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A popular bar for underage drinkers at the University of Kansas does not currently have an effective liquor license, according to liquor license records from the Kansas Department of Revenue.

Jayhawk Cafe’s liquor license will only be effective March 22, the records show. The bar, which KU students have dubbed as “the Hawk,” is the only establishment of the ones listed on the website that does not have an effective on premise liquor license, according to the records.  

Though people may not be able to find an effective liquor license under the Hawk’s name online, they may find flies in the liquor they drink at the bar.

The Hawk was rated out of compliance by the Kansas Department of Agriculture during an inspection just last year on Oct. 2, 2019.

KSDA inspectors found “multiple dead small flies” floating inside a bottle of Kentucky Gentleman, three bottles of well gin, one bottle of Jim Beam, three bottles of Jack Daniels, four bottle of Amaretto, and two bottles of Blue Curacao.

Sure enough, inspectors came back to the Hawk 16 days later for a follow-up inspection, putting the Hawk in compliance.

However, October of last year was not the first time the Hawk did not meet the standards of the KSDA.

The Hawk was also out of compliance with KSDA’s standards in 2018, with seven total violations.

Jonathan Davis is the owner of the Hawk, which is the oldest existing establishment KU’s campus, according to its official website.

Davis has owned the Hawk for 11 years, according to the most recent business entity records from the Kansas Office of the Secretary of State.

The Hawk, however, is not Davis’s first rodeo.

Davis also owned Tonic and Cadillac Ranch — two Lawrence bars which are both permanently closed.

Tonic closed its doors Nov. 27, 2018, according to its Facebook post, which included images of KU students and their memories at the bar. The reason for its closure, however, is unknown, and no business entity records currently show up on the Kansas Office of the Secretary of State’s website for the bar Davis once owned. 

Cadillac Ranch, however, was forfeited and closed due to a failure to file a timely annual report, business entity records show. 

The Hawk is known as a staple of the University of Kansas. According to the Hawk’s official website, former Phog Allen took his players there for pregame rituals and pop sensation Taylor Swift even payed a visit to the bar, according to coverage from the Kansas City Star.

Despite the food inspection violations, students can still be found waiting in line, ID in hand, waiting for their turn to step into the renowned bar.

f Sudden Oak Death disease in hundreds of rhododendrons sold at 60 Walmarts in Kansas and one Home Depot in Pittsburg. The rhododendrons were shipped to these stores from Park Hill Plants nursery in Oklahoma. 

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According to suddenoakdeath.org, a website put on by the California Oak Mortality Task Force, SOD is a tree disease caused by the fungus-like pathogen Phytophthora Ramorum. Though the pathogen poses no risk to humans or animals even if ingested, the website says it has killed millions of tanoak trees and several oak tree species and caused twig and foliar diseases in other plant species, including California bay laurel, Douglas-fir and coast redwood. 

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According to K-State Wildcat Extension District Horticulture Agent Jacob Weber, the pathogen is contagious. 

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“The concern here is that it will become established in our population of oaks and other landscape plants, and become an issue that will affect a lot of plants and may possibly become a serious forest issue,” Weber said. “It’s a concern because of potential economic damage.” 

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Because there is no cure for SOD, Weber said anyone who purchased a rhododendron from a Walmart store or a Home Depot store in the area this year should double bag them in a plastic bag and either throw them away, bury them deeply or burn them. 

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According to the American Rhododendron Society, U.S. regions that are best suited for growing rhododendron and azalea species run along the east and west coasts, along the Gulf of Mexico and around the Great Lakes. 

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John Harrison, owner of In The Garden, a local nursery and gardening store in Pittsburg, said his shop does not sell rhododendrons because Southeast Kansas does not fall in any of these regions, which makes it difficult for the rhododendrons to handle the area’s heat. 

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“The chains don’t care about that; they’re just nice, big pretty plants and they know that people are going to buy them because they’re in bloom even though they don’t do well for our area,” Harrison said. “I can order them, but we don’t landscape with them because the survival rate is very low because of the heat and humidity in our summers.” 

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Regardless, Weber says that at this point, because of the severe potential of SOD, it’s imperative for these plants to be destroyed as soon as possible. 

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“If you have one plant that’s infected, pretty soon you have 1,000 plants that are infected and then after that,10,000 plants infected within a very short period of time,” Weber said. “It spreads like wildfire; that’s what the issue is. Right now is the prime time to take care of an issue; right when it starts and get it under control right away.” 

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Attempts to reach Walmart, Home Depot and Park Hill Plants nursery in Oklahoma were unsuccessful.