Lawrence officials are giving police more power to enforce crowd size limits and other health orders designed to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
The moves come after neighbors raised concerns about large house parties near the University of Kansas campus. Commissioners voted 4-1 Thursday to approve an ordinance that uses an existing state public nuisance law to give police the authority to issue up to a $500 ticket to violators.
The ordinance takes effect Saturday. On Friday, Kansas health officials reported 1,415 new cases since Wednesday, for a total of 52,285 across the state.