This post was update at 5:05 p.m. on Sept. 19, 2018 On May 5, Ken Wagner stood on the lot of a defunct farm implement dealership while he watched a fire on the other side of 23rd Street consume his successful John Deere dealership. It already was clear the Saturday afternoon fire was going to put the more than 60-year old business out of business for quite some time. But while the black smoke was still ...
Even by Kansas’ standards, the Lawrence economy was a bit lackluster in 2017. By nearly everyone else’s measuring stick, Lawrence’s economic performance was near the bottom of the pack, according to a new set of federal statistics. The new figures measure gross domestic product for all the metro areas across the country. GDP is basically the sum of all economic activity that takes place in a community. ...
A two-game winning streak by the KU football team is producing a variety of reactions: Meteorologists are checking for a cooling front in Hades, K-State boosters are ensuring their pigs still don’t fly and Jayhawk fans are growing their empty aluminum can collection, if you know what I mean. Plenty of businesses know exactly what I mean. Liquor is big business in Lawrence, and it becomes bigger if KU ...
Get out your wish list for downtown Lawrence. As the city’s main business district posts a higher-than-normal vacancy rate, downtown leaders want to know what types of stores or businesses you think downtown Lawrence needs most. Downtown Lawrence Inc. is in the early stages of a project aimed at gathering data about wants and needs in downtown, with the hope it will be able to use the information to create a ...
Perhaps some of you remember the old Bargain Depot store near 23rd and Harper in eastern Lawrence. I have news of its pending redevelopment. It could be described as the circle of a bargain. Man goes into Bargain Depot, a cornucopia of tools, camping supplies and home improvement gadgets. Man comes home with a truckload of very sound investments. Man finds out that when storing a floor jack a dining room floor ...
We are definitely in full college town mode these days as students are back, evidenced by the large amounts of bean bags and lava lamps being carted out of Walmart. (Despite rumors to the contrary, I’m convinced dorms are still filled with those items and that college kids still know how to buy items in a brick-and-mortar store.) Regardless, know that Lawrence again has been ranked one of the best college ...