U.S. consumer spending climbed 0.6 of 1 percent in January, outpacing a 0.5 percent advance in personal income. The Federal Reserve Board said it would hold to the course that prompted interest rates to drop from the peaks of the past summer. In the past month, the economy was bolstered by a burst of new housing starts and a solid gain in industrial operating rates.

Voter registration rolls showed 34,923 Douglas County residents eligible to vote in the coming primary elections but county Clerk Patty Jaimes predicted a turnout no higher than 25 percent. The ultra-low absentee ballot rate was one of the harbingers of the prediction.

The city commission unanimously approved purchasing a 5-acre tract for a future city park near a proposed school site in western Lawrence. The price was $5,000 an acre for the site north of 15th Street and east of Wakarusa Drive. The purchase was to be funded by park bonds.