Month: November 2021

Look for much cooler weather today

Cooler temperatures are in the forecast today as a cold front moves through the region this morning, according to the National Weather Service.

Today’s high will be about 53 degrees, around 20 degrees lower than Tuesday, and tonight’s low will be subfreezing at 31, the weather service said. The temperature was 51 at 9 a.m.

Winds gusting as high as 29, with relative humidity dropping into the 30 percent range this afternoon, will result in slightly elevated fire weather concerns today, according to the weather service.

Today, it will be partly sunny, with a high near 53 and a north wind of 9 to 18 mph, gusting as high as 29 mph, the weather service said.

Tonight, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 31 and a northwest wind of 9 mph, according to the weather service.

Thursday, it will be sunny, with a high near 46 and a west northwest wind of 7 to 14 mph, gusting as high as 18 mph, the weather service said.

Thursday night, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 29, according to the weather service. A west wind of 5 mph will become calm.

Friday, it will be partly sunny, with a high near 51, the weather service said. A south wind of 6 to 14 mph will gust as high as 25 mph.

Friday night, it will be mostly cloudy, with a low of 38, according to the weather service.

Saturday, it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 57, the weather service said.

Saturday night, it will be mostly cloudy, with a low of 40, according to the weather service.

Sunday, it will be partly sunny with a high near 55, the weather service said.

Sunday night, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 28, according to the weather service.

Monday, it will be sunny, with a high near 43, the weather service said.

Monday night, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 29, according to the weather service.

Tuesday, it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 52, the weather service said.

BPU to meet Wednesday

The Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Public Utilities will meet on Wednesday, Nov. 17.

The work session will begin at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

On the agenda for the work session at 5 p.m. are a board update and general manager update, and a 2022 budget workshop on capital improvement plans.

On the agenda for the regular session at 6 p.m. will be a time for public comments; general manager and staff reports; potential BPU wellness program; KCKCC economic development fund approval; water operations quarterly report; miscellaneous comments; and board comments.

The BPU meeting will be conducted through telephone and the internet. The public may access both meetings through the telephone to listen in and if they have access to the internet, they can click on the Zoom meeting.

The Zoom meeting is at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84523139724.

Or the public may call toll-free 1-888-475-4499.

The meeting ID number is 845 2313 9724.

The board information packet is available to the public at this link: https://www.bpu.com/Portals/0/pdf/board-information-packet-11-17-21.pdf.

If the public wishes to speak to the board during the regular meeting, they should be logged in to the Zoom meeting through the internet. They will be asked to raise their hand to signal they want to address the board.

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

For more information on how to connect to the meeting, visit https://www.bpu.com/About/MediaNewsReleases/November17thBPUBoardMeetingNotice.aspx.

Sales tax plan could save Kansans $500 a year on their grocery bills, governor says

Gov. Laura Kelly said today that that her plan to “Axe the Food Tax,” ending the sales tax on food, will save the average Kansan family $500 on their annual grocery bill.

“For too long, Kansans have been paying more for groceries than people in almost every other state,” Gov. Kelly said in a press conference with weekly and small publications.

She said the state can cut food sales tax and keep Kansas’ budget intact thanks to fiscally responsible decisions they made before and during the pandemic.

When asked about the timing of the plan, Gov Kelly said, “Anybody who knows me knows that I am incredibly fiscally conservative. I don’t like to spend money I don’t have, and it really wasn’t until this time, in this budget cycle, that I am very comfortable that we have the revenues to cover the elimination of the food sales tax and will be able to sustain that going forward.

“We have been very responsible over the past three budget cycles,” she said. “As people know, we have fully funded our schools and we are on the brink of actually closing the bank of KDOT so we will no longer be robbing the highway fund to fill holes in the system. We are in good financial shape, we’re solid, this is sustainable, and this is the right time to do it.”

The details of the plan are to eliminate the state sales tax on food immediately, the governor said in answer to a question.

“We have the money available to us right now to go ahead and fully eliminate the 6.5% state sales tax on food. So it will go away as soon as the bill becomes law and the law takes effect. It could be as early as April 1, but more likely July 1st,” Gov. Kelly said.

Gov. Kelly said she is optimistic about the food sales tax passing.

“Given the revenues that we have coming in now and given most people’s interest in doing something about the food sales tax – and given that the Speaker of the House and Senate President have both voiced support – I am optimistic,” she said. “The real trick here will be to get it through the legislative session cleanly – which means this bill will be introduced as a complete elimination of the state food sales tax with nothing else married to it so we can implement it even sooner.”


The overall fiscal impact on the state of removing the state food sales tax is about $450 million a year, Gov. Kelly said.

“In terms of the impact on locals, this bill will have no impact,” she said. “The local sales tax rates are set by the local officials and there will be nothing in this bill that would impact their ability to continue to control those rates in concert with their citizens.”