Our favorite kinds of stories to tell — highlighting good things happening in Lawrence and Douglas County.
The image at the top of this page is from the August 2022 Pooch Plunge. Check out the full gallery at this link.
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LATEST GOOD NEWS

Community gathers to celebrate Indigenous culture at Haskell Alumni Association Powwow
Community, food, shopping and dancing attracted people from Lawrence and beyond to the Haskell Alumni Association’s powwow on Saturday.
MORE GOOD NEWS

Short film about 5 Van Go artists wins prestigious advertising awards
A short film telling the transformative stories of five Van Go alumni has earned honors from the advertising industry.

Lawrence High, Quail Run Elementary students unite for inclusion at assembly
Quail Run third grader Caitlin Bartlow showed her eagerness when visitors from Lawrence High School called for audience members to participate during an assembly Wednesday morning.
“Is it my turn to be included?” she asked.

KU nominates 5 students for Goldwater Scholarships
KU has nominated five students for Goldwater Scholarships, “regarded as the premier undergraduate award to encourage excellence in science, engineering and mathematics,” according to a news release Monday morning.

Arabella Gipp named 2023 Lawrence Youth of the Year
Reigning winner Arabella Gipp was announced as the 2023 Lawrence Youth of the Year winner Thursday evening. She vulnerably shared how she began living unapologetically in her identity and found her sense of belonging.

Kayla Cook, Jenea Havener win this year’s Langston Hughes Creative Writing Awards
Poet Kayla Cook and fiction writer Jenea Havener are the recipients of this year’s Langston Hughes Creative Writing Awards, the Raven Book Store and Lawrence Arts Center announced Monday.

Photos: MLK Chili Feed returns to New York Elementary School
For the first time in two years, New York Elementary School held an in-person community meal in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Ovation! to spotlight talents of students in Lawrence Public Schools
Student musicians, comedians, dancers and more will hit the Lied Center stage Sunday for the seventh annual Ovation! talent show, featuring performers from Lawrence’s middle and high schools.

Quail Run Elementary teacher wins Kansas Horizon Award for excellent teaching
Quail Run Elementary School teacher Julia Ferguson has been chosen to receive a Kansas Horizon Award for her positive impact on education in the state.

New Dogwatch series highlights cutest canines spotted around Lawrence
From Mutt Run Dog Park to Massachusetts Street, Lawrence Times TV is setting out to reveal the cutest dogs across town.

‘Mother of Dragons’ and her reptiles create welcoming space for culinary arts students
Chef Camille Eichorn promotes an open-door policy in her culinary arts classroom at the Lawrence College and Career Center. That’s mostly in the figurative sense, though — the room is home to bearded dragons Da Vinci and Mucha, and they mustn’t leave without a proper escort.

Lawrence activist’s New Year’s Eve Unhoused Project aims to offer ‘a little hope’
Kevin Elliott-Snow will celebrate the new year at the Winter Emergency Shelter as part of his New Year’s Eve Unhoused Project. On that night, he will distribute up to 200 goodie-like gift bags for anyone experiencing homelessness.

Eudora machinist creates gear to fix Douglas County courthouse clock
Eudora machinist Wayne Neis wasted no time when it came to fixing the historic Douglas County courthouse clock.

‘Black Beyond Borders’ literary exhibit shows diversity of Black populations
Oftentimes, Black people are lumped into one box. An online literature exhibit by KU students works to show the range of cultures and lived experiences among Black people across the western hemisphere.

Family matriarch quilts stories, relives civil rights history with needle and thread
Mary Rials, 85, has designed, cut, pieced and quilted about 200 quilts since she retired from KU in 2000. Her latest, Dare to Dream, is her first quilt to tell the story of the civil rights movement.

Lawrence events center on spreading light to celebrate Hanukkah
Rabbi Zalman Tiechtel, co-director of the Chabad Center for Jewish Life, hosted two events this week at the Lawrence Public Library to celebrate Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights.

Mother and son ask community members to join them at North Lawrence campsite on Christmas Eve
Trina Tinsley and her 9-year-old son, Jax, want to fill the North Lawrence campsite for unhoused community members with love and support this Christmas Eve.

Kids help rabbi press oil, make wicks for menorah candles at Lawrence library
Families gathered in the Lawrence Public Library auditorium Tuesday to hear Rabbi Zalman Tiechtel tell the story of Hanukkah, snack on latkes and applesauce, and help make olive oil and wicks to use in a menorah.

Lawrence author, musician Melvin Litton is driven by passion for creativity
Lawrence author and musician Melvin Litton walks his German shepherd, Jack, through the Barker neighborhood every evening. He might be shaping sentences in his head or exploring literary ideas as he walks, eager to scrawl them onto his sketch pad once he’s home again.

Photos: Lawrence High girls basketball celebrates Native American Heritage Night
The Lawrence High School girls basketball team celebrated Native American Heritage Night on Friday.

Lawrence school district alumni come back to coach, cultivate new wave of sports culture
These former Lawrence High and Free State student-athletes have returned to coach at their alma maters. They’re working to improve the culture of youth sports for their athletes today.