Contributed photo
Deerfield Elementary teacher earns Dedication to Education award
Melissa Clover, a fourth grade teacher at Deerfield Elementary School, was surprised Monday with an award for her dedication to student success.
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
Lawrence city commissioners to discuss rec center access fees; vice mayor proposes new plan
Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday will revisit the access fees the city is planning to charge people to use rec centers. A new commissioner has a proposal to patch a budget deficit that staff members say would result without fee revenue.
Kaw Valley Almanac for Dec. 15-21, 2025
This time of year is a great time to lie down in some tallgrass prairie remnant on a sunny day, and it will shield you from the wind and insulate you from the cold ground. See what you see in the deep, blue winter solstice sky.
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
Champions of Lawrence arts celebrated at 25th Phoenix Awards
More supportive spaces for Native American youth to grow in the arts and entrepreneurship are always needed, said Rachael Lackey, one of six Phoenix Award recipients recognized Sunday for their contributions to Lawrence arts.
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
Community-building on display at Winter Inclusive Market in Lawrence
Jesse and Linda Hunter carry a legacy of their family’s barbecue business through their homemade sauces. Jesse & Linny’s BBQ Sauce was one of around 100 vendors at the Winter Inclusive Market, which reopens Sunday.
Kaw Valley Almanac for Dec. 15-21, 2025
This time of year is a great time to lie down in some tallgrass prairie remnant on a sunny day, and it will shield you from the wind and insulate you from the cold ground. See what you see in the deep, blue winter solstice sky.
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
Champions of Lawrence arts celebrated at 25th Phoenix Awards
More supportive spaces for Native American youth to grow in the arts and entrepreneurship are always needed, said Rachael Lackey, one of six Phoenix Award recipients recognized Sunday for their contributions to Lawrence arts.
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
Community-building on display at Winter Inclusive Market in Lawrence
Jesse and Linda Hunter carry a legacy of their family’s barbecue business through their homemade sauces. Jesse & Linny’s BBQ Sauce was one of around 100 vendors at the Winter Inclusive Market, which reopens Sunday.
Kaw Valley Almanac for Dec. 15-21, 2025
This time of year is a great time to lie down in some tallgrass prairie remnant on a sunny day, and it will shield you from the wind and insulate you from the cold ground. See what you see in the deep, blue winter solstice sky.
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
Champions of Lawrence arts celebrated at 25th Phoenix Awards
More supportive spaces for Native American youth to grow in the arts and entrepreneurship are always needed, said Rachael Lackey, one of six Phoenix Award recipients recognized Sunday for their contributions to Lawrence arts.
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
Community-building on display at Winter Inclusive Market in Lawrence
Jesse and Linda Hunter carry a legacy of their family’s barbecue business through their homemade sauces. Jesse & Linny’s BBQ Sauce was one of around 100 vendors at the Winter Inclusive Market, which reopens Sunday.
LAWRENCE NEWS
Lawrence advisory boards will reevaluate city’s goal to achieve fully renewable energy usage
Members of two Lawrence advisory boards will soon put their heads together to evaluate whether the city’s renewable energy goals are realistic, and how they line up with overarching sustainability plans for the county.
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
Lawrence school board to meet for midyear evaluation of superintendent
The Lawrence school board has called a special meeting to complete a midyear evaluation of Superintendent Jeanice Swift.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Tennessee Street to reopen in Old West Lawrence; Iowa Street to get finishing touches
Although some major construction projects in Lawrence are ongoing and will be for months to come, two key streets are close to reopening.
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health launches new board for suicide prevention
Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health has implemented a new private board that reviews local suicides to inform prevention strategies.
MORE …
STATE NEWS
Johnson County officers kill a stabbing suspect at Panasonic plant. Here’s what we know
The Panasonic plant in De Soto shut down after officers shot a person suspected of stabbing another. The suspect is dead, and the stabbing victim was transported to the hospital in critical condition.
Prairie Band Potawatomi intends to ditch $30M ICE contract, chairman announces
The Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribe’s chairman compared immigrant detention to Indian reservations in an online video address Friday, and declared the tribe’s intention to jettison a recently secured contract to design detention centers.
MORE …
COMMUNITY VOICES (OPINION)
Tom Harper: La Prima Tazza celebrating 35 years serving Lawrence (Column)
For 35 years, La Prima Tazza has functioned as a coffee shop, community gathering place and a “little tugboat” helping Liberty Hall move forward in the turbulent waters of Massachusetts Street, Tom Harper writes in this column.
Holly Krebs: How will Lawrence’s utility rate increases affect your household? Here are the numbers (Column)
“The Lawrence City Commission has increased the city utility rates each of the last five years and are planning substantial increases for the next three years, too,” Holly Krebs writes in this column.
MORE …
LAWRENCE LIFE
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
KU student art sale to offer creative gifts in an abundance of art forms
It’s hard to say what forms of art won’t be available at an upcoming KU student art sale, which will offer a comprehensive array of goodies for winter and holiday shoppers.
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
Winter Inclusive Market to return this weekend; Phoenix Awards set for Sunday
Lawrence’s third annual Winter Inclusive Market is coming up this weekend, and on Sunday it will feature the Phoenix Awards ceremony, honoring six local artists.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Lawrence Holiday Farmers Market coming up; SNAP tokens available
The Lawrence Holiday Farmers Market will return Saturday, and this year, the market is offering anyone in need a hand up through Double Up Protein Bucks.
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
KU student art sale to offer creative gifts in an abundance of art forms
It’s hard to say what forms of art won’t be available at an upcoming KU student art sale, which will offer a comprehensive array of goodies for winter and holiday shoppers.
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
Winter Inclusive Market to return this weekend; Phoenix Awards set for Sunday
Lawrence’s third annual Winter Inclusive Market is coming up this weekend, and on Sunday it will feature the Phoenix Awards ceremony, honoring six local artists.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Lawrence Holiday Farmers Market coming up; SNAP tokens available
The Lawrence Holiday Farmers Market will return Saturday, and this year, the market is offering anyone in need a hand up through Double Up Protein Bucks.
MORE …
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT …
Court document details evidence allegedly found in fatal hit-and-run north of Lawrence
Investigators found fibers in a truck’s broken headlight that appear consistent with the shirt a Lawrence runner was wearing when she was struck and killed by a driver who fled the scene last month, according to law enforcement documents.
Lawrence City Commission rejects Alvamar apartment complex plan
The Lawrence City Commission on Tuesday voted 4-1 to reject a preliminary plan for a 200-unit apartment complex in west Lawrence’s Alvamar neighborhood.
Tom Harper/Lawrence Times
Lawrence city commissioners approve high-density zoning in Oread neighborhood
Lawrence city commissioners have approved a request to rezone property near KU’s campus for developers to build the densest housing allowed in the city.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Advocates’ draft ordinance aims to put safeguards on Lawrence police camera surveillance tech
Lawrence advocates have drafted an ordinance that aims to create safeguards for the police department’s new system that asks locals to register their security cameras on a list or integrate them for realtime access by police.
Court document details evidence allegedly found in fatal hit-and-run north of Lawrence
Investigators found fibers in a truck’s broken headlight that appear consistent with the shirt a Lawrence runner was wearing when she was struck and killed by a driver who fled the scene last month, according to law enforcement documents.
Lawrence City Commission rejects Alvamar apartment complex plan
The Lawrence City Commission on Tuesday voted 4-1 to reject a preliminary plan for a 200-unit apartment complex in west Lawrence’s Alvamar neighborhood.
Tom Harper/Lawrence Times
Lawrence city commissioners approve high-density zoning in Oread neighborhood
Lawrence city commissioners have approved a request to rezone property near KU’s campus for developers to build the densest housing allowed in the city.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Advocates’ draft ordinance aims to put safeguards on Lawrence police camera surveillance tech
Lawrence advocates have drafted an ordinance that aims to create safeguards for the police department’s new system that asks locals to register their security cameras on a list or integrate them for realtime access by police.
MORE …
MORE COMMUNITY VOICES
The opinion pieces in this section are generally written by members of the Lawrence community and those who have close ties. In addition, we’re offering some space for area organizations and organizers to provide updates and attempt to reach other folks who might share their mission.
Want to submit a letter to the Times? Great!
Click here to find out how.
Tom Harper/Lawrence Times
Tom Harper: Walt Hull has forged functional metal works of art throughout Lawrence (Column)
Walt Hull’s path to become a blacksmith had twists and turns not unlike the functional works of art he’s shaped all over Lawrence. Now 83, he has no intentions of retiring. Tom Harper shares Hull’s story in this column.
Max Kautsch: In loco parentis, or just plain loco – Surveilling Kansas students doesn’t make sense (Column)
“The outcome of the case will depend largely on whether the district can show that implementing software designed to monitor students the way it did was closely related enough to an important government interest — namely, student safety — to justify Gaggle’s intrusion into the students’ lives,” Max Kautsch writes in this Kansas Reflector column.
Elise Higgins: Abortion seekers, trans youth, and immigrants can’t afford more surveillance (Column)
“If we’d known about this Axon contract, there’s absolutely no way the people of Lawrence would have co-signed a program that risks the privacy and the dignity of abortion seekers, trans folks and immigrants,” Elise Higgins writes in this column.
The opinion pieces in this section are generally written by members of the Lawrence community and those who have close ties. In addition, we’re offering some space for area organizations and organizers to provide updates and attempt to reach other folks who might share their mission.
Want to submit a letter to the Times? Great!
Click here to find out how.
Tom Harper/Lawrence Times
Tom Harper: Walt Hull has forged functional metal works of art throughout Lawrence (Column)
Walt Hull’s path to become a blacksmith had twists and turns not unlike the functional works of art he’s shaped all over Lawrence. Now 83, he has no intentions of retiring. Tom Harper shares Hull’s story in this column.
Max Kautsch: In loco parentis, or just plain loco – Surveilling Kansas students doesn’t make sense (Column)
“The outcome of the case will depend largely on whether the district can show that implementing software designed to monitor students the way it did was closely related enough to an important government interest — namely, student safety — to justify Gaggle’s intrusion into the students’ lives,” Max Kautsch writes in this Kansas Reflector column.
Elise Higgins: Abortion seekers, trans youth, and immigrants can’t afford more surveillance (Column)
“If we’d known about this Axon contract, there’s absolutely no way the people of Lawrence would have co-signed a program that risks the privacy and the dignity of abortion seekers, trans folks and immigrants,” Elise Higgins writes in this column.



