lawrence.com staph
Mike grew up in the southeast Kansas town of Columbus.
He developed an interest in news and sports writing as early as grade school because of these key influences: watching and reading the coverage of the 1963 JFK assassination, being a St. Louis Cardinals baseball (before the Royals) and Kansas City Chiefs football fan and thinking that Superman had more fun as Clark Kent. He wrote Columbus HIgh School sports stories for the school and local papers.
Mike studied journalism while attending both Kansas University and Kansas State University where he earned a bachelor's degree. His first full-time journalism job was in the early 1980s at a weekly newspaper, the Osawatomie Graphic. After a couple of years there he moved on to a daily, the Kansas City Kansan.
The Kansan was a bigger newspaper then and Mike enjoyed covering law enforcement, politics and other happenings in Wyandotte County during the 1980s and 1990s. In June 2000 MIke moved to Lawrence and has worked as a reporter in the Newscenter covering a variety of beats. He currently covers Douglas County government, area law enforcement and courts and sometimes writes stories about the military.
During his spare time - when not reading baseball or military histories - Mike likes to take a camera and drive the back roads and streets of rural and urban areas. He takes photographs of old abandoned barns, houses and buildings.
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Recent stories:
- A year later, hip-hop artist’s death still unsolved
October 14, 2007 - Bibliophiles on same page for sale
March 29, 2006 - Play discusses seriousness of post-traumatic stress
November 21, 2005 - Longtime manager of Liberty Hall dies
November 14, 2005 - Two restaurants fined for code violations
October 28, 2005 - Residence halls welcome influx of students
August 15, 2005 - Douglas County Fair to kick off this weekend
July 29, 2005 - Sparks fly for derby drivers
July 25, 2005 - Missing camper mystery solved
June 22, 2005 - As Wakarusa festival-goers roll out of town, recyclers step in
June 21, 2005 - See full list of stories by Mike Belt...
Bandit Teeth / ColourMusic :: After a seven-year hiatus, this trio of Lawrencians has reestablished itself as a top-shelf draw for their brand of high-energy, punk-influenced indie rock ... More info
- Opening Reception for "AbracaData" by Yuri Zupancic
- RedLefty / Kasey Rausch and Friends (early all-ages patio show)
- Sleep Is Like Sex
