Senator Marshall Meets with Leaders Across Northwest Kansas

Salina –On Monday, U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas), spent the day meeting with health care providers, community leaders, and workforce development partners across northwest Kansas to discuss strengthening rural health care, expanding housing opportunities, supporting technical education, and growing Kansas’ energy economy.
Highlights from the visit include:
Lincoln County Hospital
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Senator Marshall toured Lincoln County Hospital, a rural critical access hospital that has served the region since 1952. The facility provides inpatient care, emergency services, outpatient care, imaging, laboratory testing, rehabilitation therapies, and operates rural health clinics in nearby communities. Senator Marshall highlighted his efforts to strengthen rural hospitals through FY26 appropriations, provider tax support, and investments secured through the Rural Health Transformation Fund.
Housing Opportunities, Inc.
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In Russell, Senator Marshall visited a new affordable housing development led by Housing Opportunities Inc., a nonprofit that manages more than 250 units across central and western Kansas. The new project has added 24 units for low-to-moderate income seniors, with rents below fair market rates to ensure affordability for residents on fixed incomes. Discussions focused on work to expand housing supply in rural communities and the recent Senate passage of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act to cut red tape, increase supply, and lower housing costs.
Development Services of NWKS
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At Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas, Senator Marshall met with staff to learn more about their Employment Connections program, which helps individuals with disabilities build job skills and find employment opportunities across 18 counties in northwest Kansas.
Kansas is one of seven states to participate in the National Expansion of Employment Opportunities Network initiative, an organization that administers housing assistance programs that help individuals live independently and remain active in their communities.
Cedar Bluff Fish Hatchery Sight
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Senator Marshall also visited the Cedar Bluff Reservoir and Damn, part of the Bureau of Reclamation’s flood management system in northwest Kansas. Originally constructed under the 1944 Flood Control Act as part of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, the reservoir plays a key role in flood control, water management, and irrigation across northwest Kansas.
Local leaders discussed the importance of the reservoir for the regional water supply, particularly during recent drought conditions. In 2025, the reservoir released water to nearby communities, including Hays and Russell, for the first time in a decade.
NW Tech Grove County Welding Center
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In Grove County, Senator Marshall toured the Fort Hays | NW Tech welding center, which provides hands-on technical education and industry-recognized certifications for regional high school students preparing for careers in the skilled trades.
Senator Marshall highlighted his legislation, the Connecting Small Businesses with Career and Technical Education Graduates Act, which helps connect trade school graduates with small business job opportunities. He has also introduced the American Workforce Empowerment Act, which expands the use of 529 savings accounts to cover career and technical education programs, apprenticeships, and workforce training.
Western Plains Energy
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Senator Marshall concluded the day with a conversation with Western Plains Energy leadership to discuss biofuels policy, year-round E15 sales, and updated Renewable Volume Obligations. The discussion focused on strengthening ethanol markets and supporting Kansas farmers and rural energy producers.
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Contact:Payton Fuller