Family members of two girls who were sexually abused said during the abuser’s sentencing hearing Monday that they hoped he would suffer as much as his victims have. Brian M. Kennedy, 45, pleaded no contest and was convicted of one count of aggravated battery, a level-4 felony, and attempted aggravated battery, a level-6 felony, during a hearing Aug. 17 in Douglas County District Court. He was initially ...
The Lawrence Police Department serves one of the smaller “benchmark cities” in an annual report produced by the Overland Park Police Department, but it has one of the highest percentages of female officers, the report shows. The annual Benchmark Cities Survey, produced by staff of the Overland Park Police Department, compiles statistics from 29 cities across the country. It’s intended to allow ...
Members of Ellsworth County Fire and Rescue have credited a Lawrence woman and her friends with saving strangers’ lives from a fiery car crash. Makenzie Rodgers, 24, of Lawrence, was driving to Colorado for a vacation with her friends, Jacque Shorten, 23, and her husband Josh Shorten, 25, both of Baldwin City, and Mitchell Antes, 25, of De Soto. It was close to 4 a.m. on Sept. 5 as they drove down ...
The Douglas County Commission on Wednesday laid to rest a long-debated plan to expand the local jail. Commissioners passed a resolution in January to move forward with the roughly $30 million expansion of the Douglas County Jail, but they recently asked to reexamine the project because of changes that have occurred amid the coronavirus pandemic. County Administrator Sarah Plinsky also recently said the county ...
Justice Matters, a local coalition of 17 faith groups, aims to bring community members together for 75 virtual small group discussions over the next four weeks. The goal of the new initiative is to find “common ground” among participants on issues of systemic racism, homelessness, criminal justice reform and racially disproportionate discipline in the Lawrence school district, according to a news release ...
Updated to add photos at 8:23 p.m. Monday: Lawrence police are investigating a report of an armed robbery at a cash-advance business. At 3:23 p.m. Monday, officers responded to a report of a possible armed robbery at Advance America, 2223 Louisiana St., Lt. David Ernst said via email. Witnesses reported that a roughly 6-foot-tall white man with an average build had displayed a knife and demanded money, Ernst ...