WRITER: Chad Lawhorn

As state leaders receive annual report on Kansas higher education, here are three numbers to know

Not every street is like Wall Street. There, occupants are never very far from a daily ticker — or metaphors of bulls and bears — measuring prosperity or decline for those in the financial industry. But on Massachusetts Street and elsewhere in Lawrence, high finance isn’t the engine of the economy. Here, higher education is the force that makes the wheels turn. There’s no handy daily ticker to ...

Signs have emerged that construction work is beginning soon on Lawrence's Whataburger

There’s a clear sign that Whataburger is moving forward on opening its first Lawrence location — and it is not in the fast-food chain’s trademark orange. Instead, it is yellow, and plenty big. A big, yellow, trackhoe excavator has been demolishing the former Mi Ranchito restaurant building at 707 W. 23rd St. this week. That indeed is the announced location of a new Whataburger restaurant. Survey crews ...

KU now thinks restaurants, retail components of stadium gateway project may be slower to develop

A plan for KU to create a “Gateway District” around its refurbished football stadium may initially include fewer retailers, restaurants and other amenities than once envisioned, KU Chancellor Douglas Girod said Wednesday. The reason: As KU’s football stadium at 11th and Mississippi streets has been coming down bit by bit, interest rates — the type charged by lenders — have been going up. The end ...

Regents considering policy to prohibit 'diversity pledges' at KU, other state universities

The Kansas Board of Regents is working on a new policy that will prohibit “diversity pledges” at state universities, but higher education leaders say it won’t require the schools to close their offices related to diversity efforts. A subcommittee of the Board of Regents, which oversees KU and other public universities in the state, gave preliminary approval Wednesday to a policy addition that says “no ...

Crime reports on KU campus fall in 2023, continuing major reversal from earlier this decade

The latest crime statistics for the University of Kansas’ Lawrence campus continue to tell a story that has been years in the making — reported crime just isn’t as common as it used to be on Mt. Oread. The KU Police Department took reports on 514 criminal offenses on KU’s Lawrence campus last year, which was a 1.2% decrease from a year ago, the university announced on Tuesday. But that number just ...

KU Endowment purchases apartment complex to help KU housing; North Lawrence Family Dollar closing

UPDATED 9:15 A.M. MARCH 19, 2024 While local residents sometimes complain that Lawrence has too many apartments, KU officials are now saying the opposite is actually true. In fact, Lawrence is so short of apartments to house University of Kansas students that KU Endowment has purchased an entire apartment complex near the Lawrence campus. Plus, KU leaders are seeking approval to partner with a national ...