar to the event’s first four editions.

“For those of you who have been there before, we’re excited to redo the magic, and we’re excited it landed on Feb. 14 this year,” she said. “We will be having catered food with live jazz music. We will have a live auction with different items for future dates or gifts for your loved one, and the Boy Scouts of America will bring you a three-course meal. We’ll top it off again with music and love. We’re excited to bring this back to Liberal for the fifth time.”