WRITER: Chad Lawhorn

'It is go time': Algerian team arrives in Lawrence for World Cup, but how many visitors will follow still unclear

Lawrence is officially a World Cup city. For the moment, though, it is a relatively quiet one. The Algerian national team arrived in Lawrence shortly after midnight on Monday morning, greeted by thunderstorms and law enforcement personnel both from Lawrence and Topeka to escort the team to its Lawrence hotel, according to information from the Lawrence Police Department. The Associated Press reported that the ...

New question arises around Rock Chalk Park trails: Why are nearly 2 miles of them missing?

UPDATED 4 P.M. May 22 The trails at Lawrence’s Rock Chalk Park are creating a question, and this one doesn’t fit into the typical hiking categories of “what’s that bird?” or “was that poison ivy?” Instead, the question at the more than 10-year-old facility in northwest Lawrence is: What happened to nearly 2 miles of trails? An investigation by the Journal-World has found that the number of ...

How to define diversity, equity, inclusion, critical race theory has become a $2M question at KU

In what has become an annual exercise to keep $2 million of state funding, the University of Kansas and the state’s other public universities are being ordered to address diversity, equity and inclusion topics. This year, the Kansas Legislature’s orders are limited: Create some definitions related to diversity, equity and inclusion, and its philosophical cousin known as critical race theory. While ...

Developer for a Marriott hotel at KU stadium site has been chosen

Plans for a hotel that will connect to KU’s football stadium and the 1,000-seat conference center inside the stadium have taken an important step forward. KU leaders are now publicly saying who the operator of the hotel will be. Jeff DeWitt, KU’s chief financial officer, told me in a brief interview that Kansas City hotel developer and operator Chuck Mackey has been chosen to bring the approximately ...

KU proposing 5% increase in tuition, fees for next school year; enrollment expected to be flat

University of Kansas leaders are proposing a 5% increase in tuition and fees for the average student next school year, as administrators said the additional money is needed primarily to boost salaries on campus. KU and the state’s other public universities presented their recommendations to the Kansas Board of Regents on Wednesday, but the board isn’t scheduled to take action on the tuition increases until ...

Latest Census numbers show Lawrence lost population; only Kansas city of 40K or more to post a loss

The latest population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau are out, and Lawrence was the only community of 40,000 people or more in Kansas that lost population last year. Lawrence’s population loss wasn’t particularly steep. The Census estimated Lawrence’s population as of July 1, 2025 was 96,367 people. That’s down 74 people from the July 2025 population. The loss equates to a 0.08% decline. While ...