Honor and a privilege to present this award to Sen. Elaine Bowers

Sen. Elaine Bowers was honored as the inaugural winner of the Kansas Press Association (KPA) Legislative Champion award, during the KPA Convention and Awards of Excellence (AOE) Celebration on June 5-6, in Salina. “She is an incredible champion for our industry and we are pleased to honor her today,” said KPA representatives.

She began serving as a state representative in 2007 and was elected to the Senate in 2012. She's currently serving her third term in the Kansas Senate and in 2025, served as the chair of the Local Government, Transparency, and Ethics Committee, and was a member of: The 2025 Special Committee on Campaign Contributions and Transparency; The Joint Committee on State-Tribal Relations; The J. Russell (Russ) Jennings Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice Oversight; Transportation; Judiciary; Utilities; and the Capitol Preservation Committee. She is shown with Russell Gagnon of the Concordia Blade-Empire Publishing (left) and Sweet Tea Media, LLC Publisher, Kevin Zadina, of Seward, Neb. (right) Bowers’ district stretches from Phillipsburg to Marysville, Russell to Clay Center, including the entirety or parts of 14 counties and 82 cities.