WRITER: Chad Lawhorn

Universities nearing rollout of required literacy classes for elementary teachers across the state

Elementary schools across the state are about to get a large wave of new students — the teachers themselves. More than 15,000 Kansas elementary school educators — everybody from teachers to counselors to principals — must get certified in new methods to teach reading to elementary students. The stakes are high for teachers to get the new training: If they don’t complete the training — or pass a ...

Panasonic plant has 400 employees now, with 1,000 planned by summer; state leaders gather to celebrate project

Panasonic’s $4 billion electric vehicle battery plant in De Soto currently has 400 employees and will have 1,000 by the summer and 2,000 by early next year, the governor and other state leaders were told on Friday. With a host of area leaders looking on at a celebratory event in the partially completed lobby of the 4.8 million-square-foot Panasonic building, Panasonic’s top Kansas executive said the ...

Governor's recommended budget shows funding decreases for KU, other universities

The University of Kansas may have a more than $100 million task in front of it as lawmakers begin their work at the Kansas Statehouse in Topeka. KU technically is staring at a $155 million reduction in funding next year, unless KU leaders can convince both the governor and lawmakers to make some budget additions during the legislative session. Alternatively, students may be on the lookout for a significant ...

KU creates new office to expand research in national defense, partnerships with Department of Defense

UPDATED 1:35 P.M. JAN. 15 As the University of Kansas aims to do more work with the U.S. Department of Defense, it is creating an entirely new office to boost the effort. KU leaders on Wednesday announced the creation of the Office of National Defense Initiatives and added a new assistant vice chancellor position to its management ranks to oversee the project. Mike Denning, who has served as KU’s director ...

KU looking to change key grade point average, ACT requirements for new students

Today’s high school students who want to be guaranteed a future spot at the University of Kansas likely will have to start meeting a new set of standards when it comes to ACT scores and grade point averages. One proposed change likely will make it more difficult for some students, while another change potentially could make it easier for other students who have good grades but don’t take the ACT or other ...

This Lawrence man offered the peace sign, and the community often responded in kind

It is impossible to know now, but maybe in Rob Blank’s mind he believed in the power of pairs. He paired long black hair — later gray — with a long beard to match. He often paired literal rose-colored glasses with a stylish hat of a matching color. And then, of course, there were the pair of fingers. The index and the middle finger formed in the shape of a V — the universal sign for peace. Has anyone ...