Month: October 2019

Today’s high to be near 63

National Weather Service graphic

Today’s high will be near 63, according to the National Weather Service.

A cold front will move into the region today. A small chance exists for an isolated storm today in the central part of the region, but most areas will stay dry, the weather service said.

No hazardous weather is anticipated outside a potential lightning strike, according to the weather service.

Widespread showers and storms may return for Saturday and Sunday, the weather service said.

The Missouri River at Parkville, where the gauge is on I-435 over the Missouri River between Wyandotte and Platte counties, was in minor flood stage on Tuesday morning, according to the weather service. The Kansas River at 23rd Street, where the gauge is near Kansas Avenue at the state line, was below flood stage and below action stage.

Today, it will be mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 63, the weather service said. A north northwest wind of 8 to 16 mph will gust as high as 28 mph.

Tonight, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 38 and a north northwest wind of 8 to 11 mph, gusting as high as 21 mph, according to the weather service.

Wednesday, it will be cloudy, then gradually clearing in the afternoon, with a high near 57, the weather service said. A north northwest wind will be 7 to 9 mph.

Wednesday night, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 41 and a light and variable wind, according to the weather service.

Thursday, it will be sunny, with a high near 67 and a calm wind becoming south around 6 mph in the afternoon, the weather service said.

Thursday night, it will be partly cloudy with a low of 51, according to the weather service.

Friday, it will be mostly sunny with a high of 72, the weather service said.

Friday night, there is a 30 percent chance of showers after 2 a.m., with a low of 53, according to the weather service.

Saturday, there is a 30 percent chance of showers before 8 a.m., with a high near 70, the weather service said.

Saturday night, it will be partly cloudy with a low of 52, according to the weather service.

Sunday, there is a 30 percent chance of showers with a high near 73, the weather service said.

Sunday night, there is a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a low of 53, according to the weather service.

Monday, there is a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a high near 63, the weather service said.

The Missouri River at Parkville, where the gauge was on I-435 over the Missouri River between Wyandotte and Platte counties, was in minor flood stage on Tuesday morning. (National Weather Service – USGS graphic)

T-Bones evicted from stadium

A play from one of the last games at T-Bones Stadium this year, on Sept. 8, 2019. The T-Bones were evicted from the stadium on Oct. 14. (Video by Mary Rupert)

by Mary Rupert

After a one-month extension expired on their stadium contract, the Kansas City T-Bones were evicted from T-Bones Stadium by the Unified Government.

The UG notified the T-Bones they would be evicted Sept. 13 for not paying overdue utility bills and other payments of around three-quarters of a million dollars. That figure is now not as high, as the T-Bones, who were in the process of selling the team, got a one-month extension after making a $50,000 payment.

“We’re optimistic that a new ownership group will come in and will have baseball there next season,” said Mike Taylor, a spokesman for the UG.

Taylor said a team of locksmiths and a UG crew went to the stadium at 6 a.m. Monday and padlocked all the gates, changing the locks, so the T-Bones would not have access to the stadium.

The T-Bones issued this statement today:

“The Kansas City T-Bones are progressing toward a sale and are scheduled to complete the sale this week. The incoming owner has been in close negotiations and planning with the Unified Government, all for the sake of setting the table for continued American Association professional baseball in Wyandotte County.

“The current and future owners have, in fact, satisfied a number of action steps to move toward closing and have communicated these with the UG. The parties have executed a Letter of Intent and Due Diligence is in-progress. As such, neither party can comment outside the confidentiality of the LOI,” the T-Bones stated in a news release.

The UG, however, says that the T-Bones had a lot of opportunities and a lot of time to pay the bill.

“We gave them a lot of opportunities, we gave them a lot of leeway and extensions,” Taylor said. It is a publicly owned stadium using taxpayer dollars. “An average citizen is expected to pay their BPU bill or mortgage and we should expect the same from our business partners. We gave them enough slack, we finally have to say, no more.

“We’ve been in constant discussions with the league and we are very optimistic that a new ownership group may come in, and we’ll still have baseball there next summer,” Taylor said. “That’s not a promise, but we’re optimistic that a new ownership group will come in and bring a team under new ownership.”

Taylor said the T-Bones’ owner, Adam Ehlert, was not at the stadium this morning.

“This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone,” Taylor said. “We gave them ample notice that unless they paid their debt by midnight, Oct. 13, they would be evicted from the stadium. It shouldn’t have been a surprise.”

The Ehlerts are trying to sell the team currently to a new ownership group, according to Taylor. The next team to play here could either have the name T-Bones or could have a new name, he said, depending on their agreement.

Some vendors have contacted the UG and told them they had items in the stadium that were not paid for, or that were leased. The UG is doing an inventory and at some point will let vendors come in and take their equipment, Taylor said.

He also said a T-Bones staff member told them she had left a few personal things on her desk at the stadium. Taylor said they will get back in touch with her and let her collect her personal items.

The T-Bones were the American Association champions in 2018 and made a run for the title again in 2019.

Candidate forums to be tonight and Tuesday

A candidate forum will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 14, and Tuesday, Oct. 15, at Kansas City Kansas Community College.

The forum is sponsored by Business West and other neighborhood associations, KCKCC and the Wyandotte Daily Online. The forum will be in the upper Jewell building at KCKCC, 7250 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas.

Candidates for the Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Education (District 500) and the KCKCC Board of Trustees will be at the Monday, Oct. 14, forum.

Candidates for the Board of Public Utilities, Register of Deeds and Unified Government will be at the Tuesday, Oct. 15, forum.

The forums are not debates. Candidates will have two minutes to make introductory remarks, then panelists will ask them questions. Then candidates will have one minute to make a closing remark.

The forum will be taped and replayed on the KCKCC public access channel, including on cable television and on YouTube.