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 ...

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 ...

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 ...