WRITER: Chad Lawhorn

Q39 barbecue says city incentives still critical for its plans to locate in downtown; commissioners to consider issue again

Sometimes barbecue can produce false signals. When sitting across from my dining companion and she points to her cheek, I assume that means she wants to see if I can fit even more food into my mouth. Come to find out, she was just trying to alert me that I have half a bottle of barbecue sauce on my face. So it might be with the Q39 barbecue restaurant proposed for downtown Lawrence. If you recall, the prospect ...

At annual conference with the FBI, KU crowd told to get ready for even more advanced ways to be tracked

Brian McClendon, the Lawrence native who became a founder of the system that powers Google Earth and modern mapping, lightly slammed his foot on the University of Kansas stage. He told the crowd of about 400 cybersecurity experts from across the region that they should care about that faint thud because it was a precursor to the next “crazy” development that will make it easier for people to be tracked, ...

New North Lawrence store hopes to promote tranquility, whimsy through water gardens and plants

A seat by the waterside is a well-known relaxant. Less well-known is a kiss by a fish. Well, a virtual fish kiss, that is. Dana Hunter, co-owner of the new North Lawrence garden and pond shop Botanical Dreams, has a koi pond at her Lawrence-area home. She said a highlight of her day is when she gets to sit beside it and watch the fish swim to the water’s edge and make that “kissy face” motion with their ...

Bill to restart horse racing in Kansas wins legislative approval; rural Baldwin farm has been a champion of the effort

Barring a surprise at the wire, professional horse racing is set to return to Kansas. State lawmakers have given final approval to a bill that creates potentially millions of dollars per year in funding to help restart horse racing and the horse breeding and stabling programs that come with the industry. The measure — Senate Bill 21 — is now awaiting Gov. Laura Kelly’s signature, but it was approved by ...

Thanks to one extraordinary month, Lawrence sales tax collections start the year among strongest in the state

By one measure, Lawrence’s economy is off to a strong start in 2025. Sales tax collections are growing at a rate well above the statewide average, and the city is posting some of the largest increases of any major retail market in the state. Why? Cupid’s arrow, perhaps. That’s as good as any other explanation I could give you. Lawrence has received its sales tax checks from the state for January, ...

HOMES: From wallpaper's role to the one spot in your home that should be ship-shape, here are tips from a local expert

An old trend is hanging around again in Lawrence homes — wallpaper. Bailey Stuart, president of the Lawrence Board of Realtors, sat down with the Journal-World to discuss trends that she’s seeing in Lawrence homes as she goes about her business of helping people buy and sell new properties. Wallpaper — arguably its peak of popularity was the early 1900s, but it also made appearances in many a 1980s ...