Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez today announced that a jury returned a guilty verdict on one count of Rape, a Severity Level 1 Person Felony, against Erick Ogwangi, 36, of Lawrence.

Charges stemmed from an incident early Jan. 27, 2017, in which Ogwangi forced himself on a woman who was staying in his home. He was convicted for assaulting the woman under circumstances when she was overcome by force or fear.

Kenneth Reed had hit rock bottom. After nearly a lifetime of struggling with drug addiction and serving time in and out of state prison and county jail, he was again facing charges – this time for possession of methamphetamine.

“I was done. I was in total despair. I was sitting in jail wanting to die. I didn’t want to live the way that I was living,” he said of the time after his arrest on Sept. 20, 2019.

The Douglas County Heritage Conservation Council announces the recipients of the 2021 Natural & Cultural Heritage grant program after receiving approval from the Board of County Commissioners on May 5. A total of $200,000 was awarded to 13 projects.

For Douglas County property owners whose property includes a historic barn but who are unsure whether it’s worth saving or how to approach repairing it, there’s an opportunity to receive a barn assessment grant through the Douglas County Heritage Conservation Council. The Heritage Conservation Council (HCC) will hire a professional who has evaluated barns across Kansas and who has worked in collaboration with the Kansas Barn Alliance. The grants will cover the cost of the structural assessments and the reports will provide a scope of work needed for rehabilitation.

The Lawrence Humane Society is proposing changes to the Animal Control Codes of Douglas County which would apply to residents who reside in the unincorporated areas of the county. The nonprofit agency is seeking feedback from the public about the proposed changes.

Both the City of Lawrence and Douglas County announced today (April 19) that they recently joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Green Power Partnership. The honor was bestowed in recognition of both organization’s commitments to using green power.

Douglas County Commissioners on April 14 unanimously approved an updated public health order recommended by local health officers that keeps a countywide mask mandate and social distancing requirements in businesses and most public venues.

Lawrence, Kan. – Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez today announced that a jury

returned guilty verdicts of aggravated robbery and attempted voluntary manslaughter against Michael

Hormell, 21, of Lawrence.

Charges stemmed from an incident Jan. 26, 2018, in which Hormell and a co-conspirator set up a fake

drug deal with the intent of robbing the victim. The victim resisted and was shot in the chest by Hormell.

The victim was airlifted to the KU Hospital and eventually recovered.

The Lawrence-Douglas County Sustainability Office is teaming up with After the Harvest, a Kansas City, Mo.-based produce rescue nonprofit, and Community Organized Gleaners (COGs), a grassroots volunteer group of experienced farmers, to expand food recovery on Douglas County farms. The goal is to rescue nutritious fruits and vegetables from farm fields after the marketable harvest and distribute them to Douglas County agencies providing food and shelter assistance to community members.

Beginning Monday, April 5, Douglas County District Court will start using the Douglas County Fairgrounds for court proceedings. District Court will be using Flory Meeting Hall and Building 21, which should be accessed from Harper Street.

Douglas County nonprofits, agencies and businesses have spent the $24.9 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds that were provided by the State of Kansas and distributed through Douglas County Government. The state approved Douglas County’s direct aid plan in September 2020 and all of the funding was spent by the state’s deadline of March 1, 2021.

Lawrence, Kan. – On March 18, 2021, the Douglas County District Court issued a news release regarding its plans to start hearing jury trials in April.