WRITER: Conner Mitchell

LINK dining room won't be open for Thanksgiving dinner this year, but to-go meals will be available; volunteers still needed

The Lawrence Interdenominational Nutrition Kitchen’s annual community Thanksgiving dinner will undergo some operational changes this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most notably, LINK’s dining room at 221 W. 10th St. will not be open for seating on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26., coordinator Deb Engstrom told the Journal-World. For those who want to enjoy a meal but don’t want to take it home, ...

The 9-month, $710K consulting contract that could alter how KU operates

The University of Kansas in June entered into a nine-month contract with a Maryland-based higher education consulting firm tasked with examining virtually every aspect of KU’s operations, from academics to administrative offices. The bill — footed by KU Endowment, the university’s separate fundraising arm — totals $710,000. And through March 2021, the firm, rpk GROUP, will review and make ...

KU receives $7.8M federal grant to expand Bioscience and Technology Business Center

Local and state leaders hope a multimillion-dollar federal grant awarded Thursday could help create hundreds of bioscience jobs in Lawrence and help launch a new innovation district on the University of Kansas' west campus. Government officials gathered Thursday at KU's Bioscience and Technology Business Center, 2029 Becker Drive, to break ground on a 66,000-square-foot expansion to the BTBC made possible by ...

KU adds 40 new cases of COVID-19, symptomatic positive testing rates rise in latest data update

The University of Kansas has confirmed 40 more cases of COVID-19 since data was last released Friday, bringing the school's cumulative case total to 1,071. New data was released on KU's COVID-19 dashboard Wednesday after being delayed Tuesday, the normal release day, because of a data issue, a university spokesperson told the Journal-World. From Oct. 5 to Oct. 11, the most recent seven-day period for which ...

Douglas County again clear of any named COVID-19 outbreaks; Kansas death toll from virus passes 800

Douglas County has gone another week without an outbreak of COVID-19 severe enough to be named in the state Department of Health and Environment's list of locations that were attributed to a virus spread of more than five cases in the past 14 days. KDHE's list, released each Wednesday, has not included a named outbreak in Douglas County since Sept. 30, when Bishop Seabury Academy and Baldwin City High School ...

147 KU employees set to retire by end of 2020 through voluntary separation incentive program

One of the cost-cutting measures the University of Kansas implemented over the summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic's strain on financial resources will result in the retirement of at least 147 employees — and most of their positions will not be filled — KU announced Wednesday. The university announced in June that a voluntary separation incentive program to retire by the end of 2020 would be available to ...