WRITER: Bremen Keasey

New downtown Lawrence bar and restaurant will showcase 'natural' wine, ever-changing menu

Even as life took him away from Lawrence, Jake Moffitt always had an aim for what his life would look like when he came back. “I always had a dream to move back and open a restaurant, but it wasn't clear what it was,” Moffitt said. Moffitt went to college at KU and met his wife, Elizabeth, there, but they then moved to the Pacific Northwest in 2015 so she could attend graduate school. Moffitt worked as a ...

Man sentenced to 21 months after fiery motorcycle crash in North Lawrence severely injured woman

A man who crashed a motorcycle while fleeing from police, seriously injuring his female passenger, was sentenced Friday to 21 months in prison. Dillon Paul Herken, of Easton, pleaded no contest to one count of aggravated battery in September as part of a deal in which four other charges were dropped. The high-speed crash occurred on Feb. 27 in North Lawrence as Herken fled from a Kansas Highway Patrol ...

Lawrence city commissioners get a 'peek behind the scenes' on how staff makes infrastructure decisions

One thing Lawrence City Manager Craig Owens wrote down in his notes several years ago, during his first 100 days on the job, was that the city's "infrastructure needs a lot of love." He told the Lawrence City Commission that on Tuesday night before city staff and financial advisers from Baker Tilly gave an overview of how the city decides which parts of its infrastructure need that love — and how the debt ...

Free State senior helps save choking woman with skills learned at Teen Police Academy

For Adrian Mendoza, a regular Thursday of work became a life-altering day — and not just for him. The senior at Free State High School was working as a kitchen server at Pioneer Ridge Assisted Living of Lawrence and was handing out desserts when he heard a woman gasping for air. As he surveyed the scene, which included someone attempting to help the choking woman, he stepped in. After a few thrusts of the ...

As Lawrence searches for a new economic development director, interim leader says it's 'a really exciting time' for growth

It's been a year of big developments for the City of Lawrence's economic development department, in more ways than one. There have been the actual development projects, of course — like the massive Gateway project around the University of Kansas' football stadium and redevelopment efforts at several long-vacant downtown sites. But Assistant City Manager Brandon McGuire says there are also important ...

A lot with a few storage sheds on 645 Locust St. in North Lawrence. The Planning Commission approved a recommendation to rezone the lot as part of a proposed development of a three-story mixed-use building on the site.

City Commission to consider rezoning request for proposed mixed-use development in North Lawrence

Lawrence city commissioners will consider a rezoning request Tuesday night that could pave the way for a new mixed-use development proposed in North Lawrence. The commission will consider a rezoning request of 1.12 acres of land at 623 and 645 Locust St. that would shift the site from an M-3 mixed-use district to an M-2 mixed-use district. That would facilitate the development of a mixed-use building that ...