Staff Report
Recent stories
- Leavenworth County reports 1st death related to COVID-19 pandemic
- April 3, 2020
- A Leavenworth County woman has died from the COVID-19 novel coronavirus. The Leavenworth County Health Department reported Friday that a woman in her 50s was the first person to die from the virus. She had been taken to a local hospital emergency room, according to an LCHD release. The woman had no history of travel. She had underlying health conditions. The county currently has 29 positive cases of coronavirus, including this death.
- Lansing Correctional Facility has 3 confirmed COVID-19 cases
- March 31, 2020
- Three staff members working at Lansing Correctional Facility have tested positive for COVID-19, Kansas Department of Corrections Secretary Jeff Zmuda announced Tuesday. These are the first positive cases within a KDOC facility.
- Community Blood Center cancels Tonganoxie drive
- March 27, 2020
- Community Blood Center’s Friday blood drive at the Tonganoxie VFW Post Home has been canceled. CBC canceled all blood drives through the end of April. This is a loss of more than 8,000 blood products due to COVID-19 concerns. CBC is urging healthy donors to make an appointment to donate at one of its seven donor centers instead. Appointments are required. In order to maintain safe and controlled environments at donor centers, CBC will not be accepting walk-ins at this time.
- Kansas state agencies recommend voluntary reduction in burning
- March 26, 2020
- In response to the COVID-19 pandemic currently impacting all states, including Kansas, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Kansas Department of Agriculture strongly encourage all land owners and managers to voluntarily reduce the number of acres that they intend to burn this spring. “With the potential for this pandemic overwhelming the state’s medical facilities, any additional respiratory concerns that could be produced from breathing smoke from prescribed fire need to be mitigated,” said Dr. Lee Norman, KDHE Secretary.
- Kansas Attorney General proposes rules for remote meetings
- March 26, 2020
- As many official meetings move online due to help stop the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, the Kansas attorney general’s office has proposed formal rules for state and local governments to ensure their meetings remain open to the public. Attorney General Derek Schmidt said in a recent news release that following the Kansas Open Meetings Act during a declared emergency, when many people are apprehensive and rumors can run rampant, is of even greater important than usual to ensure openness and transparency in the government decision-making process.
- Mirror to be delivered late this week
- March 25, 2020
- Due to a printing press issue, The Mirror was not available to be delivered on Wednesday morning. We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused. The Mirror will be delivered to all subscribers and newsstand locations on Thursday morning. Again, we apologize for this delay.
- Hallmark to temporarily shut down Lawrence and Leavnworth plants
- March 21, 2020
- One of Lawrence’s largest manufacturers is temporarily closing its plant as it tries to combat the spread of COVID-19. That means a Leavenworth plant also is temporarily closing. Hallmark will shutter its Lawrence facility on Monday, the company announced in a news release Friday afternoon. The plant near the McDonald Drive interchange of the Kansas Turnpike produces the majority of greeting cards in North America for Hallmark.
- Lawrence Journal-World limits public access to office; all other services maintained
- March 19, 2020
- In an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, the Journal-World began limiting public access to its office on Wednesday. “We are fully committed to serving the community throughout this pandemic,” editor and publisher Chad Lawhorn said. “However, we believe it is a best practice to generally limit the public access to our office. We think this will be a benefit to both the public and our staff.”
- Leavenworth County Health Department announces strategies for large groups in light of coronavirus pandemic
- March 14, 2020
- The Leavenworth County Health Department released mitigation strategies for large groups and gatherings Friday. According to a release, health officials have moved its community mitigation strategies to canceling large group events and gatherings similar to other communities under CDC recommendations.
- Kansas Supreme Court to conduct special evening session in Concordia
- February 7, 2020
- The Kansas Supreme Court will conduct a special evening session April 7 in Concordia as part of its ongoing outreach to familiarize people with the Kansas judiciary. The court will be in session from 6:30 p.m. to about 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 7, in the Concordia High School auditorium, 436 W. 10th St. It will be the Supreme Court’s first visit to Concordia in the court’s 159-year history, and it will be only the 12th time that the court will hear cases in the evening.
