Health | VIEW ALL

ER visits for tick bites on the rise throughout the Midwest

TOPEKA — Emergency rooms in most parts of the United States saw more tick bite-related visits than usual in April. For every 100,000 emergency room visits in the Midwest in April, 137 were for tick bites, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of May, Midwest ...

FDA OKs first new sunscreen ingredient in over 25 years

WASHINGTON — Federal health regulators last week signed off on the first new sunscreen ingredient for the U.S. market in more than 25 years, giving Americans access to a skin-protecting chemical long used in Europe and other parts of the world. The Food and Drug Administration says the ...

OB-GYN group makes its 1st vaccine recommendations

A prominent OB-GYN group announced vaccine recommendations on Wednesday that differ from what the U.S. government advises. The immunization schedule is specifically for pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women. It aligns with prior recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control ...

How to talk to kids about vaping as fruity flavors make a comeback

Ricky Resendez first tried e-cigarettes in eighth grade. By the time he got to high school, he was vaping daily. “It was just kind of normal,” said Ricky, a 17-year-old recent graduate in Superior, Wisconsin. “Kids were vaping in class, in the bathrooms, wherever.” Nationally, ...

Home and Garden | VIEW ALL

10 top performing new plants for this season

Every spring brings a new growing season and, for me and other garden communicators, dozens of not-yet-available sample plants sent by breeders and growers. To try them out, I squeeze some into my beds and borders, tuck others into containers, and plant the rest in the Maternity Ward, a ...

Flower gardens endure hot, dry summers better if you choose these plants

When summer temperatures soar, we humans can take shelter indoors. Our garden plants, however, have no such respite. Some may droop, wilt or get crispy, while others may simply refuse to bloom. Although there's not much we can do to counter extreme weather, we can equip our gardens to stand ...

Debunking common garden hacks, quick fixes and myths

Now that the gardening season is in full swing, so is the bad advice. There is no shortage of social media "experts" doling out "genius gardening hacks," and well-intended friends who, frankly, don't know what they're talking about. Their tips might sound brilliant on the surface, but dig ...

Douglas County Master Gardeners invites public to annual native plant sale

Douglas County Master Gardeners will be hosting its annual native plant sale this weekend. The sale will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 30, at the Open Pavilion at the Douglas County Fairgrounds, 2120 Harper St. There will be 100 varieties of plants that are locally grown. ...

Food | VIEW ALL

David Tamarkin’s recipe for Greens, Grains and Fried Egg works for any meal

Eggs are better with carbs, and they're particularly good with grains like rice, farro and quinoa, which can soak up a runny yolk. The herby-green grains here, from my cookbook, "Cook90," are good for more than just breakfast, though — you could pair them with sautéed fish, skin-on chicken ...

This quiche just might make you love leeks

I didn't understand leeks when I was growing up; in fact, I never ate them. It took living in France for me to fall for them. This Leek Quiche recipe, from my cookbook "V Is for Vegetables," was not only the first thing I learned in cooking school in Paris; it was also part of my final "exam." ...

Arts and Entertainment | VIEW ALL

Photos: Lawrence begins World Cup festivities with downtown block party

Crowds were trickling into the 1000 block of downtown Lawrence Friday evening ahead of the 8 p.m. kickoff for the U.S. national team's opening game in the World Cup. Score Lawrence, a multiagency group promoting Lawrence as a destination for soccer fans, hosted the party that closed one block ...

Lifestyle Columns | VIEW ALL

Local History: Watson Park has long history as community venue

Whether you know it for its train or its swimming pool or its basketball court and playground equipment, the park running for two blocks between Kentucky and Tennessee streets has been through a lot. Often referred to as “Train Park” in reference to the No. 1073 locomotive on its grounds, ...

Local History: The many moves of Douglas County’s ‘No. 6’ school

Most of the rural schools in Douglas County are identified by a name as well as a number. An exception to this norm is “No. 6.” Goldie Piper Daniels, in her 1974 history of the educational buildings in our county, notes that the name “Crutchfield” was found attached to No. 6 on an ...

Local History: A Medal of Honor recipient who lived in Lawrence

On the east side of Iowa Street, between 19th and 23rd streets, stands the United States Army Reserve Training Center, which bears the name of Samuel J. Churchill. Churchill is one of two Medal of Honor recipients to have been Lawrence residents and to be buried here. Churchill was ...

Local History: After Quantrill’s Raid, a Lawrence church became a morgue

On the east side of the 700 block of Vermont Street, you can see a small bronze plaque on a brick building at about eye level. It tells of a First Methodist Church that once stood there, which was built in 1857 and was used as morgue following Quantrill’s Raid on Aug. 21, 1863. More than ...