From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for April 23, 1986:

Pictures of some sad-looking tulips graced the front page of the newspaper today. Overnight temperatures had dived to 28 degrees, breaking 1931’s record low of 32, and early risers had to scrape their windshields as frost and icicles had invaded the area.

Construction on a new addition to the west side of Lawrence Memorial Hospital was on track and ready for interior work. The 10,240-square-foot addition on the west side was partly below ground level and was slated to house an educational area for staff training and community programs as well as an expanded outpatient surgery department.

The divestiture of AT&T in 1984 had led to some changes for local phone customers. The latest change was that Southwestern Bell was to hire 140 long-distance operators to work switchboards in Topeka and Wichita, instead of contracting with AT&T for operator assistance. Lawrence residents could get operator assistance for most calls in the same area code (which was then 913) by dialing “0.” For another long-distance area, callers needing an operator would dial “00,” but this was becoming less common as more people were using “one-plus” computer-assisted dialing.