Critical Injury- POSSIBLE Fatality Crash in Leavenworth County KS

Leavenworth county emergency services- Easton and Kickapoo Township Fire and rescue departments got dispatched on this call at 2:51 a.m. Saturday morning and the only location was on an unknown roadway "between Easton and Leavenworth."

The dispatcher told responding units that there was "an unresponsive female" at the crash scene.

The call for help apparently went to the Atchison county KS 9-1-1 center- and by 3:06 a.m.- Atchison county reportedly told Leavenwoth county that  they "triangulated the location" of the crash from the cell phone call as being "in the area of 251st Street and K-192."

Emergency units arrived at the scene at 3:12 a.m.- and asked for a medical helicopter- but no choppers would fly due to thunderstorms and low cloud ceilings in the area.


No transports of any injured persons from the scene was heard- but Leavenworth county authorities would not confirm if there were any fatalities at this scene as of 5:30 a.m..

CSW BREAKING: KC-MO Police Officer Seriously-Injured After Struck By Car at DUI Checkpoint

A 36-year-old male KC-MO police officer is in serious condition at a Metro hospital with a broken right leg and possibly other injuries after being struck by a vehicle that had been stopped at- then fled a sobriety checkpoint at 76th Terrace and Troost.

The officer who was struck reportedly rode on the hood of the suspect vehicle at least 6 blocks- to "83rd Street and Troost-" where the officer fell to the pavement.

The incident occurred at 2:14 a.m. Saturday morning when a KC-MO police radio channel came screamingly-alive with information that "2 to 3 officers have been struck" by "a black or gray Chrysler 300 occupied by 3 black males."

At least one officer at the checkpoint fired shots at the fleeing vehicle- and the suspects struck at least one police car as they sped away.


The officer who rode the hood of the suspect vehicle reportedly "broke the windshield" of the suspect vehicle with his head when he was struck- and other officers chased the suspects at reported speeds of "100 m.p.h."


Those officers lost sight of the suspect vehicle at "Bannister and Troost" and a massive area search was then conducted.

Reportedly- the driver of the suspect vehicle left a hotel "key card" with an officer while stopped at the checkpoint before the suspect sped off.

Unfortunately- none of the police car's cameras at the checkpoint caught a license plate number or better description of the suspect car.


The suspect vehicle has not been located and- as of 3:15 a.m.- police were also investigating the possibly that "a dark-colored Dodge Charger" was either the possible suspect vehicle or was somehow involved with this incident.


There were no other injured officers transported from the scene of the incident.

CSW WEATHER: Severe Storm Watch Cancelled for Metro K.C.- But Storms Develop

The weather radar has certainly lit up the past hour.

Showers and thunderstorms- the latter with locally very heavy rain- have developed from east of Emporia into the Metro Kansas City area.

Some of these storms in the Metro could produce small hail- as storm tops are in the 35000 to 45000 foot range.

Thunderstorms are likely at least for the next hour or two according to radar trends- and this area SHOULD shift east and south over time.

At any rate- I'll be here until 7 a.m. to monitor them....

CSW WEATHER: Severe Thunderstorm Watch No. 458 Till Midnight Covers Metro Kansas City

Well- the storm watch alluded to in the last post here at CSW has come to fruition...


The watch covers Metro Kansas City and much of the eastern-southeastern and southern MetroRegion.

Linn county KS is included in this watch.

Radar continues to show storms building to our west-northwest- and beginning to developto the southwest as well.


Large hail and damaging winds- as well as deadly cloud to ground lightning are expected.

We DO need the rain anyway....

CSW WEATHER: NWS-SPC "Watch Possible" in Vicinity of Metro K.C.

The Storm Prediction Center recently issued what is called a "Mesoscale Discussion (MCD)" which is basically a heads-up if possible severe weather is brewing somewhere.

The particular "MCD" No. 1172 issued in the past half-hour concerns Metro and MetroRegion K.C. in general and states that developing thunderstorms may cause a severe storm watch to be issued.


You can see by the accompanying NWS Doppler radar image why this may be so- small but strong storms have developed near Topeka into Jefferson county KS..

This trend should continue area-wide- and please be alert to any possible storm watch- or storm warnings issued for the area where you live- as I catch a nap before my midnight news shift.

Dow Jones Stock Index Plunges Below 12000

High fuel prices and increasing unemployment due in part to well-paying American jobs continuing to be shipped overseas by corporations are contributing to a weak American economic recovery- and a stock market plunge.


The Dow Jones stock index is reflecting the poor confidence in the American economy and has dropped more than 137 points as of this post with the DJ Index at 11988.

Central States News: Marysville KS Man Shot Dead- Suspect in Custody

A domestic dispute at a residence in Marysville KS turned deadly Wednesday evening.

Marysville is in north-central Kansas about 40 miles north of Manhattan.


Police say that 24-year-old Derek Baynton was shot multiple times and killed during the disturbance.

The shooter was taken into custody at the scene and a woman at the house was questioned about the murder- according to the MARYSVILLE (KS) ADVOCATE.

Missouri State Highway Patrol: Independence Man Dead After Pursuit- Crash

A 31-year-old man died after crashing his Mustang on I-470 near Strother Road in Lee's Summit early Friday morning during a MSHP pursuit.


The MSHP crash report states that Trooper D.D. Wohler was observing eastbound I-470 traffic when the driver of the 2002 Mustang- reported as Adam G Hodgeman- raced by the trooper at 98 m.p.h..


Only 2 minutes into the pursuit- Hodgeman came upon other traffic near Strother Road and lost control of his car off the east side of the roadway and rolled-over.


Hodgeman- who was not wearing a seat beat- was pronounced dead at the scene by the Jackson County coroner.

Kansas City's 5-Year-Old Murder Suspect ... What This World Coming To?

I guess I'm somewhat over the shock of hearing about this to post on it...

One night last weekend before I came on-duty for my all-night news gig- 18-month-old Jermain Johnson Jr. had drowned in a bathtub at a residence on KC-MO's East Side.


The KANSAS CITY STAR story on this incident- written by Christine Vendel- can be found here.


The police of course investigated- and- in the course of their interviews found out a teenage girl who was SUPPOSED to be in charge of the several toddlers at the home had left briefly- leaving the youngsters alone.

Then comes the shocker: A 5-year-old girl- who was one of the toddlers left alone at the house- took young Jermain to a bathtub still containing water in it and drowned the boy "because he made to much noise" and "cried too much."


That news shocked not only the entire community- but investigators as well.


Of course there's the standard talk of pressing charges against the teenaged girl who left the youngsters alone in the first place.


But the burning question is: What in the HELL can authorities- no- SOCIETY- do with a 5-year-old murderer?

CSW WEATHER: Tornado Watch Cancelled For Metro Kansas City

Metro Kansas City will be clear of Tornado Watch No. 453 at 10 p.m.- and the NWS office in Pleasant Hill does not anticipate any additional severe storm watches being issued for the Metro overnight.

A new severe storm watch WILL include northern portions of the K.C. MetroRegion- generally north of U.S. 36 highway into early Friday morning- but the threat of any tornadoes has greatly diminished.

Flash flood warnings extend north of U.S. 36 in Missouri- from around Gallatin- Trenton eastward past Kirksville into early Friday morning.

Joplin MO Tornado Death Toll Now At 151 - Cat Found Alive

As of Thursday afternoon- June 9- the death toll from the May 22 tornado that devastated southern Joplin MO stands at 151.


Riverside MO Public Safety officer Jefferson "Jeff" Taylor- who was struck by lightning several days after the tornado and died from his injuries is among those included in the revised toll.


Some good news- a 13-year-old house cat was found still alive in the tornado debris of it's owner's house- according to this story from KOAM-TV 7 in Pittsburg KS-Joplin MO.. 

CSW WEATHER: Tornado Watch No. in Effect For Metro- MetroRegion Kansas City

This watch is in effect until 10 p.m. this Thursday night- and includes east-central and northeastern Kansas- about the northwestern quarter of Missouri- southeastern Nebraska and extreme southwestern and southern Iowa.

Metro Kansas City IS included in this watch.

The watch does not include Linn county KS- Vernon and eastward counties in MO..

Currently- there are thunderstorms in northeast MO- a few severe south of Kirksville- but as of yet- there are no thunderstorms in the watch area in KS..

If any tornadoes occur in MetroRegion Kansas City- the news will be posted here at CSW.

Two KC-MO Fire Trucks Involved in Wrecks Thursday Morning

Two KC-MO fire trucks were involved in separate non-injury crashes while on the way to minor fire calls in the Plaza area.

The first occurred at 9:28 a.m. at 42nd Street and Broadway- the 2nd happened at 10:27 a.m. at Ward Parkway and Broadway.

Again- no injuries in either incident and damage to the fire trucks was fairly minor.

CSW WEATHER: Severe Storm Chances Over Central States Next 3 Days

There are chances for severe thunderstorms (tstms) over areas of the Central States today- Friday and Saturday- including Metro Kansas City today and tomorrow.


Today's risk area stretches from southern to northeastern Kansas (KS)- eastern Nebraska (NE)- about the southern half of Iowa (IA) and the northern half of Missouri (MO).


The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) says all modes of severe weather- including "brief tornadoes-" are possible later today into the overnight hours in the forecasted areas.

Friday's severe risk stretches from eastern KS- across western into northeastern MO and southeastern IA- with large hail and damaging storm winds the primary severe threat.

On Saturday- the severe tstm threat is forecasted to be across southwestern into extreme southern KS and the Oklahoma Panhandle into the eastern part of the Sooner State.

 Any severe storm watches issued for the Kansas City MetroRegion later today will be posted here at CSW.

CSW WEATHER: Severe Thunderstorm Watch For the Wichita Metro Area

Watch Number 447 will be in effect for a 6-county area in and around Metro Wichita until midnight.

There's a cluster of severe storms southwest of Wichita- moving slowly northeastward.

IF these storms could hold together- they wouldn't reach Metro Kansas City until around sunrise Thursday morning.

Other severe storm watches cover about the southern half of Iowa northeastward into the Great Lakes states.

Kansas City MetroRegion News: Clinton County MO Man Killed After Stabbing

A Gower MO man is reported dead and two people- a male and a female- are in custody at the Clinton County Sheriff's department after a stabbing near Turney early Wednesday morning- reports the ST. JOSEPH (MO) NEWS-PRESS.


The killing reportedly occurred at Camp Down Under shortly after 1 a.m..

The NEWS-PRESS says the victim was taken to Cameron Regional Medical Center where he later passed away from his injuries.


The name of the victim has not yet been released pending notification of next-of-kin.

Drug Charges Dropped Against Former Boxing Champion Tommy Morrison

Last February- former heavyweight boxing champion and movie star ("Rocky V") Tommy Morrison was arrested by the Kansas Highway Patrol on the Kansas Turnpike after a traffic stop revealed illegal drugs in Morrison's vehicle after a traffic stop.


However- the arresting trooper- Beau Wallace- was killed in a crash May 26 on U.S. 50 west of Emporia when another motorist pulled out in front of Wallace's motorcycle.


Since the arresting officer Trooper Wallace had died- the Lyon County KS prosecutor had no choice but to dismiss all charges against Morrison- according to the EMPORIA (KS) GAZETTE.

Less Than 5000 St. Joseph Voters Raise Taxes for City of Nearly 77000

On the 2nd attempt in 7 months- St. Joseph politicians managed to get the votes for a motel-hotel tax increase to help finance a new city "events center" as well as Missouri riverfront improvements- states the story in the ST. JOSEPH (MO) NEWS-PRESS.


The tax increase- from 3-percent to 6-percent was approved by a 17-percent margin of votes.


The tax has "a 20-year sunset clause" which means the increased tax would revert to the original 3-percent if the higher tax was not re-approved by St. Joe voters.


Your Captain wonders how many of the other 89-percent of non-voting registered voters will grouse about the increased tax....

45 Years Later- Couple That Survived 1966 Topeka Tornado Victimized Again in Joplin

One might say Olen and Betty Robbins are cursed- another might say the retired couple are blessed.


The Robbins' survived two EF-5 tornadoes- the one on June 8 1966 that sliced through Topeka KS and the Joplin Tornado on May 22.

The couple was uninjured in both storms.

Their story is found in Wednesday morning's online edition of the TOPEKA (KS) CAPITAL-JOURNAL.

The couple had moved to Lakeland Florida in 2002 after retiring- Olen from the Santa Fe railroad and Betty as a registered nurse.

But the couple moved to Joplin to be near family after experiencing 3 hurricanes in 2004.

Today is the 45th anniversary of the Topeka Tornado that struck during the 7 p.m. hour- and sliced a diagonal path of destruction through the Capital city.




Sixteen people were killed- and the tornado was the first to cause at least $100-million in damage.




Prompt and dire warnings of the approaching tornado by electronic news media- particularily WIBW-TV 13's Bill Kurtis- was credited for saving many Topekan's lives.

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Body Found on I-29 Closes Highway North of Barry Road

Interstate 29 north of Barry Road is closed as of this post after KC-MO police found a body along the freeway near Tiffany Springs Road about 4:30 a.m..

There aren't any details yet on this find- but traffic headed north on I-29 from Downtown to K.C.I. airport is being detoured off at Barry Road while police investigate the area around the body


BREAKING NEWS UPDATE- 6:30 A.M.- INTERSTATE 29 IS BEING RE-OPENED BY KC-MO POLICE.

KC-MO Police say the "body" was that of a female- apparently she was attempting to cross the freeway and was struck by a vehicle then she was struck by several more vehicles as she layed injured in the roadway.

TV news video earlier from the scene showed a pickup truck and a car with a broken windshield along the shouler of I-29 that were apparently involved in this incident.

Police have not yet ruled the woman's death as a traffic fatality or otherwise.

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The 2011 Joplin Tornado- A 3-D Look

This was released in the past few days by the National Weather Service- a 3-dimensional view of the Joplin tornado.


The movie file (allow a minute or two to fully load if using broadband) is of a single Doppler weather radar volume scan from the Springfield MO site- and the movie and information about this presentation can be found at the link HERE.

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Central States News: Two Men Die in Wichita KS House Fire

This tragic fire occurred about 1:15 a.m. early Tuesday morning in a house that had 5 occupants.

The WICHITA EAGLE reports that four people made it outside- but that one of them- a 50-year-old man- went back into the burning house to attempt to rescue his grandfather.

The 50-year-old was rescued by firefighters and transported to a hospital where he later died and the grandfather- who was unable to be rescued by fire crews- died in the fire.

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Central States News: Small Earthquake in Eastern Missouri Early Tuesday

The quake occurred at 3:10 a.m. CDT and was centered 52 miles southwest of St. Louis.


Two intensities were listed: 3.9 on the main USGS quake page- but a 4.2 was listed on the USGS location map (see graphic).

No damage was reported either to local law enforcement offices or the news media- according to the story in the ST. LOUIS (MO) POST-DISPATCH.

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Parkville MO Begins Sandbagging Operations To Stop Rising Missouri River

The City of Parkville has requested volunteers to help fill sandbags in an attempt to prevent flooding of it's historic downtown area- according to this story from news partner KSHB-41 NBC Action News.


"Volunteers should be at least 16 years old, wear solid shoes and gloves and bring identification with them-" state Parkville officials.

Parkville- along with downstream neighbor Riverside- were inundated during the Great Flood of 1993.


Parkville city officials hope to erect a 4-foot high temporary levee around it's downtown area.


Volunteers are asked to report to the Farmer's Market beginning at 2 p.m. today (Tuesday- June 7)- according to the City of Parkville Web site.

Riverside spent tens of millions of dollars to repair and fortify their Missouri River levee system- which will be tested for the first time since it was completed about 10 years ago.

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Central States News: Current Missouri River Stages

As meteorologists and the public nervously watch the skies for rainfall- releases from upper Missouri River dams continue to pour into middle and lower reaches of the Missouri.


Overnight- there were more heavy rains and flash flooding on the Missouri River source regions in Montana- and these floodwaters will only add to continued high releases from the series of Pick-Sloan dams.


The following are the latest river stages from selected points along the middle to lower Missouri- click on the locations' name for a direct link to that river gauge:


Sioux City IA

Omaha NE

Rulo NE

St. Joseph MO

Leavenworth KS

Kansas City MO

Boonville MO

Jefferson City MO

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