Explore Lawrence’s targeted advertising toward people attending arts events in major Midwest cities has been able to attract visitors to the city's Final Fridays events, according to the organization’s marketing analysis. Since 2017, online advertising for Final Fridays has been seen by close to 3 million out-of-town web users, with at least 2,500 of those users making a trip to Lawrence for the monthly ...
When composer Susan Kander approached Roberta Gumbel, a University of Kansas lecturer for voice and opera, to collaborate on a short musical production, she said she wanted to work on a serious and timely topic — one that hit close to home for Gumbel. “She called me and said, ‘I know what I want to write about: your concerns for your son, an African-American boy behind the wheel in this time,’” Gumbel ...
Four playgrounds in Lawrence public parks could be removed in 2019 because of poor condition and low usage. Mark Hecker, assistant director of the City of Lawrence's Parks and Recreation Department, said the department conducted a citywide audit of the playgrounds and found four of 38 total playgrounds to be in poor condition and seldom used by the public. Hecker presented the audit report to the city’s ...
After selecting one book for all ages in 2018, the Lawrence Public Library went back to selecting three books for the 2019 Read Across Lawrence program. “It’s a return to the norm,” said Kristin Soper, adult programming coordinator for the library. This year, the library selected “A Tangle of Knots” by Lisa Graff for kids, “The Doughnut Fix” by Jessie Janowitz for teens and “Sourdough” by ...
When Autumn Hale recently went through a divorce, she and her five children “pretty much lost everything,” she said. But she and her kids were given an opportunity to get back on their feet, and back in a permanent home, after they were selected as the 100th Habitat for Humanity family to receive a newly built home. “It was a dream come true when we found out,” she said. After the divorce, Hale said ...
A light snow Monday led to slick roads and dozens of car wrecks in Douglas County. A total of 40 car wrecks had been reported in the county as of 4 p.m., and four resulted in nonsevere injuries, said Officer Shawn Gross, a Lawrence Police Department spokesman. Audra Hennecke, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Topeka, said the Lawrence area was expected to receive about half an inch of snow ...