Mike Cnossen loved helping children and working on behalf of downtown Lawrence business owners.
The owner of a downtown Lawrence toy store was killed Thursday morning while cycling near Topeka when a pickup truck driver, apparently blinded by the sun, struck him.
Mike Cnossen, 55, opened Toy Moon about 4y commission.
City Manager Mike Wildgen has said that 80 percent of the cost of acquiring and operating the bus system will be paid by Federal Transit Authority grants. The state of Kansas has approved a three-year, $270,000 grant to Lawrence to pick up additional costs, and most of the balance will come from the 2 mills of property tax (about $1 million a year in revenue) the city will start levying next year for the bus system.
Fares fo Street, about three miles east of Topeka. The 16-year-old driver of the pickup, a Shawnee Heights High School student, and Cnossen were both eastbound on the street when the collision occurred, at 7:40 a.m. Thursday.
"We believe at this time that the major factor in the accident was the sun," Hladky said. "They were both eastbound and the driver of the vehicle was looking directly into the sun. The accident is under investigation."
Hladky didn't release the driver's name.
Cnossen was involved in Downtown Lawrence Inc. activities, and had served on the board two years ago.
He also was known for helping with children's activities at the Lawrence Arts Center. Candi Baker, the center's dance program director, said Cnossen paid for an artist-in-residence in 1997 and 1998, bringing a poet/percussionist and a storyteller to the center.
"He cared about not just funding something; he was really involved in hearing about it, and being there," Baker said. "It was more than donating to the business drive, which he's done for a number of years. " He was a friend all around, and he's a man who cares about children."
Marcia McFarlane, former administrator of Downtown Lawrence Inc., said the news of Cnossen's death was devastating.
"He always had a creative idea," McFarlane said. "He had the biggest smile and the biggest heart. He was the kind of guy everyone wanted to be around."
Kelley Norman, Lawrence, first met Cnossen almost 20 years ago, when he hired Norman as an office assistant at a Topeka dental office Cnossen managed. Cnossen later worked in banking, but left to open the toy store.
"He did this as a life-changing event, to escape the rat race, so to speak," Norman said. "He loves children."
Lawrence Riverfront Plaza President David Longhurst said Cnossen will be missed by many downtown.
"He made (Toy Moon) a special place, and he made downtown a special place," Longhurst said
A sign posted on the toy store Thursday said it will be temporarily closed. Funeral services are pending.
-- Chris Koger's phone message number is 832-7126. His e-mail address is ckoger@ljworld.com.
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