Staff
Chad Lawhorn (City and neighborhoods reporter)

I've been reporting news in Lawrence since 1992. Before joining the NewsCenter, I was editor, publisher and owner of the Lawrence Business Ledger and the Baldwin Ledger newspapers. I've been with The World Company since 2001, when I sold my weekly newspaper business to the company.
I mainly cover city government and neighborhoods, but I've also previously served as business editor for the Journal World, and have undertaken a variety of first-person journalism projects. In parts of 2007 and 2008, I received some national publicity for a series of articles detailing how I purchased a handgun, received a concealed carry license from the state, and carried the weapon around for a few days.
I also enjoy writing profiles on area people, ranging from a promient nightclub owner to the corner hot dog vendor to a 91-year old woman who still goes to work six days per week. If you know of someone interesting, send me an e-mail.
And from time to time, I like to take people to places that they don't often get to go. Sometimes I even take a video camera, like the night I hung out with a bunch of mixed martial artist competitors.
I have my degree in journalism from Kansas University, and also did some undergraduate work at Emporia State University. I'm a native of the small Kansas town of Melvern, which is about an hour away from Lawrence in Osage County.
My wife and I have two children. In my spare time, I work on writing what I hope will be my first novel, play pool, boat, umpire Little League baseball, and barbecue.
Recent stories
- City releases list of priorities for federal earmarks
- February 8, 2010
- A flood of federal money would be helpful in dealing with North Lawrence flooding.
- Walking in a sanitation worker’s shoes
- February 7, 2010
- In the fraternity of Lawrence trash truck crews, it is known as the dog feces story.
- Property values buck national trend
- February 6, 2010
- Be forewarned, Douglas County homeowners: The national news about a tanking real estate market won’t exactly match up with the news you are about to receive from the county appraiser’s office.
- City says odd taste of water due to large amount of runoff into Clinton Lake
- February 5, 2010
- Changes in the aquatic environment at Clinton Lake have produced an odd taste in the city water at several west Lawrence residences, city officials confirmed Friday.
- Lawrence residents now find higher sales taxes in certain shopping areas around town
- Lawrence has 2 areas where items cost a bit more
- February 5, 2010
- You may think you know what sales tax you’re paying, but you may very well be wrong. The days of one sales tax applying for an entire city are quickly disappearing.
- Development that caters to retirees planned in west Lawrence
- Project would cater to city’s independent retirees
- February 4, 2010
- A national developer of retirement communities is seeking to win approval for a $10 million project near Sixth Street and Folks Road in West Lawrence.
- City tosses around ideas about trash
- February 3, 2010
- City commissioners at their Tuesday evening meeting directed a city-appointed advisory board to begin studying ways to get feedback from the public on new types of trash rates that would charge residents based on how much trash they throw away.
- City poised to make changes to rules governing boarding houses
- Oread residents say move could lead to more ‘party houses’
- February 1, 2010
- City commissioners at their meeting on Tuesday will consider new regulations that could make it easier to convert large, old homes into boarding houses that could be rented out to five or more people.
- City leaders looking at how they could give a boost to private curbside recycling efforts
- January 29, 2010
- Curbside recycling efforts in Lawrence may soon get a city-sponsored boost, but not a new city-run service.
- Lawrence leaders’ spirits’ buoyed by near-miss on wind turbine facility
- Newfound collaboration praised as group prepares for annual meeting
- January 28, 2010
- A close loss, of all things, boosted the spirits of Lawrence Chamber of Commerce President Tom Kern in this tough year.
Recent photos
A student walks on the campus of the University of North Carolina. Kansas University’s incoming chancellor, Bernadette Gray-Little, has spent 38 years at the school in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Several area legislators say they were surprised to learn that a bill they voted for in 2007 loosened the restrictions on concealed-carry holders bringing loaded weapons into bars.
A .22 caliber Jimenez pistol cost $139 to buy at a local pawn shop. The pistol is about the size of a cell phone.
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- Bill would allow big-cat hunting February 9, 2010 · 71 comments
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- Under her wing: Parent writes book on developmental disabilities February 8, 2010
- Eudora man hospitalized after head-on crash into tree February 9, 2010
- KU employee suspected of charging personal items on university credit card February 9, 2010
- KU communication studies professor is a finalist for MU post February 9, 2010
- Open house to discuss Highway 56 moved to Baldwin City school February 9, 2010
- HealthGrades releases list of hospitals with lower mortality, complication rates February 9, 2010
- Bill would allow big-cat hunting February 9, 2010
- Aldrich’s father gets to ‘live a dream’ — in Lawrence February 9, 2010
- Love bonds February 8, 2010
- KDHE orders salvage yard to change practices February 9, 2010

