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.
Please share your good news with us!
LATEST GOOD NEWS
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Latest Douglas County drug court graduates celebrate completing this step of their journeys
Three new graduates of Douglas County drug court can now start with a clean slate and continue to build on the people they’ve grown to be throughout their time in the program.
MORE GOOD NEWS
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Photo gallery: Volunteers prepare annual LINK Thanksgiving meals
Volunteers hustled Wednesday to prepare hundreds of meals for the annual LINK Thanksgiving tradition.
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Children’s choir aims to diversify voices, remove barriers to participation
A new children’s choir for Douglas County third through sixth graders boasts only one requirement: a love for singing. No auditions, no fees, no experience nor church membership required.
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Lawrence High senior chosen to perform in Big Apple with Carnegie Hall concert choir
A Chesty Lion will join voices with the top-rated high school vocalists from across the world in February.
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Jingle House pop-up combines plants and holiday cheer
Jungle House owners Jhami and Rachel Guffey hope that when customers walk into their new pop-up shop in downtown Lawrence, they experience “over-the-top holiday magic.”
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Fairytale faves and zombies mix it up in West Middle School production
With two casts and two endings, there’s a lot to keep organized in West Middle School’s all-school play, “The Walking Dwarves.” There’s no sugar-coating the scene at Thursday morning’s preview show: It’s pure, loud chaos. It’s also a celebration.
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A moment in Lawrence: Community celebrates new mural at Cottin’s Hardware
A crowd gathered Sunday to celebrate the completion of a new mural at Cottin’s Hardware in Lawrence.
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Lawrence-based sculptor wins design title in nationwide metalworking competition
Lori Norwood took inspiration from Lawrence’s Pooch Plunge tradition to create a steel sculpture. Her piece was recently selected for a metalworking award.
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Raven Book Store cat retires after a decade of service
Ngaio, the 13-year-old resident bookstore cat at the Raven, greeted and accompanied customers for 10 years. She has now retired to a quieter life at a bookseller’s home.
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Pumpkin seeds, picture book make math engaging for students of homegrown Lawrence teacher
Second graders at Schwegler Elementary learned a fun fact during their recent math unit: A pumpkin’s size doesn’t determine the number of seeds inside the fall fruit.
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Pastor Verdell Taylor leaves 26-year legacy at Lawrence’s historic St. Luke AME Church
Since 1995, Verdell Taylor has been the pastor at St. Luke AME Church, an East Lawrence entity with a deep history intertwined with the civil rights movement. After his recent retirement, he is “turning the page for the next chapter.”
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Lawrence donation orchard seeks volunteers to plant ‘giving’ fruit trees
A Lawrence donation garden’s growers aim to end local food insecurity. They’ve shared 7,500 pounds of produce in Douglas County so far this year, and they need help planting fruit trees this weekend.
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Wonder Gallery to reopen, featuring Matthew Willie Garcia prints, a ‘Utopian Bookstore,’ and ‘blobby things’
Wonder Gallery will reopen on Final Friday with an expanded focus that includes home items and a Utopian Bookstore alongside rotating artists’ exhibitions.
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Photos: First Nations Student Association makes KU history, raising tipi on campus
As part of Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations this week, students with the First Nations Student Association at KU have made history, raising a tipi on the lawn of Strong Hall.
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Lawrence teens create ‘no judgment’ period supply closet for all who menstruate
A group of Lawrence teens aims to alleviate embarrassment by normalizing the conversation about menstruation while offering free period products to those in need.
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Lawrence school board to consider donation of trees for Cordley Elementary playground
The Lawrence school board on Monday will consider a donation of trees for the playground at Cordley, then meet in executive session to discuss contracts with the PAL-CWA union.
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Lawrence Schools Foundation celebrates 4 high school seniors as champions of the arts
Four accomplished young artists — Free State High School seniors Matt Chappell and Devon Janus and Lawrence High School seniors Ashton Rapp and Rachel Schmaus — have been honored as the Lawrence Schools Foundation’s 2021 Student Champions.
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KU’s Black Alumni Network honors leaders and innovators, emerging leaders
The Black Alumni Network of the University of Kansas has selected the first seven winners of its new biennial Emerging Leaders Award, plus nine winners of the group’s longstanding Leaders and Innovators award.
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Kittens graduate from foster care to forever homes with volunteer support, face time on Mass Street
It’s a jungle inside the window front of Wild Man Vintage, complete with live cats on the weekends. And courtesy of some creative middle school students, their domain includes a climbable tree, too.
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Lawrence Coalition for Peace and Justice, ECM honor community leaders with peace awards
Three Lawrence leaders were honored with Tom and Anne Moore Peace and Justice Awards during a ceremony this week: Meg Heriford; Dana Ortiz, for Family Promise of Lawrence; and Graham Kreicker.
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Lawrence playground invites children of all abilities to play, thanks to donation from late benefactor
School and business leaders are gearing up to celebrate an inclusive playground for youngsters on Lawrence’s southeast side.
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