Month: July 2021

Plans for downtown college campus told

by Murrel Bland

There is a social and economic dividing line in Wyandotte County with 72nd Street being the line of demarcation.

That was the message that Dr. Greg Mosier, president of Kansas City Kansas Community College, brought to a meeting of the Congressional Forum Friday, July 16, at Children’s Mercy Park. About 60 persons attended. The forum is a committee of the Kansas City, Kansas, Area Chamber of Commerce.

Dr. Mosier said the household income west of 72nd Street is about $64,000 a year; east of 72nd, the average annual income is about $36,000. His solution is education that speaks to the needs of employers in Wyandotte County. Presently, there are more than 5,000 job openings in Wyandotte County. Many of these jobs pay more than $50,000 a year.

The college, in cooperation with other social service agencies and others, is planning for a Downtown Community Education Center. The total cost would be more than $70 million. The college would invest $10 million in the project without increasing the mill levy.

Course offerings at the downtown campus would include English as a second language, general education diploma, automation engineering, biological sciences, administrative office professionals, general chemistry, commercial construction technology and welding.

Other agency partners will include the YMCA, the Wyandot Behavioral Health Network, Swope Health, Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools and Community America Credit Union. Through this cooperative effort, the cycle of poverty can be broken, Dr. Mosier said.

Private sector giving will play a key role in the downtown campus. Dr. Mosier announced a $10 million investment from the Sunderland Foundation. He said the goal of the fund-raising effort will be to have half of the $70 million raised by the end of 2021. Other sources of funds would include federal and state governments.

Dr. Mosier came to the community college in 2018 from Rochester (Minnesota) Community and Technical College. Previously he was a vice president at Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology, Okmulgee, and a dean at Moberly (Missouri) Area Community College.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is executive director of Business West.

Displaying 4-H horsemanship skills

4-H horse competition was a large part of the 4-H summer showcase at the Wyandotte County Fair this year. These photos were on Wednesday. Events were held at the fairgrounds until rain interrupted them on Thursday, and then were continued Friday off-site at the Due West Ranch. The Wyandotte County Fair continues Friday night and Saturday night. A rodeo is one of the highlights of Friday and Saturday’s fair. Hours are 5 p.m. to midnight Friday and 2 p.m. to midnight Saturday at the fairgrounds, 13700 Polfer Road, Kansas City, Kansas. Today’s events are at https://wyandotteonline.com/rodeo-opens-tonight-at-the-fair/. For more information on fair events, visit www.wycofair.com. (Photo by Steve Rupert)
4-H horse competition was a large part of the 4-H summer showcase at the Wyandotte County Fair this year. (Photo by Steve Rupert)
4-H horse competition was a large part of the 4-H summer showcase at the Wyandotte County Fair this year. (Photo by Steve Rupert)
4-H horse competition was a large part of the 4-H summer showcase at the Wyandotte County Fair this year. (Photo by Steve Rupert)
4-H horse competition was a large part of the 4-H summer showcase at the Wyandotte County Fair this year. (Photo by Steve Rupert)
4-H horse competition was a large part of the 4-H summer showcase at the Wyandotte County Fair this year. (Photo by Steve Rupert)
4-H horse competition was a large part of the 4-H summer showcase at the Wyandotte County Fair this year. (Photo by Steve Rupert)
4-H horse competition was a large part of the 4-H summer showcase at the Wyandotte County Fair this year. (Photo by Steve Rupert)
4-H horse competition was a large part of the 4-H summer showcase at the Wyandotte County Fair this year. (Photo by Steve Rupert)
4-H horse competition was a large part of the 4-H summer showcase at the Wyandotte County Fair this year. (Photo by Steve Rupert)

Police investigate double homicide in 700 block of Pawnee

Detectives with the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department are currently investigating an early morning shooting that has left two men dead in the Armourdale neighborhood of the city.

At about 4:57 a.m. Friday, an individual arriving to work in the 700 block of Pawnee called 911 to report the discovery of two men who were unconscious and did not appear to be breathing, a police spokesman stated.

The men were located near a vehicle that appeared to have crashed into a parked vehicle in an industrial area, according to the spokesman.

Officers were dispatched to the address, where paramedics on the scene advised that the victims, two adult Hispanic males in their early to mid-20s, were deceased, the apparent victims of gunshot wounds, the spokesman stated.

This incident is currently under investigation by the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department Major Case Unit. Anyone with information on this case is urged to call the TIPS hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477), the police spokesman stated.