Kansas

Site of bloody 1863 massacre named most peaceful place in Kansas

Published

5 months ago

October 14, 2025

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Site of bloody 1863 massacre named most peaceful place in Kansas

TripAdvisor users named Lawrence the most peaceful place in Kansas, according to a list from thetravel.com.
Despite its modern tranquility, Lawrence was the site of a bloody massacre in 1863 during the Civil War.
The city is noted for its lively downtown, natural scenery and wildlife habitats such as the Baker Wetlands and Clinton State Park.

A city with a violent past is now considered the most peaceful place in Kansas by users of the travel website TripAdvisor.

The northeast Kansas community of Lawrence was the Sunflower State’s representative on a list the travel website thetravel.com published this past summer identifying the most peaceful sites in each state.

“Whether you fancy the midnight-lit stillness of a shimmering lake, the distant calls of wildlife in an untouched wilderness, or the calming experience of strolling through a beautiful downtown, these places transport you to a meditative state and offer more than just stunning scenery,” the article said. “According to travelers on TripAdvisor, these are the most peaceful places in every U.S. state.”

What makes Lawrence so peaceful?

Lawrence, which the U.S. census showed had a population of about 95,000 in 2020, “is a beautiful college town in Kansas, between the Kansas and Wakarusa rivers,” said thetravel.com.

It said the city’s “storied past” includes its’ having played a central role in the “Bleeding Kansas” conflict over slavery in the 1850s, then being the site of a massacre in 1863 during the Civil War in which between 150 and 200 men and boys were killed.

Today, Lawrence is home to a lively downtown and offers beautiful natural scenery, with an abundance of wildlife, said thetravel.com.

“Clinton State Park boasts numerous hiking trails and is the perfect place to relax, while the Baker University Wetlands is perfect for a peaceful stroll through one of the most diverse habitats in Kansas,” it said.

Those wetlands, toward the city’s southern end, were formerly the subject of a 20-year battle over whether the Kansas Department of Transportation would be allowed to build a highway through them.

That dispute ended in 2012 with the approval by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals of a plan that took only 56 acres of that 573-acre area for the project while arranging for the Kansas Department of Transportation to provide about $9 million in an endowment fund to manage the wetlands.

What other places made the ‘most peaceful’ list?

The following 49 other sites were on the “most peaceful” list published by thetravel.com.

Dauphin Island, Alabama.
Homer, Alaska.
Sedona, Arizona.
Eureka Springs, Arkansas.
Cohasset, California.
Fort Collins, Colorado.
Litchfield County, Connecticut.
Brandywine Valley, Delaware.
St. Petersburg, Florida.
Savannah, Georgia.
Kailua, Hawaii.
Moscow, Idaho.
Galena, Illinois.
Miller Beach, Indiana.
Decorah, Iowa.
Frankfort, Kentucky.
Covington, Louisiana.
Baxter State Park, Maine.
Frederick, Maryland.
Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan.
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota.
Gulf Islands National Seashore, Mississippi.
St. Francois Mountains, Missouri.
Bob Marshall Wilderness Area, Montana.
Cowboy Trail, Nebraska.
Baker, Nevada.
North Conway, New Hampshire.
Red Bank, New Jersey.
Taos, New Mexico.
Forest Lawn, New York.
Lake Toxaway, North Carolina.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota.
Hocking Hills, Ohio.
Talimena State Park, Oklahoma.
Wallowa Lake, Oregon.
Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Providence, Rhode Island.
Beaufort, South Carolina.
Badlands National Park, South Dakota.
Franklin, Tennessee.
Wimberley, Texas.
Moab, Utah.
Stowe, Vermont.
Shenandoah, Virginia.
Orcas Island, Washington.
Dolly Sods Wilderness, West Virginia.
Schoolhouse Beach Park, Wisconsin.
Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming.

Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.

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Kansas

RESULTS: NE Kansas high schools to play Saturday after Wednesday sub-state wins

Published

34 minutes ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

RESULTS: NE Kansas high schools to play Saturday after Wednesday sub-state wins

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Below is a look at the results from Wednesday night’s high school basketball sub-state semifinals in Northeast Kansas.

Editor’s Note: This story will be updated with what schools are hosting when that information becomes readily available.

WIBW Scoreboard

BOYS

6A Boys West Sub-State: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Topeka High 57, Washburn Rural 50 (will play Maize Saturday)
Junction City 70, Dodge City 56 (will play Derby Saturday)
Manhattan 58, Wichita-Northwest 56 (will play Wichita-East Saturday)

4A Boys East Sub-State: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Rock Creek 62, Louisberg 57 (will play Bishop Miege Saturday)
Atchison 74, Wamego 43
Hayden 72, Independence 56 (will play Atchison Saturday)
Eudora 76, Santa Fe Trail 68

GIRLS

5A West Girls: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Hays 80, Topeka West 18
Eisenhower 55, Seaman 41
Kapaun Mt. Carmel 71, Emporia 41

5A East Girls: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Shawnee Heights 89, Sumner 15 (will play Pittsburg Saturday)
Basehor-Linwood 74, Highland Park 28 (will play Piper Saturday)

3A Pomona-West Franklin Girls: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Osage City 75, Columbus 31 (will play Frontenac Saturday)

3A Sabetha Girls: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Silver Lake 48, Nemaha Central 26 (will play Riley County Saturday)
Riley County 51, Jeff West 40 (will play Silver Lake)

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Kansas

RESULTS: NE Kansas high schools to play Friday after Tuesday sub-state wins

Published

1 day ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

RESULTS: NE Kansas high schools to play Friday after Tuesday sub-state wins

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Below is a look at the results from Tuesday night’s high school basketball sub-state semifinals in Northeast Kansas.

Editor’s Note: This story will be updated with what schools are hosting when that information becomes readily available.

WIBW Scoreboard

BOYS

5A East Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

KC Washington 68, Highland Park 38
Shawnee Heights 49, De Soto 37 (will play Leavenworth Friday)

5A West Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Topeka West 55, Hutchinson 32 (will play Bishop Carroll Friday)
Emporia 61, Great Bend 41 (will play Maize South Friday)
Seaman 73, Valley Center 51 (will play Hays Friday)

3A West Franklin Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Burlington 60, Osage City 35 (will play Baxter Springs Friday)

3A Sabetha Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Hiawatha 73, Oskaloosa 48 (will play Heritage Christian Friday)
Silver Lake 58, Sabetha 39 (will play Perry-Lecompton Friday 7:30 p.m.)

GIRLS

6A West Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Washburn Rural 60, Wichita South 32 (will play Derby)
Topeka High 69, Maize 45 (will play Liberal)
Manhattan 67, Free State 21 (will play Wichita East)

4A East Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Rock Creek 71, Parsons 23 (will play Tonganoxie)
Wamego 54, Labette County 33 (will play Bishop Miege)
Hayden 2, Athison 0 (will play Baldwin)

2A Eskridge/Mission Valley Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Rossville 71, KC Christian 49 (will play Maur Hill-Mount Academy)
Lyndon 61, Jeff. Co. North 31 (will play Valley Heights)
Valley Heights 65, Doniphan West 41 (will play Lyndon)

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Kansas

Doe v. State of Kansas | American Civil Liberties Union

Published

2 days ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Doe v. State of Kansas | American Civil Liberties Union

In early 2026, the Kansas state legislature passed SB 244, a law which prohibits transgender people from using public restrooms on government property that align with their gender identity and establishes a private right of action that allows anyone who suspects someone is transgender and in violation of the law to sue that person for “damages” totaling $1,000.

The law also invalidates state-issued driver’s licenses with updated gender markers that reflect the carrier’s gender identity. In February 2026, transgender people across the state received letters from the state Department of Revenue’s Division of Vehicles informing them that their driver’s licenses “will no longer be valid,” effective immediately. SB 244 also prohibits transgender Kansans – or those born in Kansas – from updating the gender marker on state-issued birth certificates and driver’s licenses in the future.

The same day SB 244 went into effect, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Kansas, and Ballard Spahr LLP filed a lawsuit challenging SB 244 in the District Court of Douglas County on behalf of two transgender men who had their driver’s licenses invalidated under the law. The lawsuit charges that SB 244 violates the Kansas Constitution’s protections for personal autonomy, privacy, equality under the law, due process, and freedom of speech.

“The invalidation of state-issued IDs threatens to out transgender people against their will every time they apply for a job, rent an apartment, or interact with police,” said Harper Seldin, Senior Staff Attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project. “Taken as a whole, SB 244 is a transparent attempt to deny transgender people autonomy over their own identities and push them out of public life altogether.”

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