The Unified Government Commission will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 12, with several items on the agenda.
There will be a review of some sections of the Municipal Code, according to the agenda.
Also planned Thursday night is an update on the UG treasury and motor vehicle operations.
An update on a community health assessment, including a plan for data collection, community engagement and analysis, also is planned.
Also on the agenda is an update on grants and grant processes, according to the agenda.
None of those items had a vote scheduled, but they were presented for information only.
Also scheduled on Thursday night is a community comment time, when residents may express concerns about the UG’s areas of interest. Residents are limited to two minutes of comment time. Residents may go to the City Hall Commission Chambers to make comments, or may make comments online. The residents at the Commission Chambers will have priority. The total comment time will end after 45 minutes. If there are more commenters than time allows, there is the possibility that not everyone will have an opportunity to speak.
The UG Commission meeting will be in person and online. The meeting will be in the Commission Chambers at City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kansas.
The meeting will be on Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83234846231?pwd=bFZFMGtDYW14ZTJLaHpQU0lzTHJsdz09.
The passcode is 320617.
The public also may connect by telephone, the toll-free telephone numbers are 888 475 4499 and 877 853 5257.
The webinar ID number is 832 3484 6231.
For information about how to engage in a UG Commission meeting, visit https://www.wycokck.org/Departments/Clerks-Office/Engage-in-Public-Commission-Meeting.
The agenda is online at https://www.wycokck.org/Departments/Clerks-Office/Agendas-Minutes.
Thursday’s high temperatures will be in the 90s, with a heat index as high as 97, according to the National Weather Service. (National Weather Service graphic)Wyandotte County is in an area of marginal risk for severe storms on Thursday night, according to the National Weather Service. (National Weather Service graphic)
Thursday will be the last day of the four-day spring heat wave, as temperatures may reach a high of 92 today, according to the National Weather Service.
The record high for May 12 is 92 degrees, set in 1963 in the Kansas City area, the weather service said, and a record could be set today.
Cooler temperatures will follow on Friday, after thunderstorms and showers moves through the area on Thursday night, according to the weather service. The high on Friday will be around 83.
Some strong storms are possible in the region on Thursday night, the weather service said.
Wyandotte County is in an area of marginal risk for severe storms tonight. Storms are possible from midnight to 5 a.m., according to the weather service. Strong winds are the main hazard from this storm, with hail also possible.
Storms and rain also are possible on Friday afternoon and Friday night, the weather service said. Rain also is in the forecast for Saturday night and Sunday.
The weather for opening day of the Kansas City Monarchs baseball season, on Friday, May 13, will be a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. The temperature may be around 78 degrees at 7 p.m. for the first pitch.
The weather for the Heart of America 200 and Dutch Boy 150 Doubleheader race at the Kansas Speedway at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 14, will be clear, and about 88 degrees at 1 p.m.
For the AdventHealth 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 15, at the Kansas Speedway, the weather forecast calls for a slight chance of rain and thunder, and a temperature of 78 degrees.
Today, it will be sunny, with a high of 92 and a south wind of 11 to 16 mph, gusting as high as 24 mph, the weather service said.
Tonight, there is a 60 percent chance of precipitation, according to the weather service. There will be a slight chance of showers before 1 a.m., then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m., then showers are likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 4 a.m. The low will be around 67, with a south wind of 5 to 15 mph becoming west northwest after midnight. Winds may gust up to 22 mph. Less than a tenth of an inch of rain is possible.
Friday, there is a 60 percent chance of showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 7 a.m., then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1 p.m., the weather service said. The high will be near 83 with a west wind of 6 mph becoming east in the morning. Less than a tenth of an inch of rain is possible.
Friday night, there is a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 4 a.m., then a slight chance of showers, according to the weather service. The low will be around 61, with a northwest wind of 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Between a tenth and quarter-inch of rain is possible.
Saturday, it will be sunny, with a high near 85, the weather service said. A calm wind will become east northeast around 5 mph in the morning.
Saturday night, there is a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1 a.m., according to the weather service. The low will be around 61. Less than a tenth of an inch of rain is possible.
Sunday, there is a 40 percent chance of showers before 1 p.m., with a high near 80, the weather service said.
Sunday night, it will be mostly clear, with a low of 56, according to the weather service.
Monday, it will be sunny, with a high near 82,the weather service said.
Monday night, there is a 30 percent chance of showers after 1 a.m., with a low of 60, according to the weather service.
Tuesday, there is a 30 percent chance of showers, with a high near 84, the weather service said.
Tuesday night, there is a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a low of 64, according to the weather service.
Wednesday, it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 87, the weather service said.
The Kansas Lottery is getting ready for sports wagering to start in Kansas, according to Stephen Durrell, executive director.
A bill that passed the Kansas Legislature would allow casino managers to run sports wagering in Kansas, while putting the Kansas Lottery in charge of it. Betting on college and professional sports would become legal in Kansas under the law, and it would be allowed through the state-owned casinos.
The bill would take effect on July 1, and the lottery plans to implement it as quickly and efficiently as possible, according to Stephen Durrell, executive director of the Kansas Lottery. Durrell discussed the topic at a meeting Wednesday of the Kansas Lottery Commission. There are a number of different deadlines in the bill.
Durrell said individuals in Kansas who want to place sports bets would have to have some sort of account with either a state-owned casino, with a casino application or with the Kansas Lottery, but the details of that are not yet worked out.
According to Durrell, similar to the state-owned casinos in Kansas, the Kansas Lottery would act as the owner-operator of sports wagering, with the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission the regulator and the state casinos the day-to-day managers.
He said that casinos would do a good job of making sure that sports wagers are fair and regulated, and if players wins, the players would get the money they are entitled to.
The Kansas Lottery is meeting with casino managers to discuss rules and regulations, and also plans to meet with the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission to discuss any gray areas of whose responsibility it will be to implement various parts of sports wagering, Durrell said. The new law is not always clear on the various responsibilities.
Senate Bill 84, which passed the Kansas Legislature, had not yet been signed into law by the governor, but Durrell said the lottery is proceeding as if it will be.
Durrell said the Kansas Lottery will create a document, a contract which would cover aspects of sports wagering.
He said casinos would have the option of selecting sports online wagering vendors, with the state having the ultimate authority on using them. Online vendors would have to pass a background check from the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission before approval, he said.
In addition to online applications that casinos will be able to offer for sports wagering, there will be an option of making physical changes within the state casinos to offer sports wagering, he said. Any changes to the casino floors will need the approval of the Kansas Lottery, under the language of the Kansas Expanded Lottery Act, he said.
The Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway in Wyandotte County is one of the four state-owned casinos in Kansas.
Senate Bill 84 also included Sporting Kansas City and Kansas Speedway as two locations that can contract with managers to offer sports wagering, he said.
The bill states that any manager may enter into a marketing agreement with not more than 50 marketing entities, at least 20 percent of which are nonprofit fraternal or veterans’ organizations. Marketing agreements would have to be submitted to the Kansas Lottery for approval.
Senate Bill 84 also contained a provision that would pledge some of the sports wagering revenues toward attracting professional sports teams to Kansas.
The bill also allows wagering on historical horse races at racetrack facilities, regulated by the Kansas pari-mutuel racing laws.
A provision for “I-lottery” that had been in the bill originally was not part of the final version, according to Durrell. That means the Kansas Lottery will not be able to offer its instant games online.
More information on Senate Bill 84 is at http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/sb84/.
