Articles on this page generally required more “digging” than much of the rest of the coverage our award-winning journalists have produced. This collection of articles includes what we consider to be some of the most important coverage we publish. We are always willing to ask the hard questions. In fact, that’s one of the biggest reasons we launched The Lawrence Times in February 2021 — to fearlessly challenge power and injustice.
Whether these investigations took a few days, a few weeks or more than a year, we believe they’re important, and we appreciate our readers’ support to pursue this kind of coverage.
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Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
‘A systemic failure,’ part 1: Hilltop Child Development Center staff, families say abuse reports are symptoms of bigger issues
Despite reports of abuse surfacing, current and former Hilltop Child Development Center staff members and families say they have deeper concerns, and publicized incidents are a small part of a much larger story.
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
‘A systemic failure,’ part 1: Hilltop Child Development Center staff, families say abuse reports are symptoms of bigger issues
Despite reports of abuse surfacing, current and former Hilltop Child Development Center staff members and families say they have deeper concerns, and publicized incidents are a small part of a much larger story.
Top tags
In addition to the key articles linked on this page, we have a lot more coverage on some of the big topics we’ve investigated:
Animal Control • Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center • Brady/Giglio • HeadQuarters Kansas • Open records • NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act) • Treatment and Recovery Center •
MORe Investigative work
Lawrence teacher pay stagnated near the bottom compared to similar districts as admin pay rose and fell.
Lawrence teachers spent years with wages near the bottom compared to similar sized school districts, along with large pay gaps relative to administrators. But recent efforts to raise teacher wages have helped teacher salaries move closer to other districts.
In Lawrence schools, admin pay grew faster than teachers’ for years. Recent raises have started reversing the trend.
For four years before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the gap between administrators’ salaries and teachers’ salaries in Lawrence Public Schools grew bigger and bigger. That trend has started reversing, but there’s still frustration about the gap.
Lawrence Public Schools’ enrollment has dropped for four straight years. Where the students went is unknown.
All of the 10 largest districts in Kansas saw their enrollment drop during the pandemic-riddled 2020-21 school year; all but Lawrence have bounced back to see some enrollment growth in the last few years.
Contributed
Lawrence resident who found injured dog, shelter director call on city to boost animal control coverage
Richard Renner planned to walk his dog around the Pinkney neighborhood last week. But as the pair went outside they encountered a disturbing sight — a severely injured black dog curled up in their yard.
After school closures, Lawrence families grapple with fractured communities, future of school district
After the Lawrence school board voted to close two elementary schools last year, some local families now wrestling with doubts about their future in the district and the community.
Mackenzie Clark/Lawrence Times
Albert Wilson’s wrongful conviction case is in the judge’s hands
A Douglas County judge must decide whether to believe Albert Wilson, who says he was wrongly convicted and should be compensated, or the woman who says Wilson raped her when she was 17.
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
Advocates for stray dog decry gaps in Lawrence’s animal control services
Shebah captured advocates’ hearts as she made her way to Lawrence Humane Society, and hopefully, toward a better life.
Labor board finds merit in union-busting charges against Lawrence Chipotle; settlement reached
Chipotle must reaffirm labor rights and walk back punishments after a Lawrence employee alleged that management had engaged in union busting.
Douglas County DA, sheriff reach compromise on long-running dispute over personnel files
Two of Douglas County’s top law enforcement officials have reached an agreement following a long dispute over access to information contained in deputies’ personnel files.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Douglas County Sheriff’s Office says audit finds that more than 1,500 jail calls between defendants, attorneys were recorded
An audit of the Douglas County jail’s inmate calling system found that 1,520 privileged calls between defendants and attorneys were recorded that should not have been.
Repatriation of Native American people’s remains is in progress, KU official says
More than one-fifth of the human remains belonging to Native American people that are in KU’s possession will soon be returned to their rightful tribal nations, the university’s repatriation manager says.
One year since KU announced its possession of Native American human remains, progress is unclear
A year after KU announced it was in possession of Native American human remains in its museum collections, it is unclear what progress the university has made to repatriate remains and sacred items.
Andrea Albright / Lawrence Times
Judge dismisses case against man accused of soliciting murder from his jail cell
After months of arguments over improper procedures and possible constitutional rights violations, a judge on Monday dismissed a case against a man accused of soliciting murder from his Douglas County jail cell.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Douglas County jail recorded calls between some defendants and attorneys for months, lieutenant testifies
The Douglas County jail was recording phone calls between some defendants and their defense attorneys for at least several months, a violation of their attorney-client privilege.
Molly Adams/Lawrence Times
Nearly 1,000 traffic cases dismissed in Douglas County District Court
In hopes of avoiding numerous driver’s license suspensions, Douglas County judges have dismissed about 940 traffic cases. Circumstances of the batch dismissals are also mentioned in a pending disciplinary case against DA Suzanne Valdez.
Investigative SerieS: Days of Rage — Lawrence, 1970
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