WRITER: Elvyn Jones

Rain, cooler temperatures on the way

Lawrence and northeast Kansas can expect some normal temperatures this week after a two-week heat wave. Kris Craven, meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Topeka, said scattered showers are possible through Thursday but the best chance of rain will be Sunday night and Monday morning along the Interstate 70 corridor. “The forecast is for a half inch to inch of rain, but there is a chance ...

Former Lawrence school board member, owner of historic Lawrence home Austin Turney dies

Austin H. Turney, a former Lawrence school board member, history buff and owner of a historic East Lawrence home, has died at age 93. Turney died July 13. He was a member of the school board from 1997 to 2005. Born in Lawrence in 1929, he graduated from University High School, a former school on the University of Kansas campus that was run by the School of Education. He graduated from KU with a bachelor’s ...

Longtime Baldwin City superintendent reflects on unique challenges, successes as he enters retirement

Paul Dorathy ended 16 sometimes challenging years as superintendent of the Baldwin City school district with his retirement on Thursday. Dorathy officially retired on June 30, the final day of the fiscal year. Mark Dodge, the former director of school improvement and communications for the Eudora district, succeeded him in the position the next day. Dorathy took over at the Baldwin City district the same year ...

Lecompton museum celebrates 40th anniversary with display of historic lithograph

The Territorial Capital Museum in Lecompton celebrated its 40th anniversary Saturday with a presentation on an important historical lithograph that is now on display in the museum. Bill McFarland, a retired Topeka schoolteacher, explained that the lithograph was of the early Kansans who met 165 years ago in Lecompton’s Constitution Hall as the Free State Territorial Legislature. The 1857 body wasn’t the ...

'It’s a marathon, not a sprint': Douglas County Moms Demand Action group rallies against gun violence

Leslie Milton, the leader of the Douglas County chapter of Moms Demand Action, has been fighting to reduce gun violence for years, and she knows there are no quick fixes. It's a message she repeated on Saturday at the group's annual Wear Orange rally and awareness-raising event in South Park. While recent mass shootings in New York, Texas and Oklahoma have led to many calls for change, Milton said she's seen ...

At rally for reproductive rights, speakers urge crowd to reject anti-abortion constitutional amendment

About 1,600 people rallied in South Park on Saturday to show their support for reproductive rights — and to speak out against a proposed state constitutional amendment that would open the door to new restrictions on abortion. The proposed amendment, which states that the Kansas Constitution does not guarantee a right to abortion, will be on the Aug. 2 primary ballot, and voters statewide will determine ...