Three months after the National Park service announced James Williams as the new superintendent of Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Park of Topeka, the site opened its doors in celebration of the 30th anniversary of its designation. The symposium at the Brown v. Board of Education site, 1515 S.E. Monroe, also welcomed leaders from five new affiliated areas and an additional National Park Service site. “It’s just interesting to me, to get to know the people, get to know their stories and see the potential for us as a agency to help the American people understand the complexity of [...]

When Kansas officials announced the arrival of a Panasonic electric battery plant to De Soto earlier this year, one number was prominently touted above all others: 4,000. While the state’s agreement with the Japanese multinational company doesn’t lay out a required number of jobs to be created, Panasonic and Kansas officials believe there will be 4,000 permanent positions created at the multibillion dollar facility. But there is broad agreement that Kansas, currently sitting at record low unemployment, needs to kick into gear to ensure the site of the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant will be buzzing with workers when the long-coveted [...]

With a cattle population of more than 6.5 million head, and slightly less than 3 million humans, cattle significantly outnumber Kansans in the Sunflower State. So much so, according to Mike Brouk, Ph.D., a dairy management extension specialist with Kansas State University, much of the dairy produced in the Sunflower State is shipped to other states. But the amount of milk surplus might change in the coming years. On Friday, Hilmar Cheese Co., which will take about two years to build, broke ground on a new cheese factory in Dodge City. When looking for a third location for a cheese manufacturing [...]

The City of Lawrence has now received nine of its 12 monthly sales tax checks from the state of Kansas. Thus far, the city’s sales tax collections are up 9.4% compared with a year ago. That is both a historically high number and a below-average number. In the past, a growth rate of 6% or 7% would be a great year for Lawrence sales tax collections. So, if Lawrence finishes the year at 9.4%, it would be extraordinary. But, it is also true that the number is currently below average. The average growth rate for local sales tax collections across the [...]

The City of Lawrence has begun to relocate people experiencing homelessness who have been camping in some city parks to a temporary city-run campsite, with plans to create a long-term site in the near future. With the recent opening of the new campsite, which is located near North Second Street on city-owned property between the Johnny’s Tavern back parking lot and the levee trail, the city is requiring some people to move their campsites to the temporary site or other areas where the city continues to allow camping. The temporary campground consists of 48 spaces in the area behind the levee, [...]