WRITER: Chad Lawhorn

News and notes: 100-foot mural coming to Ninth and Iowa area; a look at a pair of construction projects on McDonald Drive

News and notes from around town: — A piece of Honduras soon will be occupying a prominent piece of real estate in Lawrence. Motorists near Ninth and Iowa streets soon will start to see a nearly 100-foot mural emerge on the north wall of The Merc, the co-op grocer that anchors the shopping center at the intersection. The project is part of a national effort by Fairtrade America to highlight farmers and ...

KU falls 30 spots in latest U.S. News & World Report rankings; new metrics being used to rank schools

The University of Kansas experienced one of the nation’s largest declines in the much-used U.S. News & World Report rankings released on Monday. KU fell 30 spots in the overall rankings to No. 151 in the country among public and private universities that have a national footprint. Its ranking among national public schools fell 24 spots to No. 80. The drop now has KU in the bottom half of the rankings ...

More details emerge about major south Lawrence development along U.S. Highway 59, as key city zoning votes near

One of Lawrence’s largest development projects in years is about to enter a crucial period. Plans to build hundreds of homes and a couple hundred thousand square feet of retail space and hotels on 177 acres of agricultural land along the South Lawrence Trafficway will be seeking critical zoning approvals from city officials in the coming weeks. At stake in the near term is whether Lawrence’s tight ...

Hallmark files plans for 1,700 solar panels to be installed near its Lawrence plant; company contends city zoning permits solar farms

There’s still considerable controversy about whether a large solar farm should be built in rural eastern Douglas County. But now there are plans for a project with 1,700 solar panels to be built inside the city limits of Lawrence. And it may not require much in the way of approvals. Hallmark Cards has proposed the large solar project for vacant property just north of its production plant, which is along ...

McDonald's, Love's Travel Stop coming to Kansas Turnpike between Lawrence and Topeka

If you can find him — he dresses so inconspicuously — the Hamburglar would tell you: You never know when a Big Mac attack will strike. Soon, if it strikes you on your commute between Lawrence and Topeka, you’ll have a solution. Indeed, the Kansas Turnpike rest stop area just west of Lawrence and east of Topeka will be home to a McDonald’s, local operators of the franchise have announced. The rest ...

An East Hills site that used to house the largest private employer in Lawrence is on the market; a look at the county's largest employers

Don’t hang up on me. I feel like I should make that request because I’m getting ready to talk about call centers. The main message is: There are fewer of them in Lawrence than there used to be. Unless you enjoy talking about your car’s extended warranty, or lack thereof, you probably think that is good news. Maybe, maybe not. The industry has employed a lot of people in Lawrence over the years, and most ...