WRITER: Dylan Lysen

Lawrence school board to hear annual report on building, equipment improvements

The Lawrence school district is planning for $22.5 million of building and equipment improvements during this school year and the next, according to the district’s capital improvement plan. During its meeting on Monday, the school board will hear a presentation about those plans as part of the district’s annual capital outlay report. The district has a capital outlay fund that it uses for facility ...

Crews respond to fire at storage unit facility in western Lawrence

Crews fought to contain a fire at a storage unit facility in western Lawrence on Friday afternoon. Tom Fagan, division chief of administration, said Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical crews responded to a call at Space Saver Storage, 3707 W. Sixth St., for a fire in a storage unit. Once on the scene, crews found heavy smoke coming from the front of one of the storage units. The smoke could be seen from Sixth ...

Douglas County school virus guidance continues in green tier for second week

Douglas County’s school virus guidance will remain at its lowest tier for the second straight week as new cases of COVID-19 continue to fall. On Thursday, Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health announced that its guidance to schools would stay in the green tier, which recommends that schools use fully in-person classes. The color-coded guidance is meant to help county school districts navigate reopening ...

Court sets $1 million bond for Lawrence man accused of murder

A Douglas County District Court judge has set a $1 million bond for a Lawrence man who is accused of murder. Johnathon Lee West, 43, made his first appearance in court this week for a second-degree murder charge where the court set the cash or surety bond, Deputy District Attorney Joshua Seiden told the Journal-World. The court also appointed attorney Hatem Chahine to represent him. West remains in the Douglas ...

Douglas County Commission defers extending septic company's truck storage permit

A septic company’s request to extend a permit for truck storage just north of Lawrence city limits will remain unresolved for at least a couple more weeks. The Douglas County Commission on Wednesday deferred taking action on Honey Bee Septic’s request to extend a conditional use permit at 1462 N. 1700 Road to give county staff and the company time to discuss other options for the truck storage, such as ...

Lawrence City Commission approves spending another $90,000 on hotel shelter program for homeless people

Lawrence will be spending another $90,000 on a program to house homeless people in hotels amid frigid winter temperatures. At its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission voted unanimously to approve the additional spending for the program, for which demand has more than doubled over the past two weeks as extreme cold has gripped northeast Kansas. The city has now spent $340,000 in total on the program, ...