Month: January 2017

Police investigate death on South 14th

Kansas City, Kan., police officers are investigating a death in the 800 block of South 14th Street this morning.

Officers were dispatched to a home in the 800 block of South 14th Street around 3:55 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18, according to a police spokesman.

The victim, a man in his mid-30s, was bleeding from the head, according to the spokesman. He was in the back area of a home.

The spokesman said the cause of death is not apparent at this time and is pending an autopsy.

The identity of the victim will not be released until there is positive identification and family notification, police said.

The Kansas City, Kan., Police Department’s Major Case Unit is investigating. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the TIPS hotline at 816-474-TIPS.

Freezing fog creating slick spots on highways

Accidents were reported on highways in Wyandotte County on Wednesday morning, with freezing fog making some highways slick. This was I-635 near Kansas Avenue. (KC Scout photo)

Freezing fog is creating slick spots on some area highways this morning, according to the National Weather Service.

A dense fog advisory is in effect until 9 a.m. Wednesday, the weather service said.

Besides slick surfaces, visibility is reduced to a quarter-mile or less this morning, according to the weather service.

Motorists are advised to slow down, use their headlights and leave plenty of space ahead of them, the weather service said.

The temperature at 7 a.m. was about 30 degrees. Later today, the temperature is expected to reach 52.

Accidents were reported this morning on I-635 northbound near Kansas Avenue; I-35 southbound near 18th Street Expressway and near Cambridge Circle; I-635 northbound near K-5 southbound; and I-670 eastbound at I-70, according to KC Scout.

UG bringing election ordinances in line with state law changes

A Unified Government committee on Tuesday night advanced a charter ordinance to bring the timing of Board of Public Utilities elections into line with state law changes.

Last year, state lawmakers changed the spring city elections to the fall. They will be held in August and November of 2017.

The charter ordinance extends the terms of the current BPU members to cover the extra time between their original terms and the new timing of the election. According to a UG attorney, the primary election will be in August, with the general election in November.

The charter ordinance will require a two-thirds vote approval by the UG Commission, and there is a 60-day protest period in the ordinance, according to the UG attorney.

The change was unanimously approved at the Administration and Human Services Committee meeting and moves forward to a UG Commission meeting.

The UG Commission last year passed an ordinance changing the election laws concerning the UG Commission elections.