WRITER: Chad Lawhorn

From Microsoft to Walmart, new KU research center on refrigerants is attracting strong interest from businesses

If you could have just one statistic to understand how good it is to be in the air-conditioning industry, it might be this one: About 3 billion people live in the hottest regions of the world, but currently only about 8% of them have air conditioning. As new middle-class economies emerge in places like China, India, Africa and elsewhere, the industry estimates it will need to produce the equivalent of five air ...

Solar farm developers unveil stormwater plan for Kansas Sky Energy Center project, but some key details weren't provided

Two large detention basins and acres of native grass are designed to be the main defenses against flooding that could be caused by a controversial solar farm development proposed for northern Douglas County, neighbors were told Wednesday. The developers of the proposed Kansas Sky Energy Center hosted an open house Wednesday evening at the Union Pacific Depot to publicly unveil the proposed stormwater plan for ...

Trump wins his largest share of the vote ever in Douglas County; local voter turnout takes a big drop

Story updated at 9:10 a.m. Nov. 6: Since it seems no one is claiming that this election was stolen — perhaps an overlooked election victory from Tuesday — it seems accurate to say that America has moved towards Donald Trump. So too for Lawrence and Douglas County. Douglas County continues to be one of the strongest bulwarks against Trump in America — but its wall isn’t as thick as it used to be. ...

More than 200 people per month using local Treatment & Recovery Center for mental health crisis, according to latest statistics

More than 200 people per month are coming into Douglas County’s Treatment & Recovery Center for mental health crisis, and most are voluntarily seeking treatment or arriving with a friend or family member, city commissioners were told Tuesday. Just a handful of patients per week are being brought in by local law enforcement agencies, but the impact the center has on the work of police officers goes far ...

Francisco, other Democrats win inside Lawrence, but Republicans notch legislative victories outside the city

In the center of Lawrence, Democrats maintained their dominance in races for the Kansas Legislature. But on the edge of the city and in the rural areas around it, Republicans landed several legislative victories on Tuesday. Incumbent Marci Francisco easily kept her Lawrence seat in the Kansas Senate, and a Topeka Democrat handily won a seat in a new Senate district that includes northwest Lawrence and east ...

Kansas City attorney, lobbyist behind mystery postcards in County Commission races; leader won't say who is financially backing the effort

A mysterious group that has a lot of interest in energy and electricity is sending out postcards praising two incumbent Douglas County commissioners, both supporters of a controversial solar project. But who is behind that group is largely unknown, and the chair of the group wants to keep it that way. The group is called Kansans for an Affordable Future, and some voters in Douglas County have received ...