Three-Alarm Fire Displaces More Than A Dozen People in South KC-MO

At least 14 people- including 8 children- have been displaced when fire heavily-damaged an apartment building in south Kansas City MO early Saturday morning.


Five companies of the KC-MO Fire department responded at 3:31 a.m. to the reported fire in the Stonehaven South  Apartments in the 8300 block of Hillcrest.

The first-arriving company- Pumper 41- saw smoke and flames being whipped by south winds gusting to near 30 m.p.h. coming from the roof of a 3-story building there at 3:35 a.m. and requested a 2nd-alarm response.

By the time the 3rd-alarm was dispatched at 3:55 a.m.- 14 KC-MO fire companies had been committed to the fire. 


Fortunately- all of the building's occupants escaped uninjured and at 4:23 a.m.- the fire was declared under control.


Fire department sources report "12 units" affected by the fire with "6 adults and 8 children" rendered temporarily homeless.

An investigation as to the fire's cause was being conducted.

National Weather Service's USA 30-Day Weather Outlook for December 2011

Just issued yesterday is the National Weather Service's (NWS) 30-Day weather outlook across America.


Here in the Central States- the only above-average weather expected is in temperatures- and that area runs generally along and south of Interstate 70 from southern Kansas and Missouri into Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Precipitation-wise- it shows to be of equal chances for average precip amounts over the Central States through December.

In Metro Kansas City- it appears the coming month will being near to slightly above-average temperatures with average precipitation.


Kansas City average highs in December are around 40 degrees with average lows around 23 degrees.

Average precipitation (melted) is around 1.65-inches.

Oklahoma State Women's Basketball Coach- Assistant- Killed in Arkansas Plane Crash

The coach of Oklahoma State's women basketball team- Kurt Budke- and his assistant coach Miranda Serna were killed Thursday night in a plane crash in central Arkansas.


The pilot of the plane and another passenger not affiliated with OSU also died.


The crash occurred south of Perryville AR- reports Tulsa OK TV station KOTV-6..

Central States News: Recent Earthquakes in Nebraska- South Dakota

There have been two 3 to 4-magnitude earthquakes in northwestern Nebraska and southwestern South Dakota since last Saturday night.

The LINCOLN (NE) JOURNAL-STAR and radio station KCSR 610-AM in Chadron both report  that a Richter 3.7-magnitude quake first struck "just before midnight Sunday" or at 11:51 p.m. Saturday night near the NE-SD border: "26 miles south of Hot Springs SD" or "29 miles west-northwest of Chadron NE..

According to the USGS offical earthquake report- this quake was at a depth of 3.1 miles below the Earth's surface.

The USGS also reported the second quake- a 3.3 Richter-magnitude that occurred at 2:31 a.m. Tuesday morning at the same location as the Saturday tremor.


No damage or injuries were reported in either quakes stated various news media sources in the affected areas.


Like the 5.6 Oklahoma quake- a whole lotta' shakin' in a whole lot of areas not used to such Acts of Nature.

Central States News: U.S. 54 Expressway Opens Today at Lake of The Ozarks

The new U.S. 54 Expressway that bypasses Bagnell Dam at the Lake of The Ozarks is slated to open later today.

According to LAKE NEWS ONLINE- there is work yet to be done on the expressway- but regular traffic flow begins today (Thursday) with the side work to be completed over the next month or so.


The new expressway crosses the Osage River east of the dam- tying into U.S. 54 in Osage Beach and near Eldon.

University of Missouri Football Coach Arrested For Driving While Intoxicated

The coach of the MU football team- Gary Pinkel- was arrested by Columbia police on charges of driving while intoxicated in Columbia late Wednesday night.


Police originally stopped Pinkel for "lane and signal violations-" said the story in the University of Missouri's THE MISSOURIAN- and police then found "evidence...showing alcohol was involved."

Pinkel was arrested and bonded-out for $500.00.


In a presser late Thursday afternoon- MU Athletic Director Mike Alden said that Gary Pinkel  was suspended one week without pay.




We're hoping this hand slap won't hurt Gary Pinkel .... 

Another Child Dead After Wreck in KC-MO

A morning drive-time crash on Interstate 470 in southeastern KC-MO has left one person- a juvenile- dead.


The 1-vehicle wreck happened about 6:30 a.m. Thursday morning on eastbound I-470 between Raytown Road and View High when the adult female driver lost control and rolled-over.

Police are reporting a 12-year-old male was killed.

Another 14-year-old male in the vehicle was injured- as was the driver who police said was the mother of the two males.

The extent of their injuries was not reported.

Police said all 3 occupants of the vehicle were wearing seatbelts.


The eastbound Interstate was closed while the accident investigation was completed- with westbound traffic severely restricted for a time after the crash. 

CSW offers our condolences to family and friends of the crash victims.

CSW BREAKING: Train Vs. Van Crash in Riverside MO

Around 9:35 a.m. Thursday morning- a train reportedly struck a "Nissan Quest minivan" just off Missouri-9 highway on  the Riverside-Parkville city limits.


Police report that the male driver of the van was travelling southeast-bound on M-9 when he lost control.

The van careened down a ditch- up the nearby railroad embankment and landed on the tracks.

It just so happened a southeast-bound train- going "about 35-40 m.p.h." according to an EMS report- crashed into the van sitting crashed on the tracks.

Southern Platte County Fire Protection District and Riverside fire crews extricated the male driver- who KC-MO FD-EMS personnel on the scene said was in critical condition.

The extrication was reported "completed" at 9:52 a.m..


EMS Unit 523 transported the driver to North Kansas City Hospital.

They report their patient is in his "late-30's" whose van "was struck (passenger-side) broadside" by the train and "pushed about a quarter mile down the tracks."

The patient's condition was critical.

MetroRegion Kansas City News: St. Joseph Resident Shows Displeasure With Sign in Yard

A resident in Saint Joseph has expressed displeasure with some circumstances with a sign in his yard- the languarge on the sign being offensive to some...

This story in the ST. JOSEPH (MO) NEWS-PRESS tells of the unidentified resident and the discomfort the sign is causing some of his neighbors.


The unidentified resident expresses anger at Heartland Medical Center's use of eminent domain- although the NEWS-PRESS story states- in an interview with a Heartland official- that the medical group was NOT using any property except that the medical center already owned.


The unidentified resident also expresses displeasure with the St. Joseph Police- as briefly shown in a series of brief YouTube videos the resident has posted.

CSW BREAKING: Multi-Vehicle Crash on East I-70 West of I-435 in KC-MO

The crash- reportedly involving "3 vehicles-" is on the eeast end of the I-70 bridge over the Big Blue River west of I-435 and the Truman Sports Complex.

There is reported to be "extrication" of one female driver in one of the vehicles- as shown here in this rather shaky KC SCOUT traffic camera image taken before emergency crews arrived.


Traffic on eastbound I-70 east of Van Brunt and the western U.S. 40/31st Street exit will be slowed considerably if not stopped while emergency crews tend to the injured.

CSW BREAKING: Reported Shooting in Overland Park KS

Just before 1 p.m. Tuesday afternoon- a victim of a gunshot was reported in Overland Park.


The victim was reported to be "at a shelter house at Osage Park- 6300 West 87th Street" or the northwest corner of 87th Street and Lamar.


As of this post- no EMS transport of any victim from the scene has been reported- and there is of yet no other information on this call.

Family Farms Threatened by Proposed New Federal Government Regulations

Governments everywhere in America are seemingly on a regulatory and taxing binge...

In a story from the RICHMOND (MO) DAILY NEWS- Missouri state senator State Sen. Bill Stouffer writes that the Feds are proposing new farm regulations for minors.

According to Senator Stouffer- if the new regulations are imposed- it would create even more problems for family-operated farms in America.

The new regulations would severely restrict what farm chores minors below the ages of 16 and 18-years-of-age could perform.


It's your captain's opinion that if government intrusions such as these had been around in the early 20th-Century- America would have probably never become the agricultural powerhouse we are today.


And one HAS to wonder where all these "less government" politicians are- with these new regulations looming over farmer's heads....

Two Dead- 4 Injured in South Overland Park Crash

What has been reported as a crossover-type crash on U.S. 69 highway in Overland Park KS Monday morning has left  2 dead- one of them being a child.

According to news partner KSHB-41 NBC Action News- a sport utility vehicle was southbound on the highway near 143rd Street about 6:10 a.m. when inexplicably- the SUV crossed over the grassy median into the northbound lanes- striking 2 pickup trucks.

The adult female driving the SUV was killed- along with one of the 3 children in the vehicle.

Law enforcement later identified the deceased as 29-year-old Heidi Lynn Adams and her 9-year-old daughter Imogin Grace Adams.

A 4-year-old female was critically injured and a 7-year-old male reportedly had non life-threatening injuries as did the drivers of the 2 pickup trucks that were struck by the SUV.

The crash caused police and Kansas Highway Patrol to close the northbound lanes- and restricted southbound traffic to one lane at the crash site.

The highway waas completely opened to all traffic around noon- and the cause of the crash was still pending.