The Lawrence Police Department had not submitted required monthly crime statistics to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation for May, June, and July until the previous week, but KBI officials stated that they weren’t sure if this was a violation of state law and that they weren’t interested in pressing the issue.

Lawrence High School math teacher Dick Swindler admitted that it might be “fun to go up there,” but he said that he wouldn’t want to go through the rigorous training required for space-shuttle astronauts. Swindler had gotten a first-hand look at the training when he had attended a summer educational workshop at the Johnson Space Center.

Some Kansas legislators were reconsidering their positions on a statewide lottery. Twenty-two states plus the District of Columbia had state lotteries, and multi-state lotteries had recently been initiated by Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Kansas had recently had the dubious honor of leading the nation in bank failures for the year. The state, which had been rallying for top spot in that list with Nebraska and Iowa, had recently had its 10th bank failure when the Bank of Bronson had been shut down by the Kansas Banking Commission on Aug. 24.