Up until recently, only large metropolitan areas with large budgets had been able to computerize their planning departments. Now in 1985, advances in technology were making it possible for smaller cities to go digital. Lower costs and a federal grant were paving the way for Lawrence’s city planning staff to have a new computer system which would bypass the burdensome searches of land maps, private utilities, and other scattered sources. Long-term plans called for a later expansion of the system, allowing the public works and utilities departments to have access to the system.

Kansas University seniors had presented the HOPE teaching award to journalism professor Timothy Bengtson during a recent football game. Bengtson was in his seventh year of teaching advertising at KU, and this was his fourth year as an award finalist.

Over $500 in cash and an unknown amount of vaccines and medications were stolen from the Lawrence Veterinary Hospital overnight. The door of the hospital, located at 1104 W. 23rd Street, had been pried open, police said.