If the southwest Kansas community of Liberal has learned anything over the past few years, it’s to not settle. The city of just over 19,000 people has a dynamic economic development office that has spent the past year rolling out small-business loans, announcing major industrial growth and helping small businesses. In 2023, business leaders and community members in Liberal gathered for a program called Heartland Together, funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and designed by the Kansas Leadership Center, which publishes The Journal. Liberal residents discussed how to stay engaged in the community and how to make the city’s entrepreneurship ecosystem better.
Source: KLC Journal
