Governor Laura Kelly and Transportation Secretary Julie Lorenz today announced that more than $42 million will support 30 transportation construction projects across Kansas through an expanded list of recipients of the Kansas Department of Transportation’s Cost Share Program for Spring 2021. Cost Share is a component of the Kelly administration’s 10-year, bipartisan Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program, or IKE. Cost Share is designed to help both rural and urban areas advance transportation projects to improve safety, support job retention and growth, relieve congestion and improve access and mobility. … KDOT is investing $21 million in this cycle of Cost Share with recipients contributing a 50/50 match of $21 million.

The entire list of all 30 IKE Cost Share projects announced today available here.

View a map of Cost Share projects here. 

City leaders said Tuesday that they saw the recently completed study of the Lawrence Police Department as a first step in a larger process to reconsider the role of police in the community and how the department operates. As part of a special meeting Tuesday, consultants with Citygate Associates presented the findings of the police department study to the City Commission and the public. The commission called for the study and subsequent report last year following national and local protests against police killings of Black people and other people of color and calls for reallocation of some police duties to social services. The subsequent 132-page report includes 60 findings and 75 recommendations across various categories, including race-related issues and community engagement, handling of complaints against police, and alternative responses to policing such as mental health responses. City staff will now take the next 90 days to create an implementation plan that will come back to the commission.
Source: LJWorld.com.

While we haven’t yet been able to rip off those masks, there are new signs that Lawrence’s economy has become unshackled from pandemic-era restrictions. In fact, one set of numbers shows retail spending is now well above pre-pandemic levels. The Kansas Department of Revenue has released its May report on sales tax activity across the state. While the report is labeled as being for May, most of the numbers actually represent sales made in March. That makes it an especially interesting report. If you remember, March 2020 is when things became a little wobbly. (When your head starts spinning faster than the Earth, wobbliness is a side effect.) That was the first month the pandemic started having major economic impacts in Lawrence. So, that means this latest report from the state is the first time we can look at how Lawrence’s retail economy is doing today compared to how it was doing a year ago when we were mired in the pandemic.
Source: LJWorld.com.