Liberal, Kansas

Liberal is the county seat of Seward County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 20,525.

History
S.S. Rogers built the first house in what would become Liberal in 1872. Rogers became famous in the region for giving water to weary travelers. Reportedly, Liberal gained its name from the common response to his acts of kindness, "That's very liberal of you." In 1885 Rogers built a general store, and with it came an official U.S. Post Office. Rogers named the post office 'Liberal'. After the railroad was built close by, a plan for the town site was created in 1888. A year later the population was around 800.

Drought caused some farmers to give up and look for more fertile territory; however, when the nearby Indian Territory was opened, more settlers headed to the cheap land that would become Oklahoma.

Natural Gas was discovered west of town, in what would become part of the massive Panhandle-Hugoton Gas Field, in 1920. Oil was discovered southwest of town in 1951. In 1963 the largest helium plant in the world, National Helium, was opened.

Geography
Liberal is located at °N, °W (37.043418, -100.928133) at an elevation of 2,835 feet (864 m). It lies approximately 10 miles (16 km) southwest of the Cimarron River in the High Plains region of the Great Plains. Located in southwestern Kansas at the intersection of U.S. Route 83 and U.S. Route 54, Liberal is 140 miles (226 km) north-northeast of Amarillo, 202 miles (326 km) west-southwest of Wichita, and 288 miles (464 km) southeast of Denver.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.2 square miles (29.0 km²), of which, 11.1 square miles (28.6 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.4 km²) of it (1.25%) is water.

Climate
Liberal has a semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen BSk) characterized by hot, dry summers and cold, dry winters. The yearly average temperature in Liberal is 57 °F (14 °C), and the average relative humidity is 63%. Temperatures exceed 90 °F (32 °C) an average of 99 days a year and drop below 32 °F (0 °C) an average of 121 days a year. Per year, precipitation averages 19.66 inches (499 mm), and snowfall averages 19.6 inches (50 cm). Liberal typically experiences precipitation 61 days a year and snowfall 9 days a year. On average, January is the coldest month, July is the hottest month, and May is the wettest month. The hottest temperature recorded in Liberal was 114 °F (46 °C) in 1981; the coldest temperature recorded was -17 °F (-27 °C) in 1959.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 19,666 people, 6,498 households, and 4,756 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,778.4 people per square mile (686.5/km²). There were 7,014 housing units at an average density of 634.3 per square mile (244.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 63.56% White, 4.21% African American, 0.72% Native American, 3.25% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 23.93% from other races, and 3.27% from two or more races. 43.30% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,498 households out of which 42.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.0% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.8% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96 and the average family size was 3.46.

In the city the population was spread out with 31.7% under the age of 18, 12.1% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 16.7% from 45 to 64, and 9.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 104.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $36,482, and the median income for a family was $41,134. Males had a median income of $29,315 versus $22,017 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,108. About 14.3% of families and 17.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.8% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.

Economy
Energy and agriculture are the main economic drivers of the area. Natural resources include oil, natural gas, water, gravel and sand. The beef industry (ranches, feed lots and packing plants) is Liberal's largest source of employment. Hard winter wheat, corn, milo, alfalfa and cotton are common crops. Trucking is a major industry. Dairies and pork processors are a growing business.

Government
Liberal has a commission-manager government with a city commission consisting of five members elected at-large. Elections occur every two years in the odd numbered year, and commissioners serve two-year or four-year terms depending on the number of votes they receive. Each year, the commission appoints a member to serve as mayor and another to serve as vice-mayor. The city manager heads the city administration.

Colleges and universities

 * Seward County Community College

Primary and secondary education
Liberal Public Schools (Unified School District 480) operates twelve public schools in the city:


 * Garfield Elementary School (Grades K-3)
 * Lincoln Elementary School (K-3)
 * MacArthur Elementary School (K-3)
 * McDermott Elementary School (K-3)
 * McKinley Elementary School (K-3)
 * Southlawn Elementary School (K-3)


 * Washington Elementary School (Pre-K-3)
 * Cottonwood Intermediate School (4-6)
 * Sunflower Intermediate School (4-6)
 * South Middle School (7-8)
 * West Middle School (7-8)
 * Liberal High School (9-12)

There is also a Christian school in Liberal: Fellowship Baptist School (K-12).

Transportation
U.S. Route 83 runs north-south along the east side of the city, intersecting U.S. Route 54 which runs northeast-southwest. In addition, Liberal is the western terminus of U.S. Route 270 which runs concurrently with U.S. 83 south from the city.

Liberal Mid-America Regional Airport is immediately west of the city. Publicly owned, it has two operative paved runways and is used primarily for general aviation. Great Lakes Airlines provides airline service with daily flights to Denver.

The Tucumcari Line of the Union Pacific Railroad runs parallel to U.S. 54 northeast-southwest through the city.

Print
Newspapers


 * The High Plains Daily Leader, daily
 * The Southwest Daily Times, Tuesday-Friday and Sunday
 * Liberal Light, weekly

Radio
The following radio stations are licensed to and/or broadcast from Liberal:

AM

FM

Television
Liberal is in the Wichita-Hutchinson, Kansas television market. America One affiliate KLKT-LP is licensed to Liberal and broadcasts on channel 41.

Events
Liberal is famous for its annual Pancake Day race that is held in competition with the town of Olney, England for the fastest time between both cities.

Points of interest
Liberal has a water park known as Adventure Bay.

The fifth largest collection of civilian and military aircraft in the United States is located at the Mid-America Air Museum. Started with a gift of fifty planes by Colonel Tom Thomas, Jr., the museum has more than one hundred aircraft.

The Coronado Museum has items from the Native Americans that lived in the area, as well as items from Francisco Vásquez de Coronado's expedition to the area in 1541, and the history of farming and ranching in the county in more recent times.

Liberal is also home to "The Land of Oz" exhibit from The Wizard Of Oz, a recreation of Dorothy's house and the famed Yellow Brick Road, featuring donated bricks bearing the names of such luminaries as former U.S. Senator Bob Dole, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, and Liza Minnelli.

Liberal Memorial Library is located on North Kansas Avenue between Fifth and Sixth Streets in Cooper Park. The Book Front entrance was completed in April 1955 and designed by the building's architect George L. Pitcher. Wheeler Williams, a sculptor from New York, signed an agreement in October 1960 to mold the "Pioneer Mother of Kansas." This six foot statue, sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. D. K. Baty, was to be erected in Cooper Park on Memorial Day, May 30, 1961. It was placed opposite of the "Statue of Liberty," which was donated and placed in Cooper Park by the Boy Scouts of America.

Sports
The local semi-pro baseball team, the Bee Jay's, have won the national championship four times.

Former Major League Baseball player and Manager Mike Hargrove who is a former Bee Jays player is the Manager of the Liberal Bee Jays. The news of this sparked national media attention. The Sporting News will be spending opening week in Liberal to write a feature on Hargrove managing the Bee Jays. His pay for the summer will be just $1. Hargrove managed the Cleveland Indians to two World Series appearances. He also managed the Baltimore Orioles and most recently managed the Seattle Mariners.

In popular culture and the arts
Composer Mark So wrote his LIBERAL PLAIN SONG (for Joseph Kudirka) while stopped at a gas station in Liberal in 2005. 

In the movie National Lampoon's Vacation, Clark W. Griswold mentions departing the route of travel to Liberal to see the world's largest house of mud. The idea is rejected by his wife, Ellen, in favor of getting to her cousin Eddie's home.

Notable people
Notable individuals who were born in and/or have lived in Liberal include:


 * Wayne Angell, economist
 * Chris Brown, college football coach
 * Wantha Davis, horse racing jockey
 * Kasey Hayes, professional bull rider
 * Kristin Key, comedian
 * Shalee Lehning, Women's National Basketball Association guard
 * Martin Lewis, National Basketball Association forward
 * Dan Maes, Colorado politician


 * Jerrod Niemann, country music singer/songwriter
 * Melvin Sanders, professional basketball guard/forward
 * William Stafford, poet
 * Doug Terry, National Football League defensive back
 * Dallas Trahern, Major League Baseball pitcher
 * Jerame Tuman, National Football League tight end
 * Larry D. Welch, U.S. Air Force General