Chad Lawhorn / LJWorld.com

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 commissioner wants review of city’s storm shelter policies in wake of Oklahoma tornado: By Chad Lawhorn; May 22, 2013; At least one Lawrence city commissioner wants an examination of what would happen if Lawrence was hit by a tornado similar in scale — almost 1.5 miles wide — to the one that ripped through Moore, Okla. By Chad Lawhorn
City commissioner wants state to revoke nightclub’s liquor license: By Chad Lawhorn; May 21, 2013; At least one Lawrence city commissioner is calling on the city to look at ways of revoking the license of a nightclub that might have played a role in a Sunday morning shooting that left two men in critical condition.
City accepts recreation center bids, but won’ t proceed with building until Fritzel provides infrastructure costs: By Chad Lawhorn; May 21, 2013; On a 4-1 vote, commissioners approved accepting the $10.5 million low bid from Fritzel’s Gene Fritzel Construction Company to construct the actual recreation center building. But the approval came with a caveat: The city would not sign the construction contract with the Fritzel firm until the city has received a firm quote on the infrastructure costs for the recreation center and the adjacent Rock Chalk Park development. By Chad Lawhorn
Planning Commission recommends approval of Menards store for south Lawrence: By Chad Lawhorn; May 20, 2013; The Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission on a 6-3 vote recommended approval of the plan that calls for a nearly 190,000-square-foot Menards store just east of the Home Depot at 31st and Iowa streets. The Planning Commission decision clears the way for the Lawrence City Commission to give final consideration to the project in the coming weeks. By Chad Lawhorn
City expecting 5 percent reduction in Community Development Block Grant funding: By Chad Lawhorn; May 20, 2013; Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday are set to approve a new budget for its Community Development Block Grant program — which funds everything from home rehabilitation to neighborhood newsletters — that is 5 percent less than a year ago. By Chad Lawhorn
Lawhorn’s Lawrence: A night of partying in Oread: By Chad Lawhorn; May 19, 2013; Somewhere in the Oread neighborhood there surely must be a sign with this slogan on it: “Do it while you can.” It is the mantra that hangs over this entire city, but nowhere does it hang heavier than in Oread. Especially on Stop Day, when the partying starts.By Chad Lawhorn
Trio of Lawrence road projects to begin on Monday: By Chad Lawhorn; May 19, 2013; School’s out. Road construction is in. The day after Kansas University’s commencement ceremonies has been the traditional start of the road construction season in Lawrence, and on Monday motorists won’t be able to miss it. Crews will close to all traffic Bob Billings Parkway/15th Street at Iowa Street, a closure that is expected to last into August. Construction work also will affect traffic on a separate portion of Bob Billings Parkway and on Wakarusa Drive. By Chad Lawhorn
Bid for recreation center comes in about $10 million lower than expected; questions grow over other cost estimates: By Chad Lawhorn; 03:26 p.m., May 15, 2013 Updated 06:38 p.m.; Lawrence officials on Wednesday received a batch of surprisingly low bids to build the city’s proposed recreation center in northwest Lawrence, with Lawrence-based Gene Fritzel Construction submitting the lowest bid, at $10.5 million. The bids raise questions about city estimates about the cost of the project and its associated infrastructure. By Chad Lawhorn
Downtown hotel project now slated to begin in June, following city’s latest approval: By Chad Lawhorn; May 14, 2013; Construction work on a multi-story hotel at Ninth and New Hampshire is now expected to begin in June, ending a months-long process where the lot for the project has sat vacant. By Chad Lawhorn
As city prepares to bid recreation center, officials still waiting to receive cost numbers from Fritzel on infrastructure: By Chad Lawhorn; May 13, 2013; The companies that make a living building roads, burying sewers and paving parking lots have been hungry for work in recent weeks, in some cases bidding infrastructure projects for less than half what city officials had expected. But when it comes to Lawrence’s new $25 million recreation center, city officials won’t find out how hungry. By Chad Lawhorn

Full story list

Recent photos

Ten-year old snow shovelers Sean Ayers and Kyle Miller with Journal-World reporter Chad Lawhorn while he was out recently helping Lawrence residents dig out from the massive winter storms.

Mayor Bob Schumm fills up a city pick-up truck that was recently converted to run on compressed natural gas. Schumm said the city hopes to use the truck to gather data about whether the city should convert other parts of its vehicle fleet to compressed natural gas.

About 70 people attended a city forum at Free State High School on Wednesday, June 6, 2012, to discuss the proposed recreation complex in the northwest Lawrence. Scott Henderson addresses city officials with concerns about possible tax increases that the new center could cause.