The Board of County Commissioners appointed Brad Eldridge as County Appraiser during its Oct. 18 business meeting. Eldridge, of Lawrence, has been serving in an interim position since longtime County Appraiser Steven Miles retired on June 23.

Douglas County Criminal Justice Services Director Pam Weigand has been appointed by Governor Kelly to a two-year term on the Kansas Sentencing Commission.

Douglas County is hosting an open house about the Open Space Plan from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26, at the Lawrence Union Pacific Depot, 402 N. Second St. It is an opportunity for community members to stop by and learn about the project team’s progress and to provide feedback. There will be activities for children and a raffle entry for all attendees.

The Kansas Supreme Court says state courts will stay open and rely on paper filings while the Office of Judicial Administration works with experts to find the reason for and the extent of a security incident that disrupted the information systems on which state courts operate.
 
“It’s an appropriate next step in a situation like this to define the extent to which our systems are affected,” said Chief Justice Marla Luckert. “We’ve called in experts to continue that process, and I’m grateful for the number of people who have reached out to us with offers of support.”
 

Douglas County District Court will be closed on Monday, Oct. 9, for Indigenous Peoples' Day. This includes the District Attorney's Office.

The Douglas County Treasurer’s Office will also be closed on Monday, Oct. 9, for a staff training. This will include both locations: Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St., and South Iowa satellite office, 2000 W. 31st St.

All other departments will be open and services will be available.

Douglas County Appraisal Analyst August Dettbarn recently received a Fellows award from the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO).  The IAAO Board created the Fellows program to recognize individuals who have dedicated their career to the development of the assessment profession and made exceptional contributions to the IAAO and the assessment industry.  The program recognizes the best of the best within the assessment profession.

The Kansas Supreme Court has renewed the appointment of The Honorable James R. McCabria as Chief Judge of the Seventh Judicial District. The two-year term runs from Jan. 1, 2024, to Dec. 31, 2025. It will be the third two-year term for McCabria to serve as Chief Judge.

The Douglas County Food Policy Council is reviewing the permitting processes, fees and requirements for mobile food vendors in Douglas County.

The Food Policy Council’s goal is to facilitate conversations to help create equitable and fair regulations, provide sufficient resources and offer efficient systems and processes for food truck owners to operate in the community.

A construction project at the historic Douglas County Courthouse in downtown Lawrence is scheduled to begin Tuesday, Sept. 19. The project will waterproof the existing foundation of the building located at 1100 Massachusetts Street.

The Douglas County website – douglascountyks.org – received an upgrade on Sept. 7 with a refreshed design that includes more photos and new navigation tools.

Our focus is to make it easier for you to find information on the site quickly and efficiently. We will continue to add functionality to the website. We hope you like it as much as we do!

You can provide feedback by completing our website feedback form.

The City of Lawrence, Douglas County, and Lawrence Community Shelter are committed to addressing the growing homelessness crisis in our community. The City and County’s recent affordable housing and homelessness strategic plan, A Place for Everyone, identifies the need for increased capacity and improved outcomes in emergency sheltering.

The Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab (GPL) has selected Douglas County and the City of Lawrence as one of 14 jurisdictions nationwide to participate in their 2023-2024 Alternative 911 Emergency Response Implementation Cohort.  It’s an initiative designed to support city and county leaders in developing, improving and expanding unarmed alternative responses to 911 calls.