Local history
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Organizations earn grant for exhibit to be spread across 6 Douglas County sites
Douglas County museums have earned a grant that will support an exhibition to be displayed across six historic sites throughout the county.
Lawrence Times in-depth series
More coverage
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.”
Courtesy of Will Averill
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.
Who killed Nick Rice? Part 3: Days of Rage and death on Mount Oread
Some protesters tried to set a VW on fire as tensions rose on July 20, 1970. Lawrence police officers fired tear gas, then guns. Suddenly, Nick Rice’s fiancée realized Nick wasn’t holding her hand anymore.
Who killed Nick Rice? Part 2: Staying carefree in a time of strife
Friends said Nick Rice was a nice, carefree guy who didn’t pay much attention to the unrest around him. So how did he get swept up in the tense protest at KU the night of his death?
Who killed Nick Rice? Part 1: Four days, two killings
A Lawrence Times investigation shows that Nick Rice was an innocent bystander when he was shot and killed by a Lawrence police officer on July 20, 1970. So why is there still so much ambiguity about his life and death?
Susan Wolfe
Exhibit at library honors women who have made history in Lawrence
The small dresses in artist Liza MacKinnon’s exhibition, “A Kansas Childhood,” embody a meaning much larger than their physical size.
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