Month: March 2021

Bike, pedestrian path scheduled along Strong and Metropolitan avenues

Improvements are scheduled this week on Strong and Metropolitan avenues in Kansas City, Kansas. (KDOT map)

A bike and pedestrian path project, with curbs, resurfacing and sidewalk, began on Monday on Strong and Metropolitan avenues in Kansas City, Kansas.

The project is awaiting a better weather forecast before continuing Thursday or Friday, according to officials.

The project will be from 42nd Street to 24th Street on Strong Avenue to Metropolitan Avenue, and along Metropolitan Avenue from 24th Street to 12th Street.

Work is scheduled from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday and Saturdays as necessary, weather permitting, according to officials. The project completion date is at the end of May, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation.

Curb and sidewalk construction is expected to begin on the south side of Strong Avenue between 36th Street and 25th Street, where on-street parking will not be allowed, the sidewalk closed and pedestrians will be detoured to the north side of the street. Once the south side is complete, construction will begin on the north side of Strong Avenue.

Parking will not be allowed in areas designated as “no parking.”

Traffic will be controlled using one lane of traffic, a flagging operation, signs and traffic cones, according to officials. Drivers should expect a 15-minute delay and may want to find an alternate route.

All businesses will remain open and accessible, according to officials.

J.M. Fahey Construction Co. of Grandview, Missouri, is the contractor on the $439,000 project.

KDOT encouraged motorists to be alert and obey signs when approaching and driving through a highway work zone, and wear safety belts. More road construction projects are listed at www.kandrive.org, or call 5-1-1.

Kansas Senate majority leader arrested on DUI and fleeing charges, but judge says no probable cause

Gene Suellentrop’s booking information from the Shawnee County, Kansas, Jail. (The birthdate was edited out of this information)

The Republican legislative leader was arrested on charges that he was driving under the influence and trying to elude law enforcement.

by Stephen Koranda, Kansas News Service

Officers in Shawnee County booked Kansas Senate Majority Leader Gene Suellentrop early Tuesday on charges of driving under the influence, improperly crossing a divided highway, speeding and fleeing or attempting to elude an officer.

Yet hours later, a judge released Suellentrop after saying there wasn’t probable cause for the arrest because of information missing from the arrest report. It’s not clear if law enforcement will continue pursuing the charges.

The Shawnee County Department of Corrections website shows Suellentrop was booked at 3:55 a.m. Tuesday and charged with four offenses.

The Kansas Highway Patrol says a vehicle was driving the wrong way on Interstate 70 in Topeka early Tuesday. The vehicle stopped after a short pursuit by Capitol Police. An officer then arrested a driver alleged to be Suellentrop.

The Kansas Constitution offers lawmakers some immunity from arrest during the legislative session. That section of the constitution says lawmakers can’t be arrested during the session except for “treason, felony or breach of the peace.”

Suellentrop, 69, is one of the top Republicans in the Senate. He’s a conservative Republican from Wichita who took over as majority leader this year when he was elected to the post by his fellow senators. He’s served in the Legislature since 2009.

A spokesperson for the Senate Republican leadership confirms the chamber’s leaders are aware of the arrest, but had no statement as of Tuesday morning.


Stephen Koranda is the Statehouse reporter for Kansas Public Radio and the Kansas News Service. You can follow him on Twitter @kprkoranda. The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their connection to public policy.
Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished by news media at no cost with proper attribution and a link to ksnewsservice.org.

See more at https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-03-16/kansas-senate-majority-leader-gene-suellentrop-arrested-on-dui-charge

BPU to meet Wednesday

The Board of Public Utilities will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 17.

The meeting will be on Zoom on the internet and on the telephone.

On the agenda are a time for public comments, general manager and staff reports on COVID-19, a state legislative update, a public hearing on the water supply loan from Kansas Department of Health and Environment, energy rate component information, Nearman plant spring outage and board comments.

The BPU buildings are closed to the public because of the pandemic. The public may access the meeting through telephone or the internet.

To connect through the Zoom on the internet, visit https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84523139724.

To connect by telephone, call toll free 1-888-475-4499.

The meeting ID number is 845 2313 9724.

The board meeting information packet is at https://www.bpu.com/Portals/0/pdf/board-information-packet-3-17-21.pdf.

Those who want to speak to the board during the public comment section must be logged in to the Zoom meeting through the internet using their browser or the Zoom application. Members of the public will be asked to raise their hand to signal they want to address the board.

During the public comment section of the agenda, community members will be asked to provide their name and address and will then have 5 minutes to speak.

You may also join from any web browser, https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84523139724

To raise your hand, click on the “Raise Hand” feature at the bottom of the application or window or press *9 if connected by phone only.