WRITER: Austin Hornbostel

Growing up in Lawrence set the foundation for KU alumna who now has key role at startup dedicated to cell sorting technology

Alex Hyler’s educational path growing up in Lawrence would probably sound familiar to many locals: first Sunflower Elementary, then Southwest Middle School and Lawrence High School, followed by an undergraduate degree at the University of Kansas. But not many can claim a similar course from then on. Hyler went on to earn a doctorate in biomedical engineering at Virginia Tech and is now one of the leaders of ...

Family Promise’s longtime director to retire in August

The longtime director of Family Promise is retiring this August, and the nonprofit is starting the search for a new leader, it announced in a news release on Friday evening. Dana Ortiz, who has led Family Promise for the past 12 years, plans to step down in August, then mentor the organization’s new director through a transition period of up to six months, the release said. “I have loved my time in this ...

KU alumna describes life as an astronaut aboard the International Space Station during Q&A

Most question-and-answer sessions don’t involve the person answering the questions casually flipping upside down and floating in midair — but then again, a Q&A Friday afternoon with University of Kansas alumna Loral O’Hara was far from ordinary. That’s because O’Hara, a 2006 graduate of KU’s School of Engineering, was answering those questions via satellite link from the International Space ...

Church’s lawsuit against City of Lawrence, which was previously dismissed, set for March bench trial after successful appeal

A church’s lawsuit against the City of Lawrence is headed to a bench trial in Douglas County District Court early next month, after first being introduced in late 2021, dismissed a few months later and revived in mid-2023 after a successful appeal. First Presbyterian Church is suing the city and Dallas-based Fountain Residential Partners to halt a project that would combine two lots at 2300 Crestline Drive ...

Explaining Kansas' Presidential Preference Primary, which will take place next month for just the 3rd time in state history

For just the third time in Kansas’ history, voters in March will be participating in a Presidential Preference Primary. The Presidential Preference Primary — an election where the vote totals are given to a political party to allocate delegates for presidential candidates at their respective national conventions — is set for March 19. It’ll be the first state-run presidential preference primary in ...

Haskell to offer new agribusiness degree thanks to partnership with Native American Agriculture Fund

The Bureau of Indian Education — the federal agency that oversees Haskell Indian Nations University — and the Native American Agriculture Fund are partnering to bring an agriculture business degree program to Haskell. The university announced the new degree program in a news release on Tuesday, stemming from a separate announcement from U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland at the American Indian ...