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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Mackenzie Clark/Lawrence Times
‘It’s not right’: Pallet village guests voice concerns about Lawrence’s community for unhoused people
Sarah Swan was apprehensive about moving from a camp into Pallet shelter village. Now, as one of dozens of people who have been exited back to the streets, she’s angry, sad and concerned about how the program is being operated.
Mackenzie Clark/Lawrence Times
‘It’s not right’: Pallet village guests voice concerns about Lawrence’s community for unhoused people
Sarah Swan was apprehensive about moving from a camp into Pallet shelter village. Now, as one of dozens of people who have been exited back to the streets, she’s angry, sad and concerned about how the program is being operated.
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
August Rudisell/@KsScanner
Lawrence women plan to stay in home despite actions of homeowners’ association; they hope HOA will do better in the future
After speaking out about issues with their Lawrence homeowners’ association, Breeann Bass and her family feel like they can get their quality of life back — at least somewhat.
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.
August Rudisell/@KsScanner
Lawrence women, landlord concerned about discrimination by homeowners’ association
A Lawrence family is facing harassment and discrimination, illustrated well by the vandalism of both their Black Lives Matter flag and their rainbow flag. The situation has escalated to the point that they’re living in fear.
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.”
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?
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Douglas County sheriff failed to preserve a recording in felony case, he testifies; this isn’t the first time
Douglas County Sheriff Jay Armbrister sat at the witness stand during a jury trial last month and testified that he failed to save a recording in a high-level felony case. That wasn’t the first time.
Community questions possible K-5 classroom closure at Kennedy, district transparency
More than 80 participants attended the first of two virtual meetings Tuesday evening for the […]
Mackenzie Clark/@mclarknews
Prosecutors won’t appeal judge’s decision in Albert Wilson case + FAQs
Douglas County prosecutors are not going to oppose the judge’s ruling that Albert Wilson should get a new trial, they said Tuesday.
Mackenzie Clark/Lawrence Times
Rontarus Washington Jr.’s defense team requests to withdraw, but first alleges prosecutorial bias
Defense counsel for Rontarus Washington Jr. has requested to withdraw from the case, but just prior, the team filed an additional motion pushing for the case to be dismissed.
Investigative SerieS: Days of Rage — Lawrence, 1970
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