In the photo at the top of this page, Lawrence author and musician Melvin Litton performs at Kaw Valley Public House. Check out our story about Litton at this link.
Latest in Lawrence Life

Douglas County doula network strives to improve maternal and infant health in BIPOC community
Doulas help birthing individuals bring new life into the world. They’re also working to save lives here in Douglas County, where Black infants are twice as likely to be born prematurely or at low birth weight than white babies.

Lawrence Times – celebrating 6 months publishing – launches digital events calendar
We at The Lawrence Times are excited to share that we have been publishing for six months today. We are very excited to introduce our newest feature: The Lawrence Times Community Calendar.

Kaw Valley Almanac for Sept. 6-12, 2021
With morning lows dropping into the 60s and even 50s this week, it’s the season for fog. If there is no wind, you can sometimes see steam devils, which like dust devils are caused by warming air rising in a vortex that is made visible in this case by fog.

Catherine Bell makes supporting local designers Sew Simple
Lawrence native Catherine Bell grew up with 10 siblings, but she was the only one to take up her mom’s passion for sewing and fashion design. Now she’s passing the torch — or needle — to the kids she’s had under her wing since 2019, when she started teaching sewing classes under the name Sew Simple Sewing.

The Raven Book Store’s bestsellers for Aug. 31, 2021 (Sponsored post)
Making their debuts this week are not one but two locally published, neighborhood-focused nonfiction projects, covering East Lawrence and Old West Lawrence.

For longtime hobbyist musicians, new instruments strike a chord
Over the last year and a half, the consistency of learning a new instrument has helped some Lawrence musicians in more ways than one.

Kaw Valley Almanac for Aug. 30-Sept. 5, 2021
As the Dog Days of summer slip away, here is a picture of a Sun Dog Day, taken on Sunday, with mini-rainbow bright spots to the right and left of the setting sun. Sun Dogs are caused by sunlight reflecting off ice crystals in cirrus clouds formed by an isolated thunderstorm that injected moisture into the stratosphere.

A view of Lawrence: Monarchs on milkweed
As reported in Monday’s Kaw Valley Almanac, monarch butterflies have recolonized well in this region. A flutter of the happy pollinators in North Lawrence on Sunday supports that statement.

Kaw Valley Almanac for Aug. 23-29, 2021
Monarch butterflies have benefitted from enough moisture and not too much heat to recolonize well in this region.

A view of Lawrence: Sunday in South Park with music
Hundreds of people came to South Park Sunday afternoon to enjoy the 40th annual Kansas Fiddling and Picking Championships.

Raven Book Store ushers in new era with Mass Street location
The Raven Book Store has moved into its bigger, brighter, and more accessible new location at 809 Massachusetts St.

Massive mural spans renovated school, Lawrence High history
A massive new mural project reveals snapshots of Lawrence High School’s storied past, including images of social justice and the football bonfire, cultural representations of communities that comprise the school and the school’s mascot, Chesty Lion.

The Raven Book Store’s bestsellers for Aug. 17, 2021 (Sponsored post)
The bestseller list nicely reflects everything people have come to seek from the Raven: exciting new mysteries, bestsellers, backlist classics, social justice, science, poetry, and local titles like the new-classic Ladybird Collected, once again taking the top spot.

Kaw Valley Almanac for Aug. 16-22, 2021
Showy partridge pea, a native annual, yellow-flowered legume, has begun to bloom in area prairies. Ragweed will be pollinating soon.

Social worker, coach weaves life experiences into empowerment lessons for Lawrence youth
Audrey Trowbridge sits in her basement surrounded by glitter, wood, paint cans and her favorite crafting supply of all time — pipe cleaners. Her craft room serves as a retreat, and during remote learning, the Free State High School social worker took her video conference calls there.
Behind her, a painting of a glowing Black woman wearing a bejeweled crown draws attention. When asked if she painted it, Trowbridge says one of her sisters gifted the piece to her. Its placement is purposeful. She wants others to see it in the background, but she also hopes to glean inspiration from it when she glances at herself on screen. The powerful art serves as a self-affirmation and a reminder while advocating for herself and her students.