CSW Weather: April Invades News Year's Eve 2012

Near record high temperatures- supported by gusty southerly winds- 'blazed' across the Central States today...


The NWS "official" high at K.C.I. Airport was reported as 65 degrees- one degree short of the all-time record high of 66 degrees set in 1951.

It reached 67 degrees at KC-MO's Downtown Airport and at several 'unofficial' locations inside the Kansas City 'heat island' itself.

(Central States raw-data weather map at 1400 Hours (2 pm) Saturday afternoon)

In Topeka it reached 65 degrees while it Emporia Saturday's high was 64.


It made it up to 68 in Sedalia- Joplin soared to 66 degrees- but that was 8 degrees short of their record high of 74 also set in 1951.


Highs were into the 70's in Oklahoma- 71 was the high in Bartlesville with Tulsa reaching 70 degrees- with some 80 degree temperatures found in southwest Oklahoma and northern Texas.


This warm spell will come to an at least temporary end by the time revelers celebrate Midnight and 2012.


A cold front currently from northern Missouri into northern Kansas is moving south and will spread past Metro Kansas City- and possibly produce a few scattered light rain showers later tonight.

Look at the cool-down this way- a forecasted New Year's Day high of 41 is still 3-4 degrees above average highs on January 1st. 

After a couple of days of seasonable cold- temperatures could once again reach or exceed the 60-degree mark later in the first week of January 2012- before a colder regime sets in toward the middle of the month.


Long-range weather models still don't show any major winter storms for Metro Kansas City through January 15- but one storm does skirt to our north in the January 12-13 time frame.

Downtown KC-MO Loop Vehicle Crashes Early New Year's Eve

T wo unrelated crashes in the Downtown Kansas City MO freeway loop slowed traffic early New Year's Eve morning...

The first crash was reported at 12:52 a.m. on the southbound I-35/I-70 ramp to westbound I-670 in the southeast loop and involved two vehicles.

EMS transported the injured from both vehicles to a Metro hospital.  

One was a "19-year-old male driver-" said be be intoxicated by a paramedic- and a "17-year-old female" from the 2nd vehicle.

Both had non life-threatening injuries.

The second crash occurred at 1:27 a.m. on the west loop- nortbound I-35 at 12th Street.


Just one car was involved here with no injuries reported.

   

CSW BREAKING: New Year's Eve Shooting in Kansas City KS

Kansas City KS police are investigating a shooting in the 1100 block of Minnesota Avenue early Saturday morning that left a man in his 50's with a serious gunshot wound.

The incident happened around 1:44 a.m. and police reports a "business owner" was involved- with officers on the scene at 1:47 a.m.  reporting a "suspect in custody."


EMS reports "a 54-year-old male" victim shot once in his lower abdomen as the ambulance was enroute to a Metro medical trauma center.

Westport Presbyterian Church in KC-MO Burns

Built in 1904- the Westport Presbyterian Church at 40th Street and Westport Road was in fixture as the area around it changed.

A beautiful building as I remember from one Sunday's visit in the 1970's- it served as a somewhat ironic east-end anchor to what would become the popular drinking/entertainment district that appeared in recent decades to the west.

Although the church's congregation dwindled over the years- the church sanctuary and connecting buildings housed many worthwhile community organizations- including a nearly 100-year-old Boy Scout Troop.

So it was with dismay when I heard the first indication of the bad news at 5:27 p.m. Thursday afternoon:  a "1st-alarm" response of eight Kansas City MO Fire companies were sent to the church- whose actual address is 201 Westport Road.


The news only got worse when the first fire truck arrives- "heavy smoke showing from the attic area of a large church" is their report at 5:30 p.m..

(Fire photos courtesy of KSHB-41 NBC Action News)

A 2nd-alarm for five more pumper and ladder companies sounds at 5:33 p.m..


A minute later "heavy fire" had broken through the high-peaked roof of the 2-plus-story structure as an aerial ladder truck on Westport Road rises into the the mild evening air to fight the fire from above and downwind.

At 5:35 p.m.- the scene commander Battalion chief 106- orders all firefighters out of the church- the firefight would be from outside using large streams of water from below and above.


The powerful fire pumps quickly overwhelm the city's aged water mains- causing a reduction in usage of some fire streams.

The fire is declared under control about an hour after the first company arrived- but the roof and interior of the main sanctuary was destroyed and part of an adjoining 2-story office wing was damaged by fire- and a smaller building to the south which housed a daycare was soiled by smoke and water


No injuries were reported as the few occupants in the church at the time evacuated safely.

Many more fire companies would rotate in and out of the fire scene through early Friday- manning hose lines in case still hot embers flared up into flames.



A cause has not yet been determined- but the future of the Westport Presbyterian Church rebuilding in that location remains in doubt.

CSW BREAKING: Male Victim Has Critical Injuries After Shooting in KC-MO

The Guns of Kansas City are rarely silent- for tonight gunfire breaks the peace of a pleasantly-mild late December evening...


East Patrol officers responded on the call around 11:05 p.m. on Thursday night to a house in the 4200 block of Monroe.

Upon arrival- officers find a male in his mid to late 30's with two gunshot wounds.

The gunshot male and a witness initially report they were victims of a drive-by- but had little additional suspect information.

KCFD-EMS calls a local hospital to transport the victim: shot "once in the right chest" and in "the left hip."


His condition was described as critical (mostly from blood-loss) while enroute to that advanced medical trauma facility.


Crime scene investigators and homicide detectives were enroute to the scene.

CSW COMMENTARY: KC-MO Mayor James Insistance For Convention Hotel Could Be His Downfall

In a story published today in the city's corporate-friendly newspaper The KANSAS CITY STAR- it mentions the hiring of a new head of the city's "Convention & Visitors Association."


The story mentions that (with a depressed American economy)- "convention hotel room nights" in Kansas City "were off 30 percent this year compared to a year ago and 50 percent off projections."


I guess the economy was blamed on the former head of the Association and the gut feeling is that a new head of the C&VA will magically turn the American economy around and bring more- bigger conventions to our destination city.

Heh...

With Internet-based teleconferencing technologies and other factors (better climate- less crime-ridden convention sites) corporations are cutting down on huge- marginally-productive conventions.

More bothersome in the KCS story however is this statement regarding a long-proposed 1000 room convention hotel that would be HEAVILY subsidized by taxpayer dollars (more corporate welfare):  "...Mayor Sly James has said a major new convention hotel is one of his top priorities."

 
Oh really- and I suppose another "top priority" are more glitz- glitter and unneeded civic projects that will do little to enhance the lives of Kansas City residents- such as a VERY unneeded new K.C.I. airport passenger terminal (also quietly pushed by K.C. STAR cheerleaders).


Like the other "top priorities" of corporate welfare (taxpayer dollars) being shoveled into the Kansas City Power & Light District ($10-15-million per year)- a defunct urban renewal project i.e. Citadel Plaza (around $20-million)- J.E. Dunn's corporate headquarters- the old Country Club Plaza 'West Edge' project- in addition to several on-going subsidies of existing downtown hotels.


Oh- we just spent more than a million dollars to buy an old dragstrip to satisfy surrounding wealthy and influential neighbors.


If Mayor Sylvester James wants to retain his office- I strongly suggest he drop any and all ideas for a convention hotel- unless of course private money is used to pay for and operate THE ENTIRE PROJECT.


Kansas City residents cannot afford and will not be stuck with any more corporate welfare Mayor James- pushing more BS onto the citizens may well result in the least no 2nd term as mayor and in the most a recall effort.

CSW BREAKING: Fire Damages Two Houses in East KC-MO

Five companies of the Kansas City MO Fire department are extinguishing the last flames that have damaged two houses in the city's old Sheffield district.

The fire was first reported in a house in the 7000 block of East 12th terrace around 11:24 a.m. and quickly spread to the house next door.


No one was inside either house and the fire was brought under control at 11:41 a.m..


No injuries have been reported- and the fire's cause is under investigation.

KC-MO Homicide No. 114 For 2011

Late Tuesday night- police found a "white male in his 30's" dead of a gunshot wound in south-central Kansas City MO..


Police got the call around 11:30 p.m. to the 6800 block of Bales where they found the victim lying in the driveway of a residence there.


No suspect information was available- and identification of the city's 114 killing of the year was pending.

Central States News: Large "Disturbances' Erupt at Shopping Malls in Omaha- Twin Cities

It's a killer of enclosed shopping malls (see former Bannister- Indian Springs Malls) in big cities- roving bands of thugs causing trouble...


In Omaha NE- "multiple" fights broke out Monday evening in that city's Westroads Mall- and one was filmed by a TV news crews from WOWT who was there filming another story.

No one reported injuries to police- but there were "two arrests for disorderly conduct" according to the story on the WOWT-TV Web page.



In suburban Minneapolis-St. Paul- an estimated "50 to 200" people were involved in a series of disturbances at the massive Mall of America in Bloomington MN Monday afternoon.


Twin Cities television station KSTP reported that "all available" police officers were called to the Mall of America and that there were "ten arrests- four juveniles and six adults" after a series of fights there.

It took "several hours" to bring that situation under control- and police told KSTP there were "no serious injuries-" but didn't mention the number or extent of injuries that DID occur.

One reason I avoid the shopping malls- and crowds- like the plague....

CSW BREAKING: Rural Buchanan County House Fire With "10000 Rounds of Ammunition" There

That's what the Platte county MO fire dispatcher tells fire crews at a house fire in extreme southern Buchanan county Tuesday afternoon.


The incident- reported initially around 3 p.m.- is in the 16900 block of MM Highway.

The report from the PLCO fire dispatcher on "10000 rounds of (unknown caliber) ammunition in the basement" of the burning structure.


So far- no injuries have been reported as fire crews are having to use water tankers to put out the fire.


The fire was declared "out" at 4:28 p.m.- with no reports of any issues caused by the stored ammo.

National Weather Service's USA 30-Day Weather Outlook for January 2012

Sorry- with the holiday and all I'm a little late with the current National Weather Service's (NWS) 30-Day weather outlook across America for the coming month of January.

 Temperature-wise- above-average conditions are expected over all the Central States with the exception of extreme northwest Kansas and the western Nebraska Panhandle- where near-average temps can be expected.

Above-average precipitation is possible in a swath from eastern Oklahoma- all of Arkansas into the southeastern half of Missouri and Illinois.

Below-average precip is forecast from southwestern Kansas south into the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles.


In Metro and MetroRegion Kansas City- it appears that temperatures will be at least slightly above seasonal averages with near-average precipitation.

KC-MO 2011 Homicide Number 113 on Christmas Day

The death of an adult female in South KC-MO on Sunday is being investigated as a homicide by police.

The woman- reported by police as a yet-publicly-unidentified black woman in her 30's- was found dead in an apartment in the 8800 block of Crystal around 4:20 p.m..


Two homicides occurred during the hour before Christmas Saturday night- males found dead by gunshot in the 1000 block of East 43rd Street and at 24th Street and Denver.

Second KC-MO Homicide Christmas Eve

While police were investigating the city's latest homicide in south-Midtown late Saturday night as first reported here at CSW- another reportedly occurred on KC-MO's East Side...


Police responding to a shots fired in the area call reportedly found a male dead of gunshot wounds at 24th Street and Denver during the 11 p.m. hour.


There are yet no further details on what appears to be Kansas City MO's 112 killing of 2011.

CSW BREAKING: Kitchen Fire Heavily Damages Kansas City KS Home

Two adults have been rendered temporarily homeless after a kitchen fire that spread to other parts of their house early Christmas morning.


The incident was dispatched at 2:48 a.m. to the address in the 2000 block of Matney Avenue.

The first fire company arrived six minutes later to smoke coming from the "1-story" structure- with the occupants already outside and uninjured.

The fire had spread from the kitchen to the attic- and it took crews about 40 minutes to bring the flames under control.


No firefighter injuries had been reported as of this post- and the exact cause of the fire was under investigation.

CSW BREAKING: Apartment Building Fire in Lawrence KS

A 2nd-alarm fire struck a Lawrence apartment building early Christmas morning.


The initial alarm sounded at 2:10 a.m. for a reported fire in an apartment at the Applecroft Apartments in the 1700 block of West 19th Street.

When the first fire truck arrived at 2:14 a.m.- they reported "nothing showing-" but just a minute later report "a working fire" in the 3-story structure with "heavy smoke" inside the building reported at 2:17 a.m..

The incident commander requested a "2nd-alarm" at 2:20 a.m.- committing most of Lawrence's on-duty fire companies to this fire.

According to radio traffic from the scene- the fire sounded to be in a 1st-floor apartment.


No injuries have been reported- and so far no victims have been found in any of the apartments that fire crews have made "forced entry" into.


At 2:42 a.m.- the fire has been declared "under control" and there is yet no word on how many residents of the building have been displaced by this fire.

A KSHB-41 Action News photographer is on the way to the scene.

CSW BREAKING: Female Pedestrian Run Over by Truck Near Odessa MO

It's been a noisy late Christmas Eve- early Christmas morning- the KC-MO homicide- at least a dozen assaults- a minor cutting- and almost a dozen overdose/suicide attempts...


At 12:16 a.m. Christmas morning- Odessa Fire and EMS responded to "Johnson Drive- just south of the railroad tracks" on a reported "female run-over by a truck."

Dispatch also advised responding units the victim may have "been dragged a distance" by the truck.

Serious injuries were indicated- and two medical helicopters were requested but cancelled because it would take the choppers to long to get to the scene.


Odessa EMS transported the patient to Centerpoint Medical Center in Independence- age of victim and exact injuries unknown. 

CSW BREAKING: KC-MO Records Homicide Late Christmas Eve

A shooting in the 1000 block of East 43rd Street in south-Midtown has left the victim dead.


The call was dispatched by Center Zone police at 11:25 p.m.- with fire & EMS dispatched four minutes later- on the report of "a black male lying in the doorway" of a residence there.

He had been "shot in the head (neck)-" and was declared dead-on-the-scene by EMS shortly before midnight.


There were two suspect descriptions- both of black males with one described as "wearing a dark hoodie" and the other "wearing a red checkered shirt."


Police crime-taped off a large area round the crime scene- including several blocks of Troost.