WRITER: Josie Heimsoth

Federal judge finds Lawrence school district violated open records law in student lawsuit regarding Gaggle

A federal judge ruled in a Gaggle surveillance case filed by students that the Lawrence school district violated the Kansas Open Records Act by failing to respond to student requests, and now, the district must comply. On Oct. 30, 2025, students filed Kansas Open Records Act requests with the district seeking records related to its switch from Gaggle to ManagedMethods. The district, while initially ...

Douglas County commissioners approve changes to employee health care plan to address increasing health care costs

Douglas County commissioners approved changes to the county’s employee health care plan on Wednesday in order to keep the plan financially stable for the rest of the year. As the Journal-World reported, in 2025, health care costs had exceeded the budget by $300,000, and current projections show that spending is continuing to rise. These increases are largely due to a significant increase in high-cost medical ...

Douglas County commissioners to consider employee health care plan changes as costs expected to increase

Douglas County commissioners will make changes to the county’s employee health care plan on Wednesday as costs are projected to rise 14% next year. The county’s new employee health care plan would start on June 1, 2026. From 2019 through 2025, the plan has performed well, often costing less than expected and has helped build up a strong fund balance, a memo in the agenda said. However, that trend has ...

Crews extinguish small fire at Pinnacle Woods Apartments; nobody injured

Crews extinguished an apartment fire in one of the two buildings at Pinnacle Woods Apartments on Monday afternoon, and nobody was injured, first responders told the Journal-World. Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical responded to the fire just after 1:30 p.m. on Monday, and crews were on the scene for more than two hours. James Barkley, a captain with LDCFM, told the Journal-World that there was a small fire in ...

Kansas lawmakers advance bill to develop rules for treated wastewater used for drinking; Lawrence currently not planning reuse project

While Kansas lawmakers are advancing a bill that will develop rules for reusing treated wastewater as drinking water, the city of Lawrence isn’t currently exploring changes to where its drinking water comes from, a city official told the Journal-World. House Bill 2462 is a water policy bill that requires the state to develop rules allowing wastewater to be reused as drinking water after going through ...

Lawrence housing market strains residents as development fails to keep up, city's affordable housing study finds

A new Lawrence Affordable Housing Study finds that over half of renters and many homebuyers cannot afford current prices, as housing construction lags well below pre-pandemic levels. The city has been working on a new Affordable Housing Study to update its understanding of the local housing market and affordability needs, particularly in light of how conditions have changed since the last major analysis in ...