From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Jan. 4, 1989:

• A car had caught fire inside a rural barn overnight, resulting in a blaze that had destroyed both the auto and the building. “It’s 100 percent gone,” said Homer Wulfkuhle, son of the barn’s owner, Ernest Wulfkuhl. The barn, located about 12 miles west of Lawrence just north of County Road 442, had been insured, but the owner was not yet certain how much of the $34,487 loss would be covered. Destroyed in the fire were 2,000 bales of hay, 600 bales of wheat straw, two riding mowers, a 500-gallon water tank, and an air compressor as well as the 1989 Chevrolet car.
• An open house was planned for later this week at the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department to honor outgoing Sheriff Rex Johnson. Johnson was to retire after 24 years on the job, with undersheriff Loren Anderson moving into Johnson’s position.