News

Diseker, Lehnert to keynote Women’s Day Luncheon event

ELLY GRIMM

• Leader & Times

International Women’s Day will be recognized in just a couple weeks, and the Liberal Recreation Center is looking to join in.

The 2025 Women's Day Luncheon will be from 12 to 1:30 p.m. Friday, March 7 in the City Commission Chambers at the Liberal Recreation Center at 950 S. Grant Ave. The event is $10, and in order to register, participants can call the Recreation Center at (620) 417-8150 or register online. Guest speakers will be City Manager Scarlette Diseker and Sunflower Elementary School Principal Ashley Lehnert.

Local leaders make the most out of annual trip to state capitol

ROBERT PIERCE

• Leader & Times

This year’s session of the Kansas Legislature kicked off in January, and officials from Seward County and the City of Liberal spent a few days in Topeka that month attending a few events and meetings in the state capitol.

The first event came with the annual Pancakes at the Capitol, and Seward County Administrator April Warden said she and Commission Chairman Scott Carr were joined by officials with the city, the Liberal Convention & Tourism Bureau and the International Pancake Day Board to serve pancakes, sausage, fruit, juice and coffee to House representatives, senators, Gov. Laura Kelly and staffers at the capitol.

Governor Kelly announces more than $26M for water projects and technical assistance

ELLY GRIMM

• Leader & Times

Water projects are becoming increasingly important throughout Kansas, and recently, the state granted some funding to help with just that.

Thursday, Gov. Laura Kelly and the Kansas Water Office announced the award winners for the second round of the Senate Substitute for House Bill 2302 Grant Programs, which provide over $26 million in funding for water projects and technical assistance to communities across Kansas.

Sens. Moran, Coons introduce legislation to provide financing options for new energy projects

Special to the Leader & Times

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) reintroduced the Financing Our Energy Future Act, which expands certain financing tools to all types of energy resources and infrastructure projects.

The legislation would allow renewable energy resources and infrastructure projects to form as master limited partnerships (MLPs), a tax structure currently only available to traditional energy projects.

Legislators Francis, White provide update on session

ROBERT PIERCE

• Leader & Times

The 2025 session of the Kansas Legislature is well under way, and Saturday morning, two area lawmakers were in Liberal to bring local constituents up to speed on what has been happening thus far in Topeka.

Kansas 125th House District Representative Shannon Francis, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, said appropriations have been a big focus this year at the state capitol, and a large part of that focus has been the state’s budget process.