Family Strategies Counseling and Coaching

01/23/2026

Family can be Christ-centered, relationship-focused, and developing toward multiplication. Supporting that is our mission.

01/14/2026

As Valentines Day approaches in this new year, think of investing time and effort in a little review of your relationship. Life, our ambitions and our hopes can lead us down many roads, leaving the vehicle of our marriage a bit dusty. You might be asking if it is worth it or how to get back on track. Or…where is a better track to follow in your relationship. Relationships can get off course, and we are always amazed at what is possible, no matter the residue. Give us a call to consider the potentials in your life!

01/12/2026

News reels and social media are full of important-seeming negative information, so it is a real task separating the essential and relevant from the distraction. Especially if you want to remain somewhat commected. Having a hard time finding peace amongst the rabble? With fear mongering at a high point, don’t let it divide you or your family from within! Give us a call.

01/05/2026

Very sad situation today.

Updated developing story: A person was killed in an "altercation" Monday at Lawrence City Hall, according to Lawrence police. https://lawrenceks.news/4aGsTwh

01/05/2026

UPDATE 5pm: The deceased is a 28-year-old male from Minnesota. LKPD has notified family, but will give them time to notify extended loved ones. We will release the man's name Tuesday.

Tuesday evening's City Commission meeting will proceed as usual, but other than that, City Hall, included Municipal Court services, is closed until Thursday.
Please check City of Lawrence, Kansas - Municipal Government for future updates on potential city service interruptions.

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UPDATE: We have an update on the situation at City Hall. City Manager Craig Owens and Police Chief Rich Lockhart addressed media moments ago and confirmed a fatal shooting occurred.

It is very early in this investigation but we can confirm that a man forced his way into the building then broke through a door on the 4th floor, which is a secured area not open to the public.

City employees attempted to remove the man and a struggle began. The man was fatally shot. The employee was trained and authorized to carry a firearm. The investigation will be led by LKPD in cooperation with the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office.

No city employees were seriously injured. The deceased suspect is likely not from the Lawrence area. Investigators are working to notify next of kin.

City Hall will be closed Monday. Municipal Court Offices will be closed until Thursday.
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Original Post:
LKPD officers and medical personnel from Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical are at city hall right now after an altercation occurred. We are not able to confirm details yet but are on scene and have controlled the situation. City Hall is closed. Avoid the area. We will update you as soon as more information is available.

01/05/2026

What a life! He lived it well.

Former U.S. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, who was the nation's only Native American representative during his time in office, has died. He was 92.

Citing Campbell's daughter, Shanan Campbell, multiple news outlets reported that the 92-year-old died of natural causes surrounded by loved ones on Tuesday, Dec. 30.

Campbell was a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe and Air Force veteran who served as U.S. senator from Colorado from 1993 to 2005. The longtime politician started his career as a Democrat before switching to the Republican Party in 1995.

In Washington, he became the first Native American to chair the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. He was also well known for his endeavors outside politics, including as a jewelry maker and participating in the 1964 Olympic Games as a member of the U.S. judo team. bit.ly/3MSijZj

01/05/2026

https://fox4kc.com/news/lawrence-city-hall-closed-after-altercation-police

The Lawrence, Kansas, City Hall is closed Monday morning after an altercation occurred, and police are asking people to avoid the area.

12/31/2025

Therapeutic support group incoming for parents who have tenuous relationships with children, ages 16 and over. Topics we will cover as appropriate include:
-tension and conflict
-ideological differences
-spiritual divides and religious differences
-how to love from a distance
-post-divorce parenting
-the “co-parenting” myth
-family court frustrations
-extended family games
-responsibility and respect vs parent responsibility and love

Contact us on the website if you are interested!! www.counselinglawrence.com

12/24/2025

Deep in the valley of Grasshopper Falls there lies a legend.

“I always wanted to be the one to find the elephant bones…” - Chance Gier

Let me set the scene for you…the air is thick with the smell of popcorn, and cotton candy. Children’s laughter floats around you as they yell for candy. The clomping of horse hooves, the roar of a bear no wait…a LION! But wait…what’s that…thunder? An earthquake? No it’s a great dust gray Asian elephant, his hide scarred from travel, his eyes full of ancient wisdom and an air of anarchy floating around him…it’s BOLIVAR!

It was a crisp April morning in 1884 when the small traveling circus Cooper and Jackson (allegedly selling to Barnum and Bailey shortly after their stint in Valley) paraded through the town of Valley Falls. Setting up tents and a menagerie down at the horse track that sat on the other side of Doodle Bug trail where the brush pile is now housed. It wouldn’t be long before a prairie storm would roll in and leave the circus scattered in chaos looking for a new place to winter. Boliver, already known for his independent streak, would remain.

For several weeks he became something of an unofficial citizen. Children fed him apples while the blacksmith’s wife played him his favorite songs. Every Thursday as part of some sacred weekly procession he’d follow the creamery wagon hoping for a creamy treat.

When the town well temporarily ran dry Boliver stomped his mighty foot causing the perfect soft spot for the workers to dig a secondary well. When a runaway cart nearly rolled into Hauks Grocery Boliver calmly stepped in front of it and let it bounce off his leg like a toy. There was even a whisper that Boliver pulled a stuck locomotive car a full twenty yards with nothing but determination and a fondness for the engineer’s peppermint candies!

Unfortunately as with all the best legends the time came that Boliver would have to move on. There was no major event that would cause Bolivar to leave it just came one morning late into Spring as the trees began to bloom along the Delaware River Boliver simply walked on.

No circus reclaimed him.
No storm chased him.
No person urged him forward.

He just lifted his trunk in farewell turned east, and followed the tracks out of town leaving only an elephant sized shape on the horizon.

Some say he retired in a fancy faraway sanctuary. But none the less every spring there are whispers that Bolivar the Great Elephant has returned just to check in on the town that once gave him peace.

Ask around today and everyone knows the story a little differently but all versions agree on one truth…For one magical spring in 1884, Valley Falls, Kansas, was home to an elephant named Boliver and the town was never quite the same!

This is a mostly fictionalized life story giving Boliver the Elephant the legacy he deserved. The 100% true story of this magnificent pachyderm can be found at the Valley Falls Historical Society Museum.

What you should know: Boliver was here. The spelling of his name is interchangeable because of how many Bolivars there were at the time. He passed away here. With the many transformations that Valley has seen over the last 141 years since Bolivar was laid to rest It’s unlikely that his bones still lay here so please don’t go digging for them.