LARNED — U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) was in Larned Monday afternoon for a very special, very large announcement.

Gathering at the Larned fire station at 814 Main Street, were the community’s first responders, elected officials and others who stand to benefit from a $1.142 million in approved federal funds, through the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development.

Coordinating the event was Larned Fire Chief Leonard Herrman.

“This is a big day for us,” Herrman said. “It’s a big day for our community, for our county and for our department.”

Mayor William Nusser introduced the senator, who noted that politicians don’t often get the opportunity to share “really good news” with their constituents. 

“We are here to celebrate people,” he said. “People who care about each other, people who work hard to see that things get done. I’m here to announce a development that we hope will be really beneficial to the citizens of Larned and Pawnee County.

“Pawnee County is a very special place for me to be,” he said, noting that his daughter, now 35, was born the year that Moran first came to the county to campaign for a seat in the Kansas House in 1989.

Sharing in the giving of good news was Christy Davis, Kansas state director for USDA’s Kansas Rural Development program.

“I really want to do all we can to see that Kansas gets its share of federal money that’s available, because I think we need it most,” she said. 

Locally, the funds will be used to purchase two fire trucks and communications equipment for the Larned Volunteer Fire Department. Two of the department’s trucks were damaged in a wildfire that burned nearly 8,500 acres in Pawnee County in March 2022, to which several area departments responded. The need for additional communications in the form of a command center were discussed by county officials in the aftermath of the fire.