From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for May 13, 1989:

A recent surge in the price of aluminum had led to a rise in thefts in the Lawrence area, including a $3,300 theft of the material in April from a building site at the Lawrence Municipal Airport. In Lawrence, clean aluminum cans were selling for more than 50 cents a pound at some recycling facilities — about double the previous year’s price. Aluminum scrap was bringing 46 cents a pound, a 15-cent jump over the previous year. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation reported that aluminum theft around the state was up, and Lawrence police had reported about half a dozen thefts of aluminum goods around the city, not including the airport theft. “There’s big money in it,” said KBI director David Johnson. “It’s similar to the problem we used to have with copper wire.” Thieves were harvesting aluminum light poles, highway signs, “and even some house siding,” Johnson said.