Lawrence’s audit and financials for 2025 are in, and this time, auditors flagged problems related to grants at Lawrence Regional Airport and to the city’s accounting software. The audit, prepared by auditing firm RSM, was released to the public this week and is scheduled to be discussed at the City Commission meeting next Tuesday. Unlike the 2024 audit, the 2025 audit found what auditors call “material ...
When he saw a YouTube video about teachers behaving inappropriately around students, a teen boy testified Thursday in Douglas County District Court, it made him think about a school district employee he knew. The employee, he testified, had talked with him about porn, masturbation and sex – things the YouTube creator warned about. He testified that the man had given him rides home late at night, stroked his ...
Last week, an anonymous YouTube video about Lawrence’s and Douglas County’s homeless plan sparked a tense conversation at a community meeting. And this week, it sparked another one at City Hall, with one city commissioner calling it “a grossly dishonest narrative” and urging her peers to denounce it. The video, called “Douglas County Fails Homeless Accountability,” was shown at the start of a ...
At City Manager Majed Al-Ghafry’s first City Commission meeting on Tuesday, Vice Mayor Mike Courtney called on the community “to provide him a warm Kansas welcome.” And Al-Ghafry said he’s already felt that in his first days on the job. “I will tell you, I’ve absolutely been welcomed in this incredible city,” Al-Ghafry said. “... Love the place, love the organization, love the community. I ...
Lawrence city leaders on Tuesday approved a nearly $1 million final design contract for the city’s new fire station, and they’re interested in hearing more about how the project might affect stormwater drainage nearby. The commission voted 4-0, with Mayor Brad Finkeldei absent, in favor of the $951,502 agreement with SFS Architecture Inc. for the final design of Fire Station 6 in northwest Lawrence. Steven ...
There have now been 100 successful graduates of Douglas County’s Behavioral Health Court, and the latest one, Alex Cowdin, has some advice to keep that number growing. “This program’s really awesome,” Cowdin told the other court participants at his final hearing on Tuesday. “If you really just take advantage of it and take what is offered you, you’ll go really far.” After dozens of hearings and ...