WRITER: Chad Lawhorn

Spring home show to be virtual this year; home builders set to weigh in on Lawrence housing shortage

I know there have been times my housemates have wished my spring home improvement projects were virtual. (In fairness, the fire pit project did produce both a pit and a fire.) Well, this year’s Lawrence Spring Home Show is virtual, but the projects are very real and done by professionals. Spring is when the Lawrence Home Builders Association usually hosts the largest home improvement show in the city, but ...

Leading researcher for COVID-19 vaccine approved to receive honorary degree from KU; doctor got his start at KU Med

The University of Kansas plans to award an honorary degree to a one-time Kansas farm boy who went on to become a leading doctor in the development of a COVID-19 vaccine. The Kansas Board of Regents this week approved a request from KU to award an honorary degree to Dr. Barney Graham, who is the deputy director of the vaccine research center within the National Institutes of Health. KU hasn’t formally ...

Lawrence may be a metro area no more, if federal rule change is approved; dollars and data both at stake

As a Lawrence resident, you certainly are entitled to tout your metropolitan credentials at any party you attend. (Of course, fellow partygoers also may lock you in the coat closet.) But Lawrence and Douglas County are part of a group of approximately 400 locations in America that are designated metropolitan areas. That soon may change, though, and it is creating concerns ranging from dollars to data. ...

KU wins changes to admission policy; standardized tests won't be required, and 2.0 GPA will suffice in some cases

Soon, incoming freshmen at the University of Kansas won’t have to take a standardized test — like the ACT or SAT — to get admitted to the university. But those students who do decide to take a test now will have a path to get into KU with a high school grade point average as low as 2.0. The Kansas Board of Regents approved both changes to KU’s freshman admission policies at a meeting earlier this ...

Credit union to expand with new location on south Iowa Street; grant program to fund outdoor workout centers for Kansas cities

Of course you can do banking remotely these days. (I’ll admit there was an unfortunate incident with a Sharpie and my iPhone when I tried to electronically endorse a check.) For those reasons and others, there are still plenty of people who want to go to a brick-and-mortar banking location. One credit union in particular is betting that is still the case in Lawrence. Envista Credit Union has reached a deal ...

Number of Douglas County residents eligible for vaccine to surge next week; LMH plans 5-day-per-week clinic

At least 11,000 Douglas County residents will become newly eligible for COVID-19 vaccines next week, and LMH Health is working to open a clinic that would provide 2,000 new shots per week for local residents. Brian Bradfield, associate vice president for ancillary services at LMH, told hospital board members Wednesday morning that Douglas County residents who are in the state’s Phase 3 and Phase 4 categories ...