WRITER: Chad Lawhorn

Lawrence home sales off to their slowest start in years; selling prices begin to fall slightly

With all the rain, maybe you too are considering that the best home is a houseboat. (I think my household is giving it serious consideration based on the number of times I’m told to go jump in a lake.) Regardless, something has caused traditional home sales in Lawrence to take a nosedive. The local real estate market is definitely off to a slow start in 2019, based on the latest numbers from the Lawrence ...

New health care building to be constructed near west Lawrence Walmart, plus other news and notes from around town

Look for construction to begin soon on a new building near the Walmart in west Lawrence. While that area has attracted a host of new restaurants — Old Chicago, Spin Pizza and Blue Moose, among others — this project is on the other side of the street, where they must be a little more practical. A dentist’s office will be the main tenant of this new building. The Kansas City-based real estate firm Block ...

National food delivery company targets Lawrence; North Lawrence bar and unique downtown gift shop announce closures

  News and notes from around town: • It used to be if a waiter showed up at my door, it was a sign that I took way too many of the complimentary breath mints. Now, it's just evidence that another tech company looking to combine the internet and dining has chosen Lawrence as a potential hot market. A company called Waitr has chosen Lawrence and Topeka to make its Kansas debut. The Louisiana-based ...

Lawrence aviation company in growth mode after winning NASA contract

A Lawrence-based aviation firm has won a new NASA contract, and it also moved into new space that will allow it to go from just designing high-tech aviation prototypes to actually building them. DARcorporation this week was selected by NASA for continued work on a project that will test how artificial intelligence can be used to pilot unmanned aircraft in the future. DARcorporation previously had done work ...

From a stone in your pocket to a several thousand dollar gemstone, downtown shop expands for rock lovers

I have learned the hard way that there are people in my life who are not a fan of fake gold. (In my defense, it did take me $5 in quarters to get the ring out of the bubble gum machine.) But maybe you are a genuine fan of pyrite — fool’s gold — or any number of other minerals. If so, I have news of a downtown Lawrence store expanding for people just like you. Summit’s Steps Minerals has moved to 11 W. ...

Lawrence-based suicide prevention organization signs deal for new space; move will allow statewide hotline to grow

A Lawrence nonprofit is undertaking a major expansion that it expects will cement its standing as the leading suicide prevention organization in the state. Headquarters Counseling Center later this month will move from its longtime, but small, home in downtown Lawrence into a new space in eastern Lawrence. The center has signed a deal to occupy about 6,700 square feet of office space in the industrial park ...

Mexican restaurant chain closes its location on 23rd Street

Story updated 10:24 a.m. Monday One stretch of Lawrence street is losing another Mexican restaurant. The city's lone Qdoba Mexican Eats announced Friday that it has closed. Qdoba was located at 1714 W. 23rd St., which is a stretch of street that at one point probably had more Mexican restaurants per square foot than any place in town. It maybe still does, but the Qdoba closing comes a few months after Taco ...

Party supply store finds new Lawrence home with demolition of shopping center imminent; look for new type of drive-thru on 23rd Street

If you are like me, a steak dinner is plenty of a reason to wear one of those pointy party hats. Throw in a loaded baked potato and we’ll have a heck of a fiesta, once I wake up from my nap. So, maybe it makes sense that Party America is moving into a space just behind the steakhouse chain Texas Roadhouse. There had been some concern that Party America’s days were numbered. As we’ve reported, the 23rd ...

Whistleblower who brought forward concerns of missing money at Clinton State Park fired by state; leader says it wasn't retribution

A whistleblower in a case involving missing documents and accounting irregularities at Clinton State Park has been fired by the state, the Journal-World has learned. At least three other park employees also have had their jobs impacted, although it is unclear whether they also were fired or placed on leave while the state investigates whether accounting irregularities led to stolen money at the park. In late ...

After 11 years of art and supplies, downtown retailer expanding with full-fledged gallery

Whether you like to collect art or simply collect doodles in a notebook, a downtown retailer has news for you. Wonder Fair has signed a deal to open a second store in downtown, which will allow the art and stationery retailer to open a full-fledged gallery while also expanding its offerings in the worlds of pens and paper. Wonder Fair currently is located at 841 Massachusetts St. It will remain in that ...

Major bike manufacturer plans to open corporate-owned store on south Iowa Street

I have gone round and round on this rumor, but I’m now confident in reporting that Lawrence is getting a major new player in the world of bike shops. Trek, one of the biggest names in both the road racing and mountain biking worlds, is opening a corporate-owned store in Lawrence. Trek’s website lists a variety of job openings for a store in Lawrence, which matches with the rumors I’ve been hearing in the ...

$1 million-plus expansion on tap for Douglas County manufacturer of aviation parts; job totals to hit 150

An aviation company in the tiny unincorporated Douglas County community of Vinland continues to make a case that it is one of the best high-tech success stories in the county. McFarlane Aviation Products has filed plans for a $1.4 million plant expansion that should easily add another 50 jobs to the company. Plans filed with the county’s planning department call for a new 24,000-square-foot manufacturing ...

Lawrence seeing a slowdown as sales tax collections now dip into negative territory for the year

February was cold in more ways than one in Lawrence. Yes, there were the temperatures outside, but you should have felt the chill inside from all those cheap Valentine’s Day gifts. At least the latest numbers from the state show something caused retail spending to take a downward turn in February. Plus, the statistics show most of 2019 hasn’t been good either. The city of Lawrence received its April sales ...

Local trio opens unique members-only billiards club in downtown Lawrence

A pool table without pockets sounds a bit like that closet I built without a door. (The worst mistake was building it from the inside out.) But this pool table is no mistake. In fact, a trio of local residents think it may be a calling card for a unique new business: a private billiards club. The Billiards Studio has opened in downtown Lawrence in a building at Eighth and New Hampshire streets that houses a ...

As new KU deal is signed, it's unclear what Adidas will do to help prevent future basketball scandal

Adidas will do more in the future to help prevent college basketball recruiting scandals, a Kansas Athletics official said Wednesday as KU and Adidas announced a nearly $200 million dollar extension of their marketing partnership. But specific steps the apparel company will take to prevent a repeat of the past scandal — where three of its former employees or consultants have been convicted on federal fraud ...

Girod: KU has changed basketball procedures in wake of FBI case; 'We have to make sure we do it right going forward'

KU Chancellor Douglas Girod acknowledged Wednesday that internal procedures of the men’s basketball program have changed after a pay-for-play scheme ensnared two KU players, saying KU has to “make sure we do it right going forward.” Girod said changes have been made regarding which individuals are allowed to have access to the men's basketball program and its staff, but he did not elaborate on what those ...

Lawrence's population growth among tops in the state; city now among the 100 fastest growing metro areas this decade

There are about 800 more people in Lawrence than there were a year ago, and despite what the K-State fans will claim, they’re not all NCAA investigators. The U.S. Census Bureau has released new population estimates, and Lawrence continues to rank as one of the fastest growing metro areas in Kansas. Actually, if you wanted to, you could make a banner saying that Lawrence is the fastest growing metro area that ...

Budweiser Clydesdales to be in downtown Lawrence Saturday to celebrate new beer law

Big horses and beer both can be fun, although as a general rule I don’t recommend combining the two. (I still don’t know how the horse ended up wearing the hat and I ended up wearing the halter.) The exception to the rule, of course, is the Budweiser Clydesdales, and Lawrence soon will have a chance to see them. The Clydesdales will be in downtown Lawrence from about 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. You’ll ...

Historic Castle Tea Room building to be put up for lease as nonprofit ownership falls on hard times

Passersby soon will see a “for lease” sign in front of the historic Castle Tea Room building on south Massachusetts Street. Yes, it also is a sign that the future of one of Lawrence’s more distinctive buildings is uncertain. The nonprofit foundation that owns the Castle Tea Room, 1307 Massachusetts St., has fallen into disarray. A Douglas County Court judge has appointed a custodian — a position ...

Farming makes a bit of a comeback in Douglas County, new numbers show

About 20 years ago, one of the great hand-wringing fears was that homebuilding was going to grow so quickly that all the good farmland in Douglas County was going to be built over. And there was some reason to worry. From 1997 to 2002, the number of farms in Douglas County fell by about 4 percent, the number of acres in production dropped by about 13,000, and the value of all agricultural products grown or ...