WRITER: Sylas May

Lawrence stone carver's story will be one of many new exhibits at revamped Kansas Museum of History in Topeka

When the Kansas Museum of History in Topeka opens its new galleries on Saturday, Lawrence stone carver Karl Ramberg is excited to see some of his own history on display – well-worn mallets used by him and two of his mentors. “I donated the one that my teacher, Elden Tefft, gave me, but also the one that his teacher, Bernard ‘Poco’ Frazier, Frazier’s family had given me,” he said of his recent ...

'The need has definitely always been there': Teen gardeners look back on a busy year of helping feed the community

A crew of teen gardeners in Lawrence have just wrapped up a growing season full of hard work – a season their boss told them might be one of the most important they’ve ever had. University of Kansas student Elinor Russo and Free State High School students Annah Steele, Felix Mueller, Anders Benson and Ellen Hanrath have been working at Growing Food Growing Health, a youth project that tends gardens at West ...

On Transgender Day of Remembrance, community members read names, tell stories and ensure 'no one remains a statistic'

When the list of names is read out each year on Transgender Day of Remembrance, there’s a question that Ruby Mae Johnson struggles with. “Who will I know next year?” This year, at Thursday’s Transgender Day of Remembrance observance at the Ecumenical Campus Ministries building, Johnson had to read the name of someone many people in Lawrence knew. “Louise ImMasche, age 41, died October 24, 2025, in ...

Advisory board to consider designs for historic markers for men killed in confrontations with Lawrence police in 1970

A yearslong process to design historic markers for two young men who were killed in confrontations with police during a period of unrest in Lawrence in 1970 is now nearing the finish line. At its meeting Thursday evening, the city's Historic Resources Commission will consider recommending designs for markers for the killings of Rick “Tiger” Dowdell and Harry Nicholas “Nick” Rice. Dowdell and Rice were ...

At hearing in suit over Kansas' gender-affirming care ban for minors, experts talk about treatments — and what happens when they stop

One child struggling with gender dysphoria was "slicing his arms and showering in the dark" before getting treatment, Dr. Angela Turpin said. Another "could not make eye contact with anyone" and constantly apologized. But that all changed when they received gender-affirming care, Turpin, of the Gender Pathways clinic with Children's Mercy Hospital, testified Wednesday in Douglas County District Court. They ...

This winter, the city's cold-weather emergency shelter services will all go through the Lawrence Community Shelter

The City of Lawrence won't partner with churches and other community sites for walk-in winter shelter this year, but it expects that newly added capacity at the Lawrence Community Shelter will be enough to handle demand. On Tuesday, the city released more details about its winter emergency shelter plan in a news release, and it said that all inclement weather sheltering services will go through the Lawrence ...