Douglas County commissioners on Wednesday will hear a follow-up presentation on a remodel of the Judicial and Law Enforcement Center that could cost more than $125 million.
The architecture firm overseeing the remodel, TreanorHL, has spent 10 months in the planning phase of a project aimed at expanding Douglas County’s courtroom space.
As the Journal-World reported in August, commissioners were presented ...
Liberty Memorial Central Middle School could switch to a special science, technology and arts curriculum in the future, but a district leader said Tuesday that officials aren't thinking of it as a "magnet school," and that there are definitely no plans to close it down, either.
At Tuesday's Lawrence school board meeting, Patrick Kelly, the district's chief academic officer, gave the board an update on plans to ...
The Lawrence school board on Tuesday is slated to hear a report on the possible reconfiguration of Liberty Memorial Central Middle School into more of a magnet school model — possibly one based on a STEAM curriculum, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics.
The board voted in February to repurpose the school beginning in the 2024-2025 school year with a to-be determined ...
A 38-year-old Perry man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder in connection with an alleged shooting that took place early Sunday morning in an industrial park in northern Lawrence.
The alleged incident is believed to be linked to an attempted-murder case from 2022, according to information obtained by the Journal-World from the Lawrence Police Department.
In an email to the ...
The Lawrence school district has purchased a new system that uses artificial intelligence to look for warning signs of "concerning behavior" in the things students type, send and search for on their district-issued computers and other such devices.
The purchase of the software system, called Gaggle, comes at a time when questions are growing about how artificial intelligence will affect people’s privacy. But ...
At a forum Saturday, nine candidates for the Lawrence school board told members of a staff union that raising wages would be a priority for them, and some of them said they knew firsthand the difference a raise can make for low-income workers.
The forum at the Lawrence Public Library, which was organized by the PAL-CWA staff union, was attended by nine of the 11 candidates for the school board elections: ...
Over the 2022 fiscal year, Douglas County's cash reserves got a boost because the county took in nearly $12 million more than it spent, according to a financial statement that auditors presented at the County Commission's meeting on Wednesday.
Douglas County's audit report from Allen, Gibbs & Houlik L.C. for fiscal year 2022 shows that the county began that fiscal year with $115.373 million in unencumbered ...
Douglas County commissioners have budgeted millions of dollars for Lawrence’s supportive housing needs, but a report they commissioned from a housing nonprofit says the agencies receiving that money often are unclear on what supportive housing really entails.
"Supportive housing" typically refers to specialized housing designed to help people exiting homelessness, or others who have particular challenges in ...
Douglas County commissioners are expected to decide on a pair of planning and development items at their business meeting on Wednesday evening.
One of the items being considered is a site plan for a contractor’s shop/yard located at 1749 East 1500 Road. According to a memo from the county's Planning Department, the property lies within the Lawrence airport's airspace overlay boundary and is subject to ...
A woman was taken into custody after a chaotic scene unfolded in a busy section of south Lawrence on Saturday evening.
Just before 6 p.m., Lawrence police officers responded to reports of an individual who appeared to be waving a firearm at 2727 Iowa St., a shopping center that includes Dick's Sporting Goods, Ulta Beauty and other businesses, according to a Facebook post by Lawrence Police Department ...
Over the summer, several young people from the Lawrence area got to explore parts of America they'd never been to before — and learn that American politics and culture might not be as polarized and divided as they once thought.
They were participating in the American Exchange Project, a nonprofit program that was available to students in the Lawrence area for the first time this summer. The program sends ...
When people who have firsthand experience with homelessness, criminal justice issues and more share their perspectives with Douglas County's advisory boards, they could soon get paid $25 or $50 per meeting by the county for their input.
That's according to a new policy that county commissioners unanimously approved at their meeting on Wednesday. The policy spells out guidelines for compensating people with ...
For the second time in recent weeks, Douglas County commissioners will consider participating in a tax incentives measure for the establishment of a Neighborhood Revitalization Area in downtown Lawrence.
At Wednesday’s County Commission meeting, commissioners will hear a proposal for local developer Tony Krsnich’s New Hampshire Street Lofts project. If approved, the incentives sought by Krsnich will yield ...
The Lawrence school board on Monday officially adopted a budget that increases the local property tax rate, while also providing approximately $6.6 million in raises for staff.
As part of its agenda Monday, the board held its public budget hearing and unanimously adopted a resolution to exceed the revenue neutral rate. Its 2023-24 operating budget, which includes $242.73 in total expenditures — a roughly ...
Two passengers involved in a single-vehicle rollover accident in eastern Douglas County were taken to Overland Park Regional Medical Center by ambulance on Saturday.
Around 5:45 p.m., a 19-year-old Arizona man driving a 2009 Honda Civic with three passengers rolled his vehicle in the 1800 block of North 1100 Road, according to George Diepenbrock, spokesperson with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.
Two ...
A three-car accident Saturday afternoon on Kansas Highway 10 sent four people to area hospitals, according to George Diepenbrock, spokesperson with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.
Around 4:45 p.m., a 2021 Subaru Ascent traveling westbound on K-10 near Clinton Parkway crossed over the center line, striking an eastbound 2017 Honda Pilot. A third vehicle, a 2018 Honda CRV, rear-ended the Pilot, after which ...
A new program designed to provide thousands of dollars in start-up or expansion funding to minority business owners in Douglas County has drawn some skepticism from Douglas County commissioners.
But inside the Lawrence chamber of commerce, the fledgling program is producing a different type of emotion — passion.
"This has been my passion since I started at the Chamber, and bringing that to fruition has ...
A monthslong process entailing school closures, staffing reductions, and contract negotiations for certified and classified personnel is expected to culminate with the adoption of the 2023-24 budget at Monday night's Lawrence school board meeting.
As part of its agenda, the board is slated to hold its budget hearing, adopt budget resolutions, as well as vote on whether to adopt a resolution to exceed the ...
Recounting his journey from Lansing Correctional Facility to mayor of Leavenworth, Jermaine Wilson's message to attendees of Saturday's Recovery Walk at South Park was to never allow your past to define you.
"Learn from your past, but don't live in it," Wilson said, telling the Journal-World that his words of encouragement were well-received. "People told me the speech was very inspiring and gave them hope to ...
To help Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center acquire the land for its new supportive housing complex — and keep it on track to open in 2025 — Douglas County will give the agency more than $400,000 of its funding for 2024 a few months early.
On Wednesday, county commissioners voted unanimously to release $427,000 of Bert Nash's multimillion-dollar funding allocation for 2024 so it can close on the ...
