Local history
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Watson Library’s centennial celebration to culminate with time capsule
Watson Library at KU is turning 100 this year, and staff will wrap up centennial celebrations by archiving a time capsule to be opened in 2124.
Lawrence Times in-depth series
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Events to mark 165th anniversary of Battle of Black Jack, 200th year of Santa Fe Trail
The beginning of June will mark the 165th anniversary of the Battle of Black Jack, […]
John Brown had powerful enemies during his lifetime and still does today, speaker says at Lawrence Times party
Despite pouring rain for most of Saturday, dozens of community members stopped by The Lawrence Times’ party at South Park. Kerry Altenbernd spoke on abolitionist John Brown, among other attractions.
Who killed Nick Rice? Part 8: ‘I feel like I now know the whole story’
For years after Nick Rice’s death, his family fielded an untold number of letters, phone calls and the occasional in-person visitor telling them Nick deserved what he got.
Who killed Nick Rice? Part 7: Pocketing the bullet
KBI laboratory testing released 50 years after Nick Rice was killed revealed that a bullet found almost exactly where the teen’s body lay was fired from the gun of Officer Jimmy Joe Stroud. But a Lawrence police captain had tampered with that evidence, rendering it inadmissible.
Who killed Nick Rice? Part 6: A coroner’s inquest, unquestioning media coverage — and the sniper theory
There were so many questions surrounding Nick Rice’s death in Lawrence in July 1970, but most local media failed to ask them. Instead, false narratives were allowed to thrive.
Who killed Nick Rice? Key figures in the investigation
Nick Rice was shot and killed in the 1200 block of Oread Avenue on the night of July 20, 1970 — an innocent bystander in a crowd of more than 150 protesters. These key figures were involved in Nick’s life, his death, and the subsequent investigation.
Who killed Nick Rice? Part 5: Decades of misinformation
The KBI determined that Nick Rice was not the man who tried to torch a car on KU’s campus in July 1970. But following his death, local officials sowed doubt about that fact in public statements. Even five decades later, one former officer likened Rice to BTK or John Wayne Gacy.
Who killed Nick Rice? Part 4: An officer with a checkered past ‘believed that he shot someone’
Hours after Nick Rice was killed in July 1970, Lawrence police officer Jimmy Joe Stroud asked authorities if he’d be charged with shooting the teen. But then the coverup began.
Five decades later, Stroud still says “They didn’t have no evidence.”
Longtime Lawrence advocate Melinda Henderson has died at 68
Melinda Henderson was passionately involved in community affairs, most recently focusing on affordable housing and community issues. She died Tuesday at 68.
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