WRITER: Kim Callahan

Lawrence school board approves development incentives for Turnhalle building, following unanimous lead of city and county

The Lawrence school board on Monday unanimously agreed to grant development incentives for a project to help convert the historic Turnhalle building into an event space and restaurant — incentives that have already been approved by the city and county commissions. Before the board voted 7-0 to grant a 15-year, 70% Neighborhood Revitalization Area tax rebate, Patrick Watkins, the attorney for developer ...

Mardi Gras revelers make their merry way down Massachusetts Street

Revelers paraded through sunny downtown Lawrence Tuesday to celebrate Mardi Gras, the traditional last hurrah before the Lenten season begins. Dozens of colorfully dressed people, many playing horns, drums or other instruments, gleefully danced down Massachusetts Street, stopping in at various businesses to play a few New Orleans-style tunes before making their way north again. Tuesday’s unseasonably ...

City of Lawrence says tents have been allowed to remain on levee slope 3 weeks after deadline to prevent further damage to ground cover

More than three weeks after the city's deadline for campers near the Kansas River in North Lawrence to move their belongings off the levee slope, campers remain at the site, despite engineers having said that their presence was damaging the levee in violation of federal guidelines. In late December, the city determined that campsites and trash on the slope must be removed to protect the integrity of the levee, ...

That 10-foot ice creature in North Lawrence is not an Abominable Buddha; it's an Intergalactic DJ

While severe weather advisories earlier this month had most of us stocking up on groceries and hunkering down indoors, a North Lawrence artist was eager to be outside doing one of his favorite things: creating an enormous ice sculpture in his front yard. For Craig Cochran, the sculpting is a yearly project, depending on the weather, which has to be just right — and this year it was perfect: a heavy, wet ...

Preliminary hearing set for March for former KU basketball player charged with rape

A late winter preliminary hearing date was set on Wednesday for a former University of Kansas basketball player who has been charged with rape. Arterio Demetrius Morris, 20, of Dallas, faces one felony count of rape in connection with an incident on Aug. 28, 2023, involving an 18-year-old woman at the KU basketball players' dormitory, McCarthy Hall, as the Journal-World reported. Morris was originally ...

Man charged with murdering resident at grocery store and stabbing dog is again declared incompetent to stand trial

A man accused of murdering a Lawrence resident outside a grocery store and stabbing his dog two years ago has once again been declared incompetent to stand trial. The defendant, Robert Earl Davis, 56, of Lawrence, faces one count of first-degree murder and one felony count of cruelty to animals. Davis is accused of stabbing 66-year-old Daniel Evan Brooks to death in the parking lot of the Dillons grocery store ...