February is officially here and is recognized as American Heart Month throughout the U.S.
“In the United States, heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted. “One person dies every 33 seconds from cardiovascular disease and in 2022, 702,880 people died from heart disease, which is the equivalent of one in every five deaths. Heart disease cost about $252.2 billion from 2019 to 2020. This includes the cost of health care services, medicines, and lost productivity due to death.”
There are very few companies who get to say they have made it 75 years in business and recently, one that has a presence in Liberal reached just that.
Toot N’ Totum is marking 75 years of operations in 2025, and as CEO Andrew Mitchell tells it, the company started rather humbly.
“The company started back in 1950, and that's when the first sign came up in Amarillo, Texas. Everything was started by my grandparents, Novie and Eldon 'Lefty' Mitchell, and she actually had two other businesses she was running at the time, a chinaware store and an electric company,” Mitchell said. “From there, they decided to branch out into the convenience store world, and the opened their first c-store on 15th and Washington in Amarillo, Texas, ultimately growing the chain to six stores over the next five years. After my grandfather passed away in 1955, Novie took the reins of everything, and she helped lay the foundation that shaped Toot N’ Totum to what it is today. By 1988, the chain had grown to 50 stores in Amarillo. In 1996 was when my dad, Greg Mitchell, took over as president and CEO, and my mom, Julie, began to steer the chain’s expansion across the Texas Panhandle. Eventually, the company began to prioritize vertical integration, expanded into lube shop and car wash operations, and moved into new areas, including Kansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. I'm third-generation, and I took over as president and CEO in 2023.”
The Panhandle State Foundation is proud to announce a significant increase in funding for its scholarship program.
The foundation has allocated an additional $120,000 in scholarship funding for the 2025-2026 academic year, a move made possible by implementing new accounting software, updated investment strategies, and updated policies and procedures.
TOPEKA – The rapid growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools has prompted many sectors, including public health organizations, to explore or discuss how these tools could be used.
To assist public health organizations of all sizes and levels in crafting effective AI policies, integrating AI-related provisions into existing policies or guidelines, and fostering critical discussions before developing new policies, the Kansas Health Institute, in collaboration with Health Resources in Action and the Community Engagement Institute at Wichita State University, along with state and national partners, has created Developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policies for Public Health Organizations: A Template and Guidance. This project was part of KHI’s Public Health Infrastructure Technical Assistance Hub work, funded by the Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG), which focuses on strengthening the workforce through innovation.
The City of Liberal now officially has a new permanent city manager with Scarlette Diseker.
Diseker began working with the City of Liberal in August 2022 and has served in multiple leadership roles, including as the director of finance and Chief Financial Officer. Diseker has managed operations as interim city manager since Oct. 1, 2024 after the firing of Rusty Varnado.
TOPEKA – Due to safety concerns regarding winter weather conditions resulting from the approaching winter storm, Governor Laura Kelly has issued a Declaration of Inclement Weather for Shawnee […]
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach announced today that Attorney General’s Office and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of […]
In a filing to the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC), Evergy is asking for an electric rate increase of $196.4 million for its central service area, after negotiating a […]
