Soldier from Fort Riley killed serving in Iraq

Fort Riley — A Fort Riley soldier from Oklahoma was killed this week in Balad, Iraq, of noncombat-related injuries, the Department of Defense reported Friday.

Spc. Jeffrey S. Henthorn, 25, of Choctaw, Okla., died Tuesday, the military said. He was assigned to the 24th Transportation Company and was in Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

A Fort Riley spokesman Friday night said he did not have any information on the details of Henthorn’s death.

About 120 soldiers with the 24th Transportation Company, 541st Maintenance Battalion, 937th Engineer Group deployed on Dec. 26 for a second tour in Iraq.

As of Friday, at least 1,455 U.S. military members have died since the war in Iraq began in March 2003.

Kansas University

KUMC police officer shoots suspect

A suspect shot by a police officer at the Kansas University Medical Center late Thursday remained in critical condition Friday at a Kansas City, Mo., hospital.

The KU Police Department was called to a parking lot on Booth Street at 11:45 p.m. Thursday, according to a press release from the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department, which is helping investigate the incident.

The initial report was that a car had driven through the fence surrounding the parking lot. When the KU officer approached the suspect, he produced a “large knife” and ran toward the officer.

The officer, who KU officials said had been with the department for 1 1/2 years, shot the man. The officer, who was not injured, is on “routine administrative leave” while the departments investigate the incident.

The departments did not release the name of the suspect or the officer Friday.

City growth

Officials, developers discuss ‘new urbanism’

Elected officials and developers gathered at City Hall on Friday to discuss how to ensure Lawrence remains a pleasant place to live as it continues to grow.

At the first day of the two-day conference, city commissioners and members of several planning committees listened to architects and developers talk about “new urbanism,” an increasingly popular movement in city design.

Kevin Klinkenberg, a designer from Kansas City, Mo., described basic tenets of new urbanism and stressed that the concept called for cities that were both walkable and architecturally diverse.

Lawrence planning director Linda Finger said the idea for the conference came after City Commissioner Boog Highberger returned from a meeting of the Congress for the New Urbanism, and suggested some of the ideas would be applicable to Lawrence.

Finger said she hoped Friday’s meeting would set the stage for the conference’s main event, a workshop at Trinity Lutheran Church this morning.