WRITER: Josie Heimsoth

Douglas County commissioners had several questions about additional funding requests from Bert Nash totaling over $2.3 million

Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center is seeking over $2.3 million in additional funding from Douglas County to maintain current service levels through 2026, but county commissioners raised several questions about the requests. Bert Nash has faced financial difficulties in 2025 and is currently projected to end the year with a loss of approximately $2.1 million. A couple of weeks ago, former CEO Patrick ...

Bringing a soldier’s story home: Bishop Seabury student-teacher team honors local WWII veteran in Normandy

When Benjamin Patterson stood at the grave of a 23-year-old World War II combat engineer from North Lawrence, he didn’t just see a name etched in white marble — he saw a life he had spent months uncovering. Since January, Patterson, a rising senior, and Sonja Czarnecki, a social studies teacher at Bishop Seabury Academy, have been researching World War II veteran Carl Spitzer, and their research culminated ...

Douglas County to begin 2026 budget hearings next week; multiple departments to make requests for additional funds

Douglas County commissioners will begin their budget hearings for the 2026 budget next week, reviewing dozens of additional funding requests from local agencies and departments. County staff is proposing a $191.4 million budget for 2026 that holds the property tax rate flat at 41.298 mills — one mill is one dollar per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value. A homeowner with a $600,000 property would pay ...

In report on rural fire district's operations, consultant urges Douglas County leaders to increase full-time staffing

In a fire, when minutes matter, help in some parts of Douglas County may depend on whether a volunteer firefighter is available when you call 911. That's because Consolidated Fire District #1, which serves much of rural Douglas County, relies heavily on its volunteer force, and a new report on the fire district that county commissioners reviewed on Wednesday is urging hiring more staff to ensure the department ...

Douglas County to review a plan of action for tackling poverty in the county, primarily focused on supporting single mothers

Douglas County commissioners at their weekly meeting will be briefed on multi-year strategies to combat poverty in the county, with a particular focus on supporting low-income single mothers. On Wednesday, county commissioners will hear a presentation about the anti-poverty focus area of the Community Health Improvement Plan – which is a strategic plan for the health and well-being of a community. The health ...

Humane society, pig rescue offer highway 'jumper' a web of support

After tumbling off a truck on the highway, a young pig was rescued and is now on the road to recovery thanks to a dedicated network of rescuers and caregivers. Gilbert — the pig who was rescued by someone driving close behind the truck and witnessed the fall — is known as a "jumper," or a pig that leaps or falls from transport trucks, typically while being moved from a breeding facility to a slaughterhouse. ...