WRITER: Bremen Keasey

Lawrence Public Library working to develop facilities master plan with aim to equitably serve community

The Lawrence Public Library is seeking proposals for work to develop a comprehensive facilities master plan, with the library’s director hoping it can guide the library to serve the public more equitably. Brad Allen, the Lawrence Public Library’s executive director, presented a request-for-proposals document to the library’s Board of Trustees during its regular meeting this month. The library requests ...

Lawrence artist honors the generations of women who taught her to 'try the scary things' and follow her dreams

The future for Allie Martinez once looked as simple as painting by numbers. In early 2020, she was named Lawrence’s Youth of the Year by the local Boys and Girls Club, she was applying to prestigious art schools around the country, and she got accepted to one of the most famous, the Art Institute of Chicago. Then the COVID pandemic hit, and suddenly, instead of going to art school, she was taking a gap year, ...

Just Food leaders thankful for Douglas County community's donations of over $20K as federal uncertainty impacts food pantry

Leaders at Just Food appreciate the Douglas County community for stepping up and providing more than $20,000 in donations after the food pantry announced that it would receive around 30% less food from a federal program. Earlier in April as the Journal-World reported, the pantry said in a news release that due to federal cuts, it would receive 30% less food through The Emergency Food Assistance Program, or ...

Lawrence organizers hosting 'Campus Walk' at Rotary Arboretum Saturday to support suicide prevention efforts

Local organizers are hosting a walk on Saturday morning in Lawrence to support the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) in its mission to save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide. The Lawrence Area Campus Walk will take place Saturday, April 26, at 11 a.m. at the Lawrence Rotary Arboretum as part of a nationwide effort called Out of the Darkness Campus Walks. Heather Fiore, a local ...

Lawrence Regional Airport awarded more than $600,000 grant from state; it will help keep airport in 'tip-top shape' before World Cup

The Lawrence Regional Airport has been chosen to receive more than $600,000 from the state to improve a runway, and the airport’s manager says it will help ensure the airport is in “tip-top shape” ahead of the World Cup in 2026. In a press release Thursday, Gov. Laura Kelly announced $14.5 million in grants for 47 Kansas airports through the Kansas Airport Improvement Program. Lawrence will receive ...

At ribbon cutting for air quality monitoring station, Haskell and EPA officials celebrate their partnership

Dozens of Haskell Indian Nations University community members joined EPA officials on Wednesday at a ribbon-cutting for a device that will monitor air quality on campus and provide more opportunities for students to do hands-on environmental research. The ceremony was to celebrate an air monitor for the Clean Air Status and Trends Network, or CASTNET. Though the ribbon-cutting was on Wednesday, the monitor has ...