WRITER: Matt Resnick

Lawrence school board increases substitute pay to stay competitive with surrounding districts

Calling it a "huge investment" in the district's teaching staff, Lawrence Superintendent Anthony Lewis lauded a second round of pay increases for substitute teachers during Monday night's school board meeting. The daily pay for substitute teachers working at least six hours jumped from $105 to $115 in August, and it will increase to $135 beginning with the spring semester. The daily pay for long-term ...

Festival of Trees fundraiser kicks off this week with plenty of Christmas cheer

Organizers of the annual Festival of Trees benefit were busy this week transforming a downtown venue into a Christmas wonderland. The festival, at Maceli's Banquet Hall and Catering, 1031 New Hampshire St., is the primary fundraising event for the O’Connell Children’s Shelter, a local residential facility for at-risk kids. Gina Meier-Hummel, the shelter's executive director, calls the festival, now in ...

Canvass shows that Douglas County's general election turnout was slightly higher than 2021 off-year election

Election officials on Monday finalized the results of this month's local elections, and found that voter turnout was a bit higher than once thought. The canvass of Douglas County's general election Monday morning showed that 26.1% of the county's more than 79,000 registered voters cast ballots in the Nov. 7 election. Voter turnout was roughly 4% higher than in the off-year city-school election in 2021, but ...

Wild Foods Cook Off blends unique recipes with sustainability efforts

Carp, urban squirrel and other wild and invasive species were among the main ingredients showcased at Sunday's inaugural Wild Foods Cook Off at Baker University Wetlands Discovery Center. "We have a lot of innovative hunters, anglers, and foragers in Kansas and Missouri that are looking for opportunities to showcase what they do," said Amy Bousman, Kansas City-area education specialist for the Kansas ...

Eudora woman allegedly leads authorities on winding pursuit in stolen vehicle

A 30-year-old Eudora woman was apprehended after allegedly leading authorities on a lengthy pursuit in a stolen vehicle Saturday night. According to a Facebook post by the Lawrence Police Department on Sunday, an emergency call was made about 10:15 p.m. alerting authorities that a car was driving in the wrong direction and without headlights on Bob Billings Parkway near Kasold Drive and had almost struck the ...

Lawrence public schools in wait-and-see approach on proposed reform to background checks

Updated at 11:06 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 16 Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach recently endorsed a report from the state's Medicaid inspector general that could serve as a basis for increased scrutiny into the backgrounds of Kansas public school employees. Kobach said on Nov. 1 that he wanted a law passed mandating that all public school employees undergo fingerprint-based criminal background checks on a ...