WRITER: Chad Lawhorn

KU falls one spot in U.S. News & World Report rankings; now No. 81 among public universities

Story updated at 2:56 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24: A rising enrollment tide does not lift all rankings, the University of Kansas is finding. KU fell one spot in the closely watched U.S News & World Report college rankings, released Tuesday. KU is now ranked No. 152 among all national universities and No. 81 among public universities. Both rankings are down a spot from a year ago. KU officials reacted little ...

Chase, the largest bank in the U.S., files plans to open local branch; aerospace firm eyeing Lawrence

One of the largest — and oldest — banks in America has plans to open its first Lawrence branch. Chase Bank is seeking City Hall approval to open a bank branch at the northwest corner of 23rd Street and Naismith Drive in a building that formerly was occupied by Truity Credit Union. If you are not familiar with Chase, maybe you are familiar with some of the names behind the bank. They include J.P. Morgan, ...

Local Hy-Vee store removes self-checkout lanes; update on old Henry T's spot; LJWorld gets new commenting system

News and notes from around town: — There’s seemingly a bit of a debate going on in the grocery store industry. Should the self-checkout lane stay or go? One Lawrence grocery store in recent days has apparently said it must go. Lawrence’s Hy-Vee store at Clinton Parkway and Kasold Drive has removed its self-checkout lanes, and replaced them with approximately a half-dozen quick service counters that are ...

Leader still thinks Panasonic growth will come to Lawrence, but city could work on its image

As the old saying goes, money talks — and when the amount is $4 billion, entire communities will stop what they are doing to listen. Indeed, the 2022 announcement that Panasonic was going to build a $4 billion, 4,000-job battery plant for electric vehicles in nearby De Soto made Lawrence all ears. How many plant workers would choose to live in Lawrence? How many Panasonic suppliers would locate in the city? ...

Girod says KU doesn't yet have a plan on how it would pay student-athletes in new era of college athletics

The financial future of college athletics is beyond murky, University of Kansas Chancellor Douglas Girod said as a legal settlement over how to pay student-athletes is at risk of collapsing. Ever since a federal judge two weeks ago expressed concerns about a proposed settlement in the House v. NCAA antitrust lawsuit, there have been worries throughout college athletics that the court may reject any attempts to ...

KU gets surprise news on football stadium renovation; work on east side likely needs to begin sooner than thought

Future development around KU’s football stadium — currently undergoing a partial $450 million renovation to add a conference center and other amenities — has recently become more complicated. Soon, local governments may be asked to ease some of those complications by providing financial incentives to the project at 11th and Mississippi streets. “It is going to take the whole community to get this ...