From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Mar. 15, 1986:

• A “best drinking water” contest was to be held in Lawrence in conjunction with the annual conference of the American Water Works Association. Lawrence was to compete on March 26 against El Dorado, Olathe, Topeka, Arkansas City, Manhattan, Wichita, Johnson County, and Kansas City, Kan. Three judges would be sampling entries from each contestant city, ranking the water on clarity, color, odor, and flavor. Roger Coffey, director of the Lawrence Utilities Department, said that although he was going to take the contest entry “straight from a tap,” he was not yet sure which of the two Lawrence water sources he would sample, the Kansas River or Clinton Lake.
• The number of Kansas counties classified as “critically underserved” in primary medical care had risen from 30 counties in 1984 to 37 in 1985, according to the state Department of Health and Environment. In addition, seven more counties were listed as “underserved,” bringing the total to 44, or nearly half. Jefferson County was one of the 37 “critically underserved.”