WRITER: Chad Lawhorn

Proposed deal would increase most Lawrence natural gas bills by about $12 per month to pay for arctic blast of 2021

Updated at 1:16 p.m. Wednesday: Most Lawrence residents soon will know how much last February’s winter storm is going to add to their natural gas bills: about $140 a year for the next five years. Black Hills Energy, the largest natural gas utility in Lawrence, announced Wednesday morning that it had reached a tentative settlement agreement with state regulators on how to charge its customers for extremely ...

Hershey candy company signs deal to buy recently completed Pretzels Inc. plant in Lawrence; part of plan to create 'snacking powerhouse'

Candy-making giant The Hershey Company has signed a deal that will give it ownership of a recently constructed pretzel manufacturing plant in Lawrence. Hershey announced on Wednesday that it had signed agreements to purchase Indiana-based Pretzels Inc., which recently opened a new manufacturing facility in Lawrence VenturePark near 23rd Street and O’Connell Road. Hershey also announced that it has struck a ...

Plans filed that would add about 400 single-family homes to the area north of Rock Chalk Park

A game-changing moment for Lawrence may be coming near the Rock Chalk Park sports complex. No, this one won’t happen on a court, but rather may happen on vacant pasture land near the complex in northwest Lawrence. Plans have been filed to annex 100 acres of vacant property just north of Rock Chalk Park into the city limits. Why might that be a game-changer? Because Lawrence is short of new lots to build ...

Health care leaders gather at KU and predict hospital CEOs are going to have to become political fighters

Your community’s next leading activist may come from a place you wouldn’t expect: the hospital’s boardroom. A panel of health care leaders from across the country gathered at the University of Kansas on Friday to discuss coming changes for small and rural hospitals, and they agreed that the chief executives of those hospitals likely would have to undergo change too. “I look at what the skill set will ...

A wine bar with a serious food menu signs deal to open in downtown Lawrence

There’s no shortage of worries in the restaurant industry these days, but one longtime Wichita operator has crossed one worry off his list: He and his brother/business partner will achieve their goal of expanding into Lawrence. “Restaurants aren’t just going to die,” Wichita restaurant owner Brad Steven told me. “Restaurants are what people love to do. They love to go out and eat and drink. We are ...

LMH, health department release details on providing COVID vaccines to children; multiple opportunities set for next week

Story updated at 4:07 p.m. Wednesday: Two of the largest health care entities in Douglas County are expected to start providing COVID vaccinations for children ages 5 to 11 next week. Both LMH Health and Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health have announced plans to begin administering the vaccine now that it has won necessary federal approvals. LMH said it would offer the vaccine at all of its clinics and ...