Month: April 2018

Barnyard Babies to be Saturday at Ag Hall

Barnyard Babies on Saturday at the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame in Bonner Springs will be an opportunity for residents and children to see young farm animals. (File photo from 2017)

Barnyard Babies, featuring young farm animals, will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 21, at the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame, 126th and State, Bonner Springs.

The event will feature life on a farm, a tractor petting zoo, kiddie pedal pull contests and giant balloon animals. There will be many baby farm animals at the event.

The Ag Hall’s Farm Town exhibit will be open, with a working blacksmith shop and train rides. Those who attend will be able to participate in a kids’ market and meet a farmer. They can also learn about milking a cow.

In addition, the Ag Hall’s art gallery will be open. Operation WildLife representatives also will be present.

Those attending will receive a Farm Passport, a map and a Barnyard Buck, and will be able to get their passports stamped at the different discovery zones. The children may redeem the Barnyard Buck for fresh produce at the kids’ market.

Admission is $5 for adults, $2 for children ages 3 to 12, and free for under age 3.

For more information, see www.aghalloffame.com/events/barnyard-babies-family-festival/.

Local track and field athletes participate in meets

Several area track and field meets are on the horizon for local athletes.

The Bonner Springs Invitational was held Thursday, and included five Wyandotte County schools. For photos from this event, see https://wyandotteonline.com/whetstone-takes-three-events-at-bonner-springs-invitational/.

The Kansas Relays are planned Friday and Saturday, with students from local schools participating if they have qualifying times. For a tentative schedule, see https://kuathletics.com/documents/2018/2/20//2018_Kansas_Relays_Schedule_021718.pdf?id=13207.

The KCAL League meet will start at 3 p.m. May 11 at Washington High School in Kansas City, Kansas. For schedule information, see http://www.kansascityksps.org/g5-bin/client.cgi.

Many Wyandotte County high school teams are planning to compete at the Shawnee Mission North Relays on May 4.

18th Street bridge begins months-long closure this weekend for repairs

The 18th Street Expressway U.S. 69 bridge over the Kansas River in Kansas City, Kansas, will close for repairs this weekend, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation.

One reader whose children travel to school on the 18th Street bridge has noticed that signs have been posted stating the bridge will close on Monday.

Repairs are expected to be completed in November, according to KDOT.

The repairs were required to prevent further deterioration to the bridge, according to KDOT.

A KDOT spokesman stated the bridge will be fully closed so the repairs can be done accurately and completely. The closure will allow room for construction equipment to access the work area, according to KDOT.

Motorists will want to build in extra travel time. Traffic delays are to be expected with the closure of the bridge, according to KDOT.

Business and residential through traffic will be asked to use a detour on I-635 to cross the Kansas River, according to the spokesman.

U.S. 69 will be closed between Kansas Avenue and Ruby Avenue, according to KDOT. Through traffic will be detoured to I-635 via I-70 on the north side of the river and I-35 on the south side of the river, according to KDOT.

Local access to Kansas Avenue and Ruby Avenue will remain available, according to KDOT. Local traffic that usually uses the South 18th Street Expressway to cross the river should consider using Kansas Avenue or South 7th Street, according to KDOT.

For project updates, visit the KDOT Kansas City Metro page at www.ksdot.org/bureaus/kcmetro.