Month: April 2019

Grinter Place Friends to hold annual Spring Sip ‘n Shop on Thursday

About 25 vendors, offering jewelry to wine tastings to Tupperware, are planned for the annual Spring Sip n’ Shop fundraiser from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 11, at the Grinter Barn.

All proceeds from the fundraiser will go toward programs at Grinter Place historic state museum at South 78th and K-32, according to Pat Spencer of the Grinter Place Friends.

Vendors will be inside and outside the Grinter Barn. Spencer said Don Antonio’s at 78th and State Avenue is bringing a food truck to the event, serving food for purchase.

A $5 admission charge will receive a ticket that includes wine tastings. There also will be cheese and crackers to sample. Door prizes are part of the event.

Rowe Ridge Winery will be in charge of the wine tasting, she said.

Other vendors at the Spring Sip ‘n Shop will include Pampered Chef, Paparazzi and Premiere Jewelry, Color Street, Next to Nature honey products, clothing vendors, home interior items, Damsel in Defense items, Avon and crafters, she said. There also will be massages.

The Grinter Place Friends have helped the state museum with funding for the school programs, furnishing flour for biscuits made during those programs, soap for washing clothes and also has helped pay various museum bills, she said.

The Spring Sip ‘n Shop will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 11, at the Grinter Barn, 1400 S. 78th, Kansas City, Kansas.

Weather: Today’s high near 78

There is a 30 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms on Wednesday night and early Thursday morning in Wyandotte County, according to the National Weather Service. (National Weather Service graphic)

The weather today will be warmer and dry, according to the National Weather Service.

A weak cold front will move through the area tonight, although there will be no rain associated with it, the weather service said.

Strong storms may move in Wednesday night and early Thursday, according to the weather service. with more precipitation on Friday morning.

A warm front will lift across the region, stalling across the north part of the region on Wednesday, with temperatures rising. A cold front will push toward the region from the western plains on Wednesday night, bring some rain.

Storms on Wednesday night and Thursday could be severe, with the potential of damaging hail, winds and frequent lightning.

There is no flood warning on the Missouri River in the Kansas City area currently. The river is below flood stage, in action stage, at the Parkville area, which applies to Wyandotte County, according to hydrology charts.

Today, it will be sunny with a high near 78 and a southwest wind of 3 to 8 mph, the weather service said.

Tonight, it will be clear with a low of 52 and a west wind of 6 to 8 mph becoming north northeast after midnight, according to the weather service.

Tuesday, it will be sunny with a high near 73 and a northeast wind of 7 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon, the weather service said.

Tuesday night, it will be partly cloudy, with a low of 55, according to the weather service. An east southeast wind of 8 to 14 mph will gust as high as 21 mph.

Wednesday, it will be partly sunny, with a high near 77. A south wind of 16 to 21 mph will gust as high as 36 mph, the weather service said.

Wednesday night, there will be a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1 a.m., with a low of 51, according to the weather service. Less than a tenth of an inch of rain is expected.

Thursday, it will be partly sunny, with a high near 57 and breezy conditions, the weather service said.

Thursday night, it will be mostly cloudy, with a low of 35 and breezy conditions, according to the weather service.

Friday, it will be partly sunny, with a high near 50, the weather service said.

Friday night, it will be partly cloudy, with a low of 34, according to the weather service.

Saturday, it will be partly sunny, with a high near 56, the weather service said.

Saturday night, it will be mostly cloudy, with a low of 41, according to the weather service.

Sunday, it will be partly sunny, with a high near 58, the weather service said.

Speaker urges cooperative approach to urban challenges

by Murrel Bland

When everyone realizes his and her economic potential, a city truly progresses.

That was the message that Janis Bowdler brought to more than 800 persons who attended the annual meeting of the Kansas City, Kansas, Area Chamber of Commerce Thursday, April 4, at the Reardon Convention Center.

Bowdler is president of J.P. Morgan Chase and Company Foundation. She lives in Washington, D.C. Kansas City, Kansas, Mayor David Alvey discussed community development and other matters with Bowdler and Gov. Laura Kelly.

The J.P. Morgan and Chase Foundation has made a commitment to invest $1.75 billion during the next five years to strengthen the workforce, revitalize neighborhoods, grow small businesses and improve the financial health of individuals.

Gov. Kelly used the opportunity to promote her legislative agenda. She favors expanded early childhood education, expanded Medicaid, improved infrastructure, a solution to the public school court case and reform of the prison system and the Department of Children and Families.

Bowdler is the co-author of the book “Building Equitable Cities,” published by the Urban Land Institute. The book argues that cities should combine nonprofit organizations, government entities and the private sector to create an environment in which all people have meaningful opportunities to move up the economic ladder. That will cause cities to expand their economies.

Bowdler said she realizes that such an approach may not be easy because of past bad experiences in neighborhoods. But it is still necessary, she said.

Gov. Kelly introduced her Secretary of Commerce, David Toland, who will be a key person in economic development in rural Kansas cities and counties. Toland, who is from Iola, Kansas, where he headed an economic development effort, was the target of conservative members of the Kansas Senate during his confirmation hearing. Nonetheless, last week he received a majority of votes needed for approval.

Mayor Alvey said that an improved tax base is needed to provide the services that residents deserve. He compared what one mill would raise in the Turner School District (about $160,000) with what one mill would raise in the Blue Valley District in Johnson County, about $2.4 million.

Mayor Alvey, Gov. Kelly and Bowdler all agreed that communities must invest in education to assure that there will be an adequate, well-trained workforce for the 21st century.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press.