Kansas City's BREAKING NEWS: 2nd-Alarm Fire In KC-MO Blue Valley

At 7:55 am- a 2nd alarm was ordered for a fire in a commercial building at 1601 Crystal.

The initial alarm went out at 7:44 am and smoke could be seen by responding fire companies from as far as 6 blocks away. A 1st-alarm was then sounded and the response was upgraded.



There is also a working house fire in eastern KC-MO- in the 4300 block of Ditzler that came in at 7:38am.

No injuries there and the fire was fairly minor.

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MetroRegion K.C. News and Weather On A Mid-Summer Night: Hour 7 - Finale

HOUR 7 - FINAL

6 AM THROUGH 7 AM

The last hour included a KC-MO house fire in the 5200 block of St. John- a water main break in Merriam and a van wreck in eastern Independence-MO..

No one was injured in the 6:07 am KC-MO fire that was brought under control 13 minutes later.

The water main break was in the 10000 block of West 57th Street according to Merriam-KS police.

Independence-MO fire- police and AMR-EMS went to the intersection of R.D. Mize and Brookridge around 6:45 am on the report of a van gone off the road there.

Possibly the only injury was the female driver- but my shift ended before I heard anything for sure.

I logged about 45 incidents but none were shootings or cuttings. No incident involved serious injury in fact.

Even the severe storm seemed to keep the destruction to a minimum- although some of the electronic media missed the warnings.

My thanks to the citizens of Metro Kansas City for a fairly violence-free morning and let's try for tomorrow morning as well.

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MetroRegion K.C. News and Weather On A Mid-Summer Night: Hour 6

HOUR 6

5 AM THROUGH 6 AM

The northbound ramp from I-435 to Stadium Drive remains closed due to an earlier truck fire.


The only other items during this hour were vehicle crashes in Excelsior Springs-MO and Lawrence-KS- and assaults in KC-MO and Independence.

A strong thunderstorm moved from northwest through southeast JoCo-KS during the hour- was now moving into Miami & Cass county.

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MetroRegion K.C. News and Weather On A Mid-Summer Night: Hour 5

HOUR 5

4 AM THROUGH 5 AM

Business picked up in the 4-o'clock hour...

The house fire in the 8900 block of South Buckner-Tarsney Road was declared under control at 4:42 am..

Four Jackson County and one Cass County fire department helped fight the blaze.

The state fire marshal has been requested to that scene- but no injuries have been reported..

A little before 4:30am- KC-MO emergency services reponded to northbound I-435's ramp to Stadium Drive- where a semi-truck was reportedly in a wreck and on fire.

The truck was a vehicle hauler and it was indeed on fire. No word if the truck crashed- but the driver was reported to be fine and refused any EMS treatment.

The northbound ramp to Stadium Drive is closed right now.

KC-MO fire also went to an automatic alarm at 909 Walnut at 4:23am- cleared on a false alarm- only to return at 4:45am when a security guard reportedly smelled smoke coming from an electrical room.

The fire crews just cleared the scene again after checking and finding little..

Warrensburg MO fire crews were sent to the 400 block of Acorn Place to check a house that had a tree fall on it during a severe thunderstorm.

There was no hazard or injuries reported from that.

A few showers moving southeast from the Northland- a few thundershowers near De Soto- as of 5:15 am with temperatures still in the mid to upper-70's Metro-wide.

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MetroRegion K.C. News and Weather On A Mid-Summer Night: Hour 4

HOUR 4

3 AM THROUGH 4 AM

I t had been a VERY slow hour- no calls whatsoever logged until 3:46 am....

That's when the report of a house fire came in in the 8900 block of South Buckner-Tarsney Road..

The tones went out to fire departments from Lake Lotawana- Lone Jack- Sni Valley (Oak Grove) and Central Jackson County (Blue Springs/Grain Valley)..

The Lake Lotawana fire chief arrived about 5 minutes after the alarm was sounded- he reported "heavy smoke showing along the entire roofline" of the house.

There's been no word yet on the occupancy status of this house as the firefight carries on.

The weather remains mostly cloudy- temperatures holding in the mid to upper-70's Metro-wide with any precipitation still about 50 miles away in any direction from downtown KC-MO..

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MetroRegion K.C. Weather Radars On A Mid-Summer Night: Hours 1 Through 3.5

Here's how the weather radar has looked throughout this Saturday morning.

Note how the severe storm in Jackson County MO seems to develop out of nowhere.

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MetroRegion K.C. News and Weather On A Mid-Summer Night: Hour 3

HOUR 3

2 AM THROUGH 3 AM

Not much this hour- a couple of wrecks in KC-MO- east side and in the P&L District- but injuries appeared to be non life-threatening.

A flurry of assault victims (I haven't heard any shootings this morning- knock on wood) from Lawrence-KS to Blue Springs- but again- no life-threatening injuries.

A fire-scare in KC-KS- a lot of companies sent to what turned out to be flashing lights in a business off I-35 & 18th Street Expressway..

I don't know how many are without power in Independence-MO (if you're one- lemme know- ha!) but the fire department calls tailed off..

The weather's okay- mostly cloudy with temperature in the mid to upper-70's Metro-wide.

Seeing more thunderstorms on radar- the stuff that moved through here now around Sedalia to Clinton-MO- some severe cells up northeast of Chillicothe-MO- and showers and storms from southeastern Nebraska through central Kansas- all is moving southeastward.

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MetroRegion K.C. News and Weather On A Mid-Summer Night: Hour 2

HOUR 2 - 1 AM THROUGH 2 AM

When we last left you just after 1 am- a severe thunderstorm had developed near Parkville-MO and northern KC-KS and rapidly turned severe near downtown KC-MO and moved east then southeastward through northeast & east KC-MO and northwest through south-central Independence

High straight-line winds have caused power line- tree and even some scattered structure damage in eastern KC and western Independence-MO..

Independence was still running calls as of 2am..

The weather might have contributed to an 18-wheeler jackknifing and at least temporarily blocking the southbound lanes of I-435 south of Front Street around 1:05am. No one was hurt and it sounds as if the truck driver was able to move his rig at least partially off the road.

There was another minor crash in Lee's Summit.

Just before the hour is the report of a possible All-terrain vehicle crash in the northeast part of Jackson County MO. No report yet...


More sundry/non-serious EMS- fire and police calls in the various jurisdictions (what- 60-something)- intrusion/medical/fire alarms- disturbances- general unsociable people- more license checks- etc..


The weather started out cloudy with thunder- lots of lightning to the north at 1 am.

At 2am- the lightning has moved east and southeast and it's pretty nice in southern KC-MO..

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Hour By Hour: News Around MetroRegion Kansas City On A Mid-Summer Weekend Night - Hour 1

Actually- call it early morning Saturday.

Thought I'd do something here I've never done blogging- give each of you a blow by blow by hour of the overnight shift.

HOUR 1 - Midnight to 1AM

Not too active in the first 30 minutes- a couple of assault calls- Independence-MO & KC-KS with minor injuries or EMS refusals by the victims.

A hit & run crash was reported at 20th Street & Broadway in KC-MO just after midnight. Witnesses reported a dark-colored SUV took off from the wreck- the other driver's injuries were non life-threatening.

Of course there were the sundry EMS calls- overdoses- cardiac and breathing issues- you name it. Police calls in all the various jurisdictions- assaults- suspicious people- license checks.

The weather started out partly cloudy and 80-degrees at midnight.

By 1am- there's lots of lightning to my north: a heavy thunderstorm has developed near and moved over the Downtown KC-MO area.

One minute after 1 am- a severe thunderstorm warning was issued by the National Weather Service for northern Jackson county Missouri.

Large hail is expected- see you after 2 am..

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Metro K.C.'s BREAKING NEWS: Critical-Injury Crash In Independence-MO

It happened around 3:30 this Friday afternoon: reported "3 cars" involved- at least one of those cars a convertible- at U.S. 40 and Hardy in southwestern Independence.



At least 5 ambulances have been or are at the scene.



One AMR-EMS unit transported an about 20-year-old critically-injured male to an area hospital.


He was possibly ejected from the convertible when the crash occurred.


Another AMR unit has whisked away "a 26-year-old male" from that convertible in less-serious condition to another medical trauma center.

See more on KSHB News at 5- 6 and 10 pm..

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Alleged Violation On Missouri "Sunshine Law" In Peculiar-MO

Northwest Cass County's The (Belton-MO) STAR-HERALD reports that the Peculiar Board of Aldermen allegedly violated the state's open public meeting or "Sunshine" law recently.



The board met privately to discuss cutting all Peculiar city employees pay by ten percent. The board then returned to the public forum to approve the 10% cut.



The Belton Star Herald- owned by The McClatchy Company who also owns the KANSAS CITY STAR- filed a complaint with Missouri attorney general Chris Koster’s office and notified Cass County prosecutor Teresa Hensley.

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Legends Shopping Center- Nebraska Furniture Mart Pays On Overdue Taxes

An agreement apparently reached Thursday according to The KANSAS CITY KANSAN.

The Legends shopping center reportedly paid it's past-due tax bill in full- Nebraska Furniture Mart made a "partial payment" of it's millions owed.

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Oklahoma State Trooper Gets 5-Day Suspension For Paramedic Choking

NOTE: Post delayed to to Time-Warner Roadrunner/digital phone service incompetence.



Apparently the State of Oklahoma is short on qualified troopers or they don't care about "ticking time-bombs" on their force.

The state trooper involved in THIS incident with a paramedic crew transporting a patient to a hospital has received a "5-day suspension without pay."

In addition- Trooper Martin was ordered to take an "anger management" course as well- says STATtler 911.


Here's hoping none of us EVER has Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Daniel Martin standing next to our car door!

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A Loving Mama Dog In Smithville Needs A Loving Home

This story is from The SMITHVILLE (MO) HERALD- about Sadie- a pregnant terrier who not only gave life to her newborn puppies- but took on 4 motherless kittens as well.

Sadie is just in this home temporarily- this beautiful animal needs a beautiful- loving Human!

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Some Photos of The Wedneday- July 22 Total Solar Eclipse

These are courtesy of the respective photographers whose name appears in the image's file name (right-click on photo & Properties).

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Central States NEWS: Oklahoma Paramedic Assaulted By State Trooper Files Civil Rights Lawsuit

This is from an incident that happened May 24 this year on U.S. 62 highway in Okfuskee County-OK..


An Oklahoma State trooper- running "hot" on a "stolen car report" ("backing up" county law enforcement) lost his temper after an ambulance transporting a patient failed to immediately yield to the trooper's patrol car.


You can read a much more extensive series of stories about this incident and see the actual OHP dash cam video (that state officials took forever to release to the public) on Dave Statter's STATter 911 blog.

Here is the specifics on the civil rights case that Paramedic White has filed in a federal court yesterday.


My take? I've been in and/or around emergency services for nearly 40 years and never- NEVER in all that time have I seen such unprofessionalism!

The State of Oklahoma had best SERIOUSLY review it's decision to keep this trooper on the force....

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Lexington-MO Schools Damaged In July 10 Storm

As reported by The LEXINGTON (MO) NEWS- the high- middle and elementary schools in Lexington suffered storm damage in that early July event.

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Controversial Car Dealer Chad Franklin Screws Blue Springs Customers

This time it's one of Franklin's other local businesses- Xtreme Powersports. (Yes- their Web site is STILL up!)

The EXAMINER tells how people were lied to- now they can't recover their property at this Franklin business that has gone belly-up.

Who in Metro Kansas City STILL does business with this guy after a news media expose' of his car dealerships???

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What About THIS Power and Light District Kidnapping Report SATURDAY Morning?

As many of my regular readers know by now- I report Kansas City news and weather on this blog.

I've worked with the K.C. news media since the mid-late 1960's either pro-bono or on a contract basis.

I care more than you can ever know about my hometown and if I seem bitter about anything that goes on in it- it's because I HATE to see this city not becoming one of America's great cities.


All that said- the "mainstream" news media is reporting a kidnapping and rape of a woman who reportedly was in the Power & light entertainment district last Sunday morning.


But- what happened down at P & L last SATURDAY morning???


Here's one of my news posts from that morning:

"To top all this off- at 4:37 am- KC-MO police broadcast a pickup of "a suspect in a kidnapping that occurred in the Power & Light (entertainment district) from 1:45 to 3 o'clock (this (Saturday) morning)."

The all-points-bulletin described "a black male- dark skin- bald- white t-shirt- blue shorts- last seen occupying a 2004 to 2006 black Honda Civic."

Police did not give a description of who was "kidnapped.""

What was this? Was this a 2nd kidnapping in addition to the widely-reported Sunday incident or the same one?

Just what the HELL is going on down there or does this blog have to start scraping together the money to hire a reporter to hunt down the stories I gather but never get reported on?

Hey- that's not a bad idea- if I had the money to SPARE....

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Clear Channel Radio Has Public Relations Nightmare In Grand Rapids-MI

The staffing at radio stations is so bad these days- no one even bothers to check the weather...


This Net site tells how Clear Channel Radio held a "birthday bash" for one of it's properties in Grand Rapids and how Clear Channel seemingly ignored flood warnings- getting more than one thousand of their listeners' (customers) vehicles flooded and then stuck in mud.


Clear Channel reportedly attributed THEIR goof to poor Mama Nature- now has a class action lawsuit pending against them brought by the more than 1000 ruined vehicle owners.

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Selected Updated Rainfall Totals So Far July 2009

Here's the latest accumulated rainfall from Overland Park's Stormwatch site.



Refer to the OP site for exact locations of a report.

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Independence-MO Residents Vote On August 4 For Sales Tax Increase

JUST what the economy-battered residents of Independence (or any other locale in the UCSA) need is to pay MORE sales tax!



Vote on this issue August 4th- but be ready for about half of the regular polling places to be open.



Remember- sales tax increases never become sales tax decreases- kinda like freedoms lost or given away.

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"Large Water Main Break" Near K.C.I. Airport

At 0933 CDT- the KC-MO Fire department was reporting "a large water main break in the area of Northwest Tiffany Springs and North Amity roads."



There have been some automatic fire alarms as a result but no other word on damage or closures in that area yet.

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Alonzo Washington Finds Fault With K.C. Crimestoppers Tips Line

Say what you will about Mr. Washington- but even having never met the man- I have a LOT of respect for what he's trying to do: Stop the senseless violence in and around Metro Kansas City.
Another aid in this battle is supposed to be the "Greater Kansas City Crimestoppers" who sponsor the infamous "474-TIPS" crime hotline.

Alonzo Washington says there are basic- unaddressed faults (like GKCC don't pay the tipsters- etc.) with 474-TIPS that (surprise!) the local news media don't report.

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Milwaukee-WI- Dramatic Rescue of People From Burning Wrecked Car

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Central States News: Extra-Alarm Fire In South St. Louis-MO

An apartment building in south St. Louis caught fire around 5 am this morning according to KMOV-TV in St. Louis.



No reports of injuries have been received yet.

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On This Date In History - July 21- 1969

It was "one small step for man- one giant leap for mankind."

Neil Armstrong steps on the Moon at 2:56:15 AM (GMT).

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On This Date In Weather History...

In 1911... the low temperature plunged to 10 degrees in Painter- Wyoming. This set the all-time record low for July in the continental United States.

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Radar Update On Increasing Flash Flooding Potential

There is an increasing probability of flash flooding overnight in parts of Metro and the MetroRegion Kansas City.

The greatest threat at this time looks to be Kansas areas generally along and south of the Kansas River and in Missouri- along and south of I-70.

This seems to be supported by the NWS' Hydrological Prediction Center (HPC) "Excessive Rainfall" graphic.




Here's the lastest NWS radar image from KC/Pleasant Hill and one of the last visible satellite pics before sunset.

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Murder Spree Has KC-MO Officials Asking For Help

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WEATHER BULLETIN: NWS "Flash Flood Watch" Until Tuesday Morning

A Flash Flood watch in in effect from 7 PM this evening through Tuesday morning- including Metro Kansas City.

We'll be monitoring our 17 scanning radios here if any flash flooding occurs in the area- so check here at commercal-free CSW for the latest....

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