WRITER: Bremen Keasey

Annual Taste of Lawrence honors teachers, promotes local businesses with expanded offerings

Taste of Lawrence returns Thursday, with a wider array of vendors and businesses attending the event than ever before. The Taste of Lawrence event has gone on for over 40 years, said Jared Martin, the director of events for the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce which hosts the event, and its goal was to showcase local food and beverage operations while honoring educators in the city. “It’s a way for people to ...

KU's Spencer Museum of Art to host screening at Kansas Union of documentary about returning a sacred red rock to the Kaw Nation

A documentary about the rematriation of a sacred red rock from a park in downtown Lawrence to Indigenous land will be screened at the University of Kansas on Saturday, with hopes the showing keeps the story alive. The Spencer Museum of Art will host a free screening of the documentary “Return of the Sacred Red Rock” on Nov. 8 at the Woodruff Auditorium at the Kansas Union, 1301 Jayhawk Blvd. The documentary ...

Lawrence commissioners approve plan for new loft development, refurbishing projects for Kansas River Water Treatment Plant

As Lawrence voters went to the polls on Election Day, the City Commission approved a few items as part of its consent agenda during a short meeting Tuesday night. The agenda for the meeting featured no items beyond a vote on the consent agenda — a group of items normally considered routine that can be approved in a single vote. One of the items passed in that agenda with a 4-0 vote — Commissioner Amber ...

As federal cuts threaten humanities funding, Watkins Museum leader hopes the county and community will support historic sites

This month, the Watkins Museum of History is celebrating its 50th year, but it comes at a time when federal changes threaten its very existence. Changes from the federal government have upended the museum’s operations. Steve Nowak, the museum’s executive director, said the museum has seen a drop in funds from federal sources of nearly 10%. At the same time, federal grant criteria have changed to be more ...

As SNAP users deal with federal uncertainty, Lawrence Farmers Market continuing program to help participants purchase proteins

As the federal shutdown threatened the largest food assistance programs in the country, local donors stepped up to save one local effort for at least several more weeks, leaders of the Lawrence Farmers Market said. Claire Wineman, the market manager for the Lawrence Farmers Market, said the market was able to raise funding from the “generous community” to support its “Double Up Protein Bucks” program ...

Douglas County health officials say WIC can operate as usual amid funding threats in shutdown

While the threat of federal food benefits halting for nearly 190,000 Kansans could become a reality on Saturday, Douglas County health officials say there's a similar program that supports women and young children that will be able to operate as usual for now. The federal government shutdown, which began Oct. 1, could cause the funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to dry up on ...