photo by: Mike Yoder

Firefighters responded to a grass fire that had expanded into a barn in the 1800 block of County Road 1023 Monday, May 16, 2011.

photo by: Mike Yoder

The great-great-great grandchildren of J.D. Bowersock, the man responsible for the Bowersock dam in 1879, participate in a groundbreaking ceremony Monday, May 16, 2011, for the $20 million project to build a new hydroelectric power plant on the north bank of the Kansas River. Throwing dirt from left are Henry Nelson 9, Hillary Griggs, 10, Hugh Griggs, 4, Oona Nelson, 6 and Lyle Griggs, 8.

photo by: Mike Yoder

Gov. Sam Brownback, right, looks over the Kansas River and visits with Kellen Petersen, left and Jeff Thorn, center, both engineers with Olsson Associates, about the $20 million project to build a new hydroelectric power plant on the north bank of the Kansas River. A groundbreaking ceremony was held Monday for the project.

photo by: John English | Special to the Journal-World

The former Farmland Industries site on the eastern edge of Lawrence is shown in an aerial photo taken Monday, May 16, 2011.

photo by: Kyle Davis

Having spent his childhood in large cities and schools, Justin Morello opted four years ago to enroll at Baker University because of the small-school, small-town atmosphere the campus offered. He now credits that atmosphere for a successful undergraduate career, which included an internship at Los Alamos National Laboratories.

photo by: Nick Krug

Lawrence High catcher Kristen Bell, left, and pitcher Lauren Massey can’t contain their laughter during a photo shoot on Monday at the LHS softball field. The two seniors have lifted LHS from a one-win season in 2009 to 12-8 going into Tuesday’s 4:45 p.m. game against Free State in Topeka.

photo by: Mike Yoder

Fire crews from Kanwaka, Lecompton and Wakarusa respond to a structure fire in the 1700 block of County Road 1023 near Big Springs, about 7 miles west of Lawrence.