The League of Kansas Municipalities has named Senator Elaine Bowers (R, District 36), its 2019 Intergovernmental Award winner.

Bowers is chair of the Ethics, Elections, and Local Government Committee and has worked with the league on several local government issues including legislation this past year that supported Home Rule and cities’ ability to make decisions at the local level.

“Senator Bowers always has an open door and open ears to help both her district and cities across the state,” said League Deputy Director Trey Cocking. “Her efforts as Chair of the Ethics, Elections, and Local Government Committee can be seen from Eudora to Atchison, and on the timing of oaths of newly elected officials.”

Bowers has served in a leadership capacity for two years as the Senate Majority Whip. She has chaired the Senate Ethics, Elections, and Local Government Committee since 2017. She also serves Kansans as a member of several committees including Judiciary, Capitol Preservation, Legislative Post Audit, Transportation, Utilities, and Interstate Cooperation.

“I am honored to receive this award. I have always thought the best ideas come from the local folks who solve problems with common sense and collaboration – not from government at the state level. I am truly thrilled to chair a committee which has the ability to discuss these local ideas and craft good statewide policy and laws for Kansas,” Bowers said.

Bowers served six years in the House of Representatives and is now in her second term in the Senate. She notes that she particularly enjoys being in the legislature because of the opportunities afforded to work with legislators from across the state and solve problems as a team.

“Many times, I’ve learned we don’t need a law to fix a problem – we just need a person in the right place to review the problem and offer solutions which could lead to a new bill proposal but most often just a review of policy and personal attention to the person who needed help,” Bowers said.

Bowers was raised on a farm in Ottawa County. She attended school in the Delphos and Minneapolis school district and then Cloud County Community College in Concordia, graduating with a degree in Travel/Tourism and Business Management. Bowers and her husband, Charlie, were married in 1982. Her first job was working with a local financial institution and she also worked for the Concordia Area Chamber of Commerce. She has since worked side-by-side with her husband at their auto businesses in Concordia and Beloit.

Bowers said she decided to run for the Kansas Legislature because of her responsibility to her community and the area where she was born and raised, and where she chose to raise her family and build her business.

Established by municipal officials in 1910, the League of Kansas Municipalities is a voluntary, nonpartisan organization of representing Kansas’ cities. The League works for its member cities through advocacy, legal advice, education, and other services.