WRITER: Kim Callahan

Lawrence nurse didn't win 'The Floor,' but she came darn close and got to see a wee bit of Ireland

Nicole Parker didn't win Season 4 of "The Floor," but she made it to the finale, got to spend a week in Ireland, made a slew of new friends and drank some Guinness in Dublin. "Oh my goodness, it's way better in Ireland," she said of the iconic brown brew. She liked the food too. "There was just a lot of potatoes," she said — not a drawback necessarily, but something you definitely notice, like the ...

'A deeply personal weight': Afghan KU alumnus sounds Taps for slain National Guard soldier

When National Guard Soldier Sarah Beckstrom died on Thanksgiving, the day after being shot in Washington, D.C., KU graduate Baset Azizi spent a sleepless night wondering what he could do to ease the pain "even just a little" — of Beckstrom's grieving family, of her military brethren and of thousands of Afghan immigrants in the United States who shared a national identity with the alleged shooter. "My heart ...

Man accused of raping 14-year-old hoping to reach agreement with state, wants off house arrest

A Topeka man facing two rape counts in Douglas County District Court was set for a preliminary hearing Friday but instead told the court that the parties were contemplating a resolution short of trial. Senior Assistant District Attorney Ricardo Leal told Judge Sally Pokorny that the state would be filing an amended complaint against Tyler Patterson, but he did not indicate what the new complaint would say or ...

The DA's office says prison is the best place for repeat offender; his attorney says the Marine Corps is

The state wants him to go to prison, but the defense says he should go to the U.S. Marine Corps instead. The fate of 21-year-old Joshua Mayo — prison or probation — will soon be decided by Judge Stacey Donovan, who recently convicted Mayo of felony criminal threat and misdemeanor criminal damage to property and a second DUI. Donovan was set to sentence him on Wednesday, but delayed doing so until until Dec. ...

Judge orders speech pathologist accused of sex crimes against students to stand trial on all counts; kidnapping charges remain

A speech pathologist accused of molesting multiple students at a Lawrence elementary school last winter has been ordered to stand trial on 14 felony counts. Douglas County Judge Amy Hanley, following a two-day preliminary hearing in October, ruled Thursday that probable cause existed for the state's case against Mark Gridley to proceed. Hanley also found that the seven kidnapping charges did not "merge" with ...

Douglas County jury finds man not guilty in domestic battery case; acquittal is at least 7th for DA's office in recent months

A Douglas County jury on Wednesday found a man not guilty in a domestic battery case. The acquittal was the second for the Douglas County District Attorney's Office in a single day — a separate jury on Wednesday acquitted a teen of aggravated assault with a handgun — and at least the seventh acquittal in recent months. A jury of eight women and four men found Joshua Clary, 41, not guilty of one count of ...