News

HHS launches nationwide campaign to promote Maternal Mental Health Hotline

ELLY GRIMM

• Leader & Times

Pregnancy and parenthood bring multiple challenges to new parents, and soon, a national campaign to help with just that will be launched.

Last Thursday, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced a new nationwide campaign to raise public awareness of the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline (1-833-TLC-MAMA). The National Maternal Mental Health Hotline is a cornerstone of broader efforts to improve maternal health and supports HRSA’s ongoing initiative to reduce maternal mortality and health disparities, according to a release from HHS.

OPSU recognized among top institutions in the west

Oklahoma Panhandle State University

Oklahoma Panhandle State University has once again earned national recognition for its excellence in higher education, securing multiple rankings in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 Best Colleges list.

OPSU was ranked 13th in Top Public Schools – Regional Colleges West, 32nd in Top Performers on Social Mobility – Regional Colleges West, and 36th overall in the Regional Colleges West category. The rankings, which serve as a resource for students searching for the best educational fit, highlight schools that excel in classroom resources, graduation rates, and the overall return on investment for graduates.

Holiday Marketplace Expo coming to Seward County Activity Center Dec. 7 and 8

ROBERT PIERCE

• Leader & Times

For decades, the SPBH Folk Art Festival was an annual holiday event taking place the first weekend in December in Liberal.

The 2023 Folk Art Festival, however, was the last edition of that event, but Andrea Nix and Jane Eisenhauer have found a new way for Christmas shoppers to find unique items for presents for friends and family.

“What would the holidays be in Liberal without a holiday Christmas show?” Eisenhauer said.

Measles cases surge worldwide, infecting 10.3 million people in 2023

ELLY GRIMM

• Leader & Times

Measles can cause many health complications in people and recently, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a warning about it.

“Worldwide, there were an estimated 10.3 million cases of measles in 2023, a 20 percent increase from 2022, according to new estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Inadequate immunization coverage globally is driving the surge in cases,” a release from the CDC noted. “Measles is preventable with two doses of the measles vaccine; yet more than 22 million children missed their first dose of the measles vaccine in 2023. Globally, an estimated 83 percent of children received their first dose of measles vaccine last year, while only 74 percent received the recommended second dose.”

Pop-up vendors to set up at Landmark Center for PINK FRIDAY

ROBERT PIERCE

• Leader & Times

The Friday after Thanksgiving, commonly known as Black Friday, is traditionally the start of the Christmas shopping season.

As part of a nationwide annual event championing small and local businesses, this Friday, the Friday before Thanksgiving, the Seward County Development Corporation is bringing Pink Friday to Liberal.

SCDC Entrepreneurship Director Raquel Arellano said Pink Friday, launched in 2020, is strategically scheduled on the Friday before Black Friday to motivate consumers to explore and support small retailers at the outset of the holiday shopping season.