Latest new posts from ALL categories of The Lawrence Times:
Lawrence news, state news, Community Voices, Lawrence Life, obituaries and more.
(Please note that opinion pieces are included in this list, marked as columns or letters to the Times. Not all posts linked on this page were written or produced by the Lawrence Times staff.)
Tom Harper/Lawrence Times
Tom Harper: Celebrating 41 years of a KU campus icon (Column)
”Today we celebrate the 41st anniversary of the installation of Moses in front of Smith Hall, gazing at the beautiful stained glass that represents the Burning Bush,” Tom Harper writes in this column.
Our love affair with uniform landscapes kills trees. So Kansas and Missouri are going for variety
About one-third of Overland Park’s street trees are maples. Experts say cities must diversify their canopies, or pests will keep devastating them.
Former students honor Lawrence High School math teacher Matt Ellis with teaching award
In the halls of Lawrence High School, math teacher Matt Ellis will always be known for his collection of ties that he features throughout the school year. Now he’ll also be known as the winner of a teaching award that reflects his connection with his students.
Gov. Kelly signs bipartisan bill decriminalizing use of fentanyl test strips in Kansas
Gov. Laura Kelly had the late Cooper Davis and Sebastain Sheahan in mind Thursday when signing into law bipartisan legislation designed to save lives by decriminalizing in Kansas use of test strips capable of detecting presence of fentanyl in drugs.
Plans filed to bring Braum’s Ice Cream and Dairy Store to northwest Lawrence
There are more than 300 Braum’s Ice Cream and Dairy Stores, but none closer to Lawrence than Emporia, more than an hour drive away. That could soon change.
Molly Adams/Lawrence Times
Artists’ works respond to roadside attractions that lean on stereotypes and misappropriate cultures
In “Roadside Inappropriation,” artists Armando Minjarez, Mona Cliff and Erika Nelson each created a display responding to roadside attractions that appropriate elements of their cultures or portray people as caricatures.
After lying about offer to convert Muslim woman, Kansas senator opines on ‘lost souls’
Sen. Mark Steffen says he never felt so overwhelmed as when he was caught lying about his offer to convert a Muslim woman.
Molly Adams/Lawrence Times
Former staff, students shine as inspirational role models at Billy Mills Middle School
A retired staff member, Kathy Stuntz, and three former students, E’Lease Stafford, Ekow Boye-Doe and the late Travis Sanders, were honored Wednesday for their positive contributions to Billy Mills Middle School and the Lawrence community.
Letter to the Times: Native stewardship is needed to protect the prairie
“For future restoration and stewardship efforts to succeed for the City of Lawrence, at Prairie Park and beyond, they should be done in direct consultation and collaboration with Native people,” Brett Ramey writes in this letter.
Chloe Anderson/Lawrence Times
Van Go JAMS artists unveil new mural in the Baker Wetlands Discovery Center
Dozens of people gathered in the Baker Wetlands Discovery Center Wednesday night to view the new mural by Van Go’s apprentice artists.
30-plus vendors will have food, art and more for sale during Spring for Handmade
Lawrence artist Chelsea Rezabek will soon host her third artist-centered community event, featuring more than 30 local vendors offering handmade arts and crafts, homemade food and live music.
Lawrence-Douglas County Sustainability
Drive-thru event to recycle electronics set for Saturday in Lawrence; volunteers needed
Douglas County residents are encouraged to bring their disused electronics to a drive-thru recycling event coming up Saturday in Lawrence.
Provision of Kansas K-12 funding bill slices state aid to about 100 public school districts
The school funding bill forwarded by the Kansas Legislature to Gov. Laura Kelly contained an unexpected budget twist that potentially blindsided as many as 100 public school districts with declining enrollment.
Chansi Long/Lawrence Times
Fresh Mediterranean owner plans to nix gas station, expand restaurant
The gas pumps at the Cenex station on 23rd Street are going away. But the falafel and kebabs that draw customers for much more than a fill-up are staying.
Judy Erpelding: I never planned to leave Free State; it’s time to start advocating for performing arts (Column)
”It’s important to me that my students and their families know that leaving this year was never in my intentions,” Judy Erpelding, director of Free State High School orchestra, writes in this column.
Letter to the Times: Holding my applause for city and county leaders
”Too many times I’ve heard speeches professing progress and promising goals only to watch them unfold at a snail’s pace, then several years into the future showing only a mere fraction of those promises and goals come to fruition,” Kathleen Christian writes in this letter to the Times.
Lawrence High School principal to resign
Lawrence High School Principal Jessica Bassett is resigning from her position at the end of June, the school district announced Tuesday evening.
Lawrence City Commission approves marker honoring Margaret ‘Sis’ Vinegar
The Lawrence City Commission voted Tuesday to approve a plan to place a historical marker in honor of Margaret “Sis” Vinegar, a young Black woman who, at age 14 in 1882, survived a sexual assault by a white man but died in prison at age 20 after being wrongly convicted of the man’s murder.
Sunflower Elementary principal, LMCMS assistant principal to resign
Melissa Blevins, principal of Sunflower Elementary School, and Brandy Taylor, Liberty Memorial Central Middle School assistant principal, are resigning from their positions, the Lawrence school district announced Tuesday.
Molly Adams/Lawrence Times
Native American students participate in cultural activities through Lawrence school district’s support program
Out of the 574 federally recognized tribal nations in the United States, approximately 120 are represented within the Lawrence school district, Kenny St. Pierre told school board members on Monday.
Molly Adams/Lawrence Times
Lawrence community members gather for healing at remnant prairie where flowers are dying from herbicide
Dozens of Lawrence community members visited the remnant prairie behind Prairie Park Nature Center Monday evening for a healing gathering, following the city’s use of herbicide spray that is killing millions of wildflowers.
Letter to the Times: Loving Kansas from afar
“Our state legislature has made it very clear how they feel about people like me, especially lately. To these representatives, I am not a valuable enough member of our community to self-determine my identity,” Ley Schneider writes in this letter to the Times.
Restorative practice is ‘alive and well’ in Lawrence school district, administrator says
The Lawrence school board on Monday heard a report from administrators on steps the district is taking to make high levels of achievement more equitable for students, including a restorative approach to behavior incidents.
Mac Moore/KSHSAA Covered
Free State wins fourth-straight forensics state title; Lawrence High takes fourth place
Free State High School took home its fourth-straight state forensics title over the weekend, and Lawrence High School finished in fourth place. Both schools sent multiple entries to the finals.
