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 ...
A Lawrence teenager who brought a loaded handgun to Free State High School in the spring is no longer a student in Lawrence Public Schools, the district confirmed Monday. But the district will not say if he was expelled or dropped out after the incident. “Due to student privacy rights, the district is unable to share or speculate as to why a student may no longer be enrolled in our schools,” said Julie ...
Kansas inspection officials found health code violations at some downtown Lawrence food and drink establishments and two Greek Life institutions in Baldwin City during October. Additionally, two restaurants in Lawrence that were out of compliance for September returned to compliance in October inspections. Each month, I take a look at inspection results and list every place either listed out of compliance or ...
How often have you seen a choir of prison inmates perform for the general public? That’s what Leigh Lynch, executive director of Arts in Prison, asked me when I called to discuss the East Hill Singers prison choir performance in Lawrence this weekend. “It’s a very unique opportunity because we have the privilege to take the inmates out into the community,” she said. The group, made up of 12 minimum ...
A Lawrence teenager was sentenced to six months of probation Friday morning after he was convicted in September for bringing a loaded handgun to Free State High School in his backpack last spring. The 18-year-old was 17 when the incident occurred, and he was charged as a juvenile in Douglas County District Court. Juvenile Court Judge Bethany Roberts said she chose six months, instead of the maximum 12 months, ...
A little more than an inch of snow had accumulated in Lawrence late Thursday evening, said Matt Wolters, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Topeka. As of 10 p.m., 1.1 inches of snow had accumulated in south Lawrence, Wolters said. Other parts of northeast Kansas saw accumulations as high as 5 inches, he said. Flurries may continue Thursday night, Wolters said, but Douglas County won't see any ...
Lawrence drivers heading to Topeka on the turnpike will likely get to their destination a little faster after the Kansas Turnpike Authority upgraded the toll road. Rex Fleming, an engineer for KTA, said the organization on Wednesday opened both of the “fast lanes” for westbound traffic exiting the turnpike at the East Topeka toll plaza, which is at Mile 183 on I-70. The renovated toll plaza allows drivers ...
The FBI has given the NCAA clearance to begin investigating possible code violations at universities related to the recent college basketball corruption trial, according to a Yahoo Sports report published Tuesday night. It's not yet clear which universities' basketball programs the NCAA would be able to investigate, but the University of Kansas had become a focus of the trial before it ended in late October in ...
Update: 3:50 p.m. Tuesday Many first-time voters cast their ballots at the University of Kansas’ Burge Union on Tuesday. A line of KU students stretched out the door of the conference room where ballot booths were set up for the students who live and are registered to vote on Daisy Hill. Tyler McLaughlin, an 18-year-old KU student from Maize, said he was excited to cast his first ballot. He said he wanted ...
Even though their votes didn't count, hundreds of Lawrence elementary students were making their voices heard on Election Day. The members of the Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence at local elementary schools cast mock ballots on Tuesday to participate in the Kansas Kids Vote activity and learn more about democracy. Prior to the election, the Boys & Girls Club educated the student members on voting with ...
When Lawrence resident Sherry Gill joined the U.S. Army in 1976, she said she was willing to kill if she needed to. But that’s not how the higher command originally saw her, or any woman, contributing to the armed forces when she was placed in the Women’s Army Corps. The WAC was a military unit that placed women in "gender appropriate" roles, according to the National Museum of the United States Army. “I ...
Douglas County residents looking to purchase health insurance through the federal marketplace will find they really only have one option for 2019. Through the Affordable Care Act, Kansas has two health insurance companies providing care to state residents, but one of those companies, Medica, will not consider Douglas County medical providers as in-network, said Brian Edie, a local insurance agent. Last year, ...
Honestly, who steals a lizard? Allegedly, three out-of-county visitors to Pet World in Lawrence. Clearwater, a bearded dragon lizard who is rehabilitating at the pet store, was allegedly abducted by a woman and two accomplices who were recently eyeing the lizard for some time in the store, according to the store’s security camera footage. Sherry Emerson, owner of the store located at 711 W. 23rd St., No. ...
With Election Day just around the corner, many residents in Douglas County have found they are receiving political messaging in a much more direct manner — through text messages. Shanna Shafer, an unaffiliated voter in Lawrence, said she has received several text messages from both political parties encouraging her to vote, sometimes for a certain candidate. While some have offered links to more information, ...
In times of tragedy, great communities often find ways to come together to offer support to those who need it. Steve Hurst of the Lawrence Jewish Community Congregation said the Lawrence community will have the opportunity to do that on Sunday at the 55th annual Blintz Brunch. While the event is mainly a fundraiser for the congregation, Hurst said it’s also a good opportunity for the Lawrence community to ...
Kansas universities and local businesses need to work together to help meet one another's needs, University of Kansas Chancellor Douglas Girod said Wednesday. As enrollment has dropped and tuition has increased at Kansas universities in recent years, businesses throughout the state have struggled with a worker shortage because not enough graduates possess the required skills, he said. “What we hear from you ...
For University of Kansas student Kyle Gold, the mass shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh on Saturday that left 11 people dead hit close to home. The massacre targeting Jewish people was similar to an event that occurred in his hometown of Overland Park in 2014, when a white supremacist with anti-Semitic beliefs killed two people at the Jewish Community Center and another person at a nearby retirement ...
Two filmmakers and Kansas natives who zigzagged hundreds of miles on foot across the Sunflower State learned more about the state and the people who reside in it, they said. A portion of a film depicting their travels will be on display in Lawrence this week. Patrick Ross, originally from Lawrence, and Joshua Nathan, originally from Moundridge, walked across the state on foot in seven weeks in 2015, checking ...
Two pianists studying at one of the most prestigious performing arts schools in the world will return to the city where they met for a one-night performance this weekend. Chaeyoung Park and Anna Han, students of the Juilliard School, will return to Lawrence for a duo performance dubbed "A Tale of Two Pianists." Park and Han will perform 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Theatre Lawrence, 4660 Bauer Farm Drive. Tickets are ...