WRITER: Kim Callahan

The State of Kansas does not want to compensate a woman who was imprisoned for murder; the prosecution's own expert said the baby died from natural causes

Updated at 4:45 p.m. Thursday, May 4 The State of Kansas is asking that a Lawrence woman’s request for compensation for wrongful conviction and imprisonment be denied — even after an expert for the prosecution determined that the child the woman was accused of killing had died not from homicide but from natural causes. The woman, Carrody Buchhorn, is seeking — pursuant to state law — nearly $400,000 ...

'We have to do something': Lawrence attorney hoping to assemble team to keep anti-trans laws from taking effect in Kansas

A new law targeting transgender Kansans is set to go into effect on July 1, and Lawrence attorney David Brown — calling it dangerous, cruel and ignorant — is determined to do everything in his power to stop it. The law, often referred to as the bathroom bill — a misnomer, Brown said, because it restricts so much more than restroom use — requires that when a regulation applies distinguishing men’s and ...

City says new safety measures to be in force at North Lawrence camp for people experiencing homelessness

Updated at 3:45 p.m. Monday, April 24 City of Lawrence leaders have begun informing community members staying at the city-sanctioned support site for those experiencing homelessness that a new safety measure — which includes a strictly enforced no-visitors policy and a signed agreement — will take effect Monday. The new measure is designed around nationally recognized best practices and came about after ...

In 'Silent Sky,' Theatre Lawrence gives overlooked astronomer her due

Miranda Klugesherz, the star of Theatre Lawrence’s “Silent Sky,” expects that audience members will walk away from the show “feeling not just happy but having learned something.” And that, she said, is “the best kind of theater.” Klugesherz herself certainly learned a lot playing the role of Henrietta Leavitt, who made one of the greatest breakthroughs in science at a time when women were largely ...

In wake of transgender sports ban, Lawrence PFLAG president decries 'barrage of hateful legislation' against LGBTQ community

Janis Guyot had to turn off a legislative hearing she had been listening to Wednesday because, as with many recent hearings targeting transgender people, “the hatefulness and ignorance” were too much to bear. “It made me sick to my stomach,” she said of the hearing that ultimately led to a ban on transgender girls participating in sports in Kansas. But that moment of revulsion and others like it will ...

Prairie Park Nature Center hosting 2 European ferrets used in cloning program to save endangered species

Story updated at 4:27 p.m. Thursday, March 30: Two European ferrets who “retired” to Lawrence last week have already begun a thriving second career: as teachers. “They’ve already done their first program,” said Marty Birrell, the nature education supervisor at Prairie Park Nature Center, referring to an educational event starring the slinky weasels, Lizzie and Annie, who are now under her care. The ...