Latest news with #RealityChecks
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Cancer probe at KC-area elementary school expands to former students, staff
Reality Check is a Star series holding those with power to account and shining a light on their decisions. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email our journalists at RealityCheck@ Have the latest Reality Checks delivered to your inbox with our free newsletter. After six teachers at one Liberty elementary school were diagnosed with breast cancer in the past five years, advocates desperate for answers are making a plea for more information. They want to know if former students or past teachers at Warren Hills Elementary have been diagnosed with cancer or other illnesses since leaving the school, which has a 120 foot cell phone tower located 130 feet from the building. The goal, advocates say, is to understand the scope of what they may be dealing with and ultimately see what, if anything, is making people sick. 'It's important to know if former students, staff or teachers at Warren Hill Elementary have cancer or other illnesses related to the wireless radiation because often there is a long latency in cancer awareness or cancer diagnosis,' said Ellie Marks, founder of the California Brain Tumor Association, who has been working alongside Liberty parents and has spoken to the school board and superintendent about the dangers of cell towers. 'There's a long latency period between the time of exposure and the actual diagnosis,' Marks said. 'Students, staff or teachers could have been in the school and diagnosed 10 or even 20 or 30 years later with cancer.' The search for information is the latest development at Warren Hills Elementary, where teachers have been concerned for years about a potential health risk at the Liberty school. The cell tower's close proximity has caused the most consternation, not just by local residents, but also by national experts. Questions have also centered around other potential environmental concerns, from water to soil and air quality. On top of the six breast cancer diagnoses since 2020, plus another one in 2013, there have been at least three other cases of various cancers in staff at the school, according to anecdotal information provided to Clay County health officials. After several reports in The Star about the diagnoses, parent Tiffany Schrader, a nurse, has heard from many who are worried whether the school is safe for children and those who work there, some of whom have offered their help with awareness efforts. 'We just need to find out what's causing it, if anything is,' Schrader said. 'Just do the research to try to help figure out what is going on. That's all we're asking to do. That's all the teachers have asked since day one.' The push for answers and scrutiny at Warren Hills has gained traction in recent days. U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, a congressman who represents northern Missouri, including Liberty, asked the Department of Health and Human Services for help investigating the cancer cases. And he alluded to students being diagnosed as well. In a letter earlier this month to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Graves asked for the leader's assistance in 'uncovering the root causes in the concerning number of cancer diagnoses amongst staff and students at Warren Hills Elementary School.' A spokesperson for Graves said in an email to The Star last week that HHS received the request and asked for more information. Several people — from health and school officials to parents and teachers — have heard anecdotes about former students getting cancer after leaving Warren Hills, but say there's nothing concrete at this point. In early February, staff at Warren Hills sent an unsigned letter to Superintendent Jeremy Tucker asking for more information and a meeting. Staff said they had 'not felt heard, supported, or have seen the need of urgency to protect our Warren Hills family.' And they told Tucker that they knew of numerous diagnoses of a variety of cancers in people at the school. 'We have not only had breast cancer diagnoses, but throat, cervical, brain, ovarian, and brain tumors,' staff said in a letter The Star received in a Sunshine Law request. 'Not all staff, but students as well. Six cases in the last two and a half years. One leading to the loss of our friend and teacher.' Dallas Ackerman, a spokesperson with Liberty Public Schools, said the district doesn't have access to 'detailed data regarding students diagnosed with cancer.' 'But (district officials) do believe there have been a few over the course of the past two decades,' Ackerman said in an email. 'It's important to bear in mind that Warren Hills has an approximate annual student enrollment between 600-700 students, meaning that several thousand students would have attended the school over this period of time.' Now, advocates hoping to learn more about the situation at Warren Hills, and whether something at the school is making individuals sick, want people to reach out. Marks and Schrader are asking for former students and teachers or staff who have been diagnosed with cancer or other illnesses since leaving the school to email cabraintumor@ 'We're trying to get a bigger picture of those that have moved on, or those that used to go to school here,' said Schrader. 'Do they have complications now that they're older and they didn't realize that maybe they were predisposed to something at a young age?' Teachers began asking questions in the fall of 2022, leading the district to ask the Clay County Public Health Center to initiate a study, which ultimately determined that breast cancer diagnoses at the school were in line with county and state figures. In the fall, a beloved teacher died of cancer and soon after, another teacher was diagnosed with breast cancer. That brought the number of breast cancer diagnoses at Warren Hills to six since 2020 and seven since 2013. It was a breaking point for many. Since then, the cry for additional testing and a review of the cancer cluster has only gotten louder. That review is now happening. On June 25, the Missouri Cancer Inquiry Committee will meet to formally review data provided to the members from Clay County health officials to determine if there is a cancer cluster at the Liberty school. The goal is to determine next steps. Lisa Cox, a spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said the purpose of the June meeting is to 'recommend initiating or not initiating a cancer inquiry (investigation).' 'DHSS staff will share their analysis of cancer incidence data and review of the environmental studies that the school district has already completed at Warren Hills,' Cox said. After meeting with school district officials as well as health leaders from the state on multiple occasions, the Clay County Public Health Center (CCPHC) requested the review earlier this month. 'To date, the school has received information on a total of 7 breast cancer cases, 1 cervical, 1 brain and 1 throat cancer among their staff,' wrote Ashley Wegner, deputy director of the CCPHC, in her letter to the cancer inquiry committee. 'There are also potentially concerns about student populations as of 2025.' Wegner also wrote to Warren Hills parents, staff and teachers about the requested inquiry. She told them that Clay County health officials will be 'partnering closely with the school district to follow through on procedures if the Missouri Cancer Inquiry Committee approves and initiates the inquiry process.' 'It's important to note that the CI (Cluster Inquiry) process focuses on determining if the number of cancer cases in a defined location meet a statistically abnormal level to support the need for further investigation,' Wegner wrote. 'If a true cluster is identified, CI staff will assist in the implementation of epidemiological studies, notify agencies responsible for remediation of existing environmental hazards and educate the community regarding the risk and response of state government and other concerned agencies regarding cancer locally.' Wegner told The Star that the public health center provided information to the state that the school had received regarding the diagnoses of teachers and staff. She explained in the letter that 'one of the environmental concerns raised by school staff has been related to the on-site cell tower.' And she told the committee that the school district 'investigated' the tower in 2022-2023 and has conducted 'multiple environmental and facility assessments' to explore other possible risk factors. 'We've also included that there have been parents that have come back and reported, 'Hey, my kiddo went here and they've developed other types of cancer that are not related to breast cancer,'' Wegner said. 'And so we have submitted all that to the state. 'We haven't been able to put a number to that because there is an entirely separate side of student health that is completely outside of the same arena that employee health would operate in. So we wanted to open it up and see what sort of questions might come about from that.' At this time, though, Cox said the state is not looking at former students. Wegner said it was her understanding that on June 25, the committee will 'either make a determination to open an inquiry or not or they will say, 'We're going to table this because we want more information.'' After The Star reported earlier this month that six parents at Warren Hills who were worried about health risks had been denied transfers for next year, additional people reached out to Schrader and others with growing concerns. One is a mom whose son went to Warren Hills for several years and was often sick at the school. Schrader has communicated with the mom. She said her son 'had all kinds of health concerns' while at Warren Hills, from being sick often, to having trouble focusing and experiencing headaches. When the family was gone on an extended trip, and away from the school, the boy didn't have any of those symptoms, the mom said. 'But then as soon as he went back to the school, it started again,' Schrader said. 'Within a week to two weeks, he was back at the nurse's office and he was sick again and they couldn't figure out why.' After moving on from Warren Hills after 5th grade, the student has been good. 'He has none of the same symptoms or none of the same problems he had,' Schrader said. 'It's literally ever since he's left the school or like moved on to middle school, since starting sixth grade, that he has not had any of the same problems that he had before.' After 17 years of studying cell towers, Marks said there are illnesses associated with wireless radiation with symptoms including headaches, vertigo, heart palpitations and drowsiness. Theodora Scarato, director of the Wireless and EMF Program at Environmental Health Sciences, a non-profit scientific organization, has studied the dangers of cell towers and radiation for more than a decade. 'When you actually look at the published research, safety is not assured,' Scarato said. 'And to me, it just makes sense to have safeguards, especially when you have literally hundreds of scientists calling for more protection. Schools should be safe learning environments.' School districts and city officials in pockets of the nation, in states like California, Maryland, Oregon and Virginia, have banned towers near schools or placed other restrictions. Some countries, she said, have also banned cell towers near schools and have other protections in place. Information on that, as well as other details on towers, can be found on the Environmental Health Sciences website. 'Whereas, in the United States, school children lack any special federal protections or safeguards,' she said. 'And we have limits that haven't been properly reviewed since 1996.' Specific Absorption Rate limits set by the Federal Communications Commission nearly 30 years ago are outdated and need to be revised, experts say. These limits from 1996 account for 30-minute exposures. But children and teachers can be at schools for 35 hours a week, if not more, Marks said. Which is why she's urged the school board and superintendent to do something about the tower outside Warren Hills. 'I feel that the cell tower is endangering people in the school,' Marks said. 'However, there could be other contributing factors, and we need to get to the bottom of it.'
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Tornado hits Kansas town days after staffing cut at weather service office
Reality Check is a Star series holding those with power to account and shining a light on their decisions. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email our journalists at RealityCheck@ Have the latest Reality Checks delivered to your inbox with our free newsletter. A tornado swept through Grinnell, Kansas, Sunday evening, causing widespread damage just over a week after the National Weather Service announced it was cutting around-the-clock staffing at its Goodland office in the northwestern part of the state. The cuts at the Goodland office came as President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency continue their efforts to shrink the government, according to The Washington Post. Nationally, the weather service had more than 4,200 employees before Trump took office, but since then nearly 600 people have left amid staffing reductions and early retirements, a union official representing the weather service staff told The Washington Post. The cuts have left weather forecasting offices nationwide without enough meteorologists to staff overnight shifts that run from midnight to 7 a.m., with neighboring offices taking over the duties to monitor the weather and issue forecasts and warnings, The Washington Post reported. The Goodland office continues to issue weather warnings and provide weather support for local emergency managers, according to the Hays Post. On Sunday, severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings were issued before the tornadoes swept through Grinnell shortly before 7 p.m. , and weather service staff interacted with people on social media. 'Our severe/tornado threat has ended for the day (Sunday),' the weather service in Goodland said on X shortly after midnight. Managers at the Goodland weather service office were not immediately available for comment Monday Tornadoes that occur at night are nearly twice as likely to be deadly as those during the day, according to a recent study. The study, led by Stephen Strader from Villanova University, examined 140 years of tornado records and found that the proportion of all tornado fatalities that occurred during daytime hours decreased 20%, while the nocturnal fatality proportion increased 20% during that time period. The weather service said people are less likely to receive warnings overnight because they are asleep. Tornadoes are also more difficult to spot in the dark. The Lexington Herald-Leader, which is owned by The Star's parent company McClatchy Media, reported Sunday that the weather service's office in Jackson, Kentucky, is also among the eight forecasting offices that no longer have overnight staff. On Friday night, deadly tornadoes tore through southeast Kentucky. The Hearald-Leader reported that the Jackson was staffed overnight when the strong winds and tornadoes swept through Laurel and Pulaski counties. Other forecasting offices that either ceased or are expected to stop 24-hour staffing include Sacramento, California, Hanford, California, Cheyenne, Wyoming, Marquette Michigan, Pendleton, Oregon and Fairbanks, Alaska. The Star's PJ Green contributed reporting.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Surrounded by closed bridges, famed KC-area BBQ place is ‘dying on the vine'
Reality Check is a Star series holding those with power to account and shining a light on their decisions. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email our journalists at RealityCheck@ Have the latest Reality Checks delivered to your inbox with our free newsletter. Mike Pearce describes the Central Avenue corridor in downtown Kansas City, Kansas, as the kind of place you don't want to leave — if you can make it there. Bridge closures and endless detours complicate that. 'It's salt of the earth people. We're out here trying every day to make our little area here just gorgeous and awesome,' said Pearce, adjusting his charcoal gray ballcap and gazing out at the neighborhood on a recent Friday morning from the raised patio seating outside Slap's BBQ. After taking the competitive barbecue scene by storm and starring in TLC's 'BBQ Pitmasters,' he and his brother, Joe, opened the joint 11 years ago, just minutes from their boyhood home in Strawberry Hill. They've racked up awards, guest appearances and coveted spots on regional and national barbecue restaurant rankings, drawing hungry patrons from around the country to their modest barn-style building in downtown KCK. 'We love it here. We're here for the long haul if we can stay alive,' Pearce said. But when the Central Avenue Bridge spanning the Kansas River between KCK and Kansas City closed in 2021, the restaurant's bottom line immediately took a 15-20% hit, he said. Four years later, repair work is just getting underway on the Central Avenue Bridge, along with the nearby Interstate 670 Bridge. The Kansas Department of Transportation is now managing six bridge projects in Wyandotte County associated with three complete closures, several partial closures and additional lane restrictions. The much-anticipated opening of the Rock Island Bridge between Armourdale and the West Bottoms — a separate project being managed by private developers — has been delayed from spring to fall of 2025. And another major artery connecting the two states, the Kansas Avenue Bridge, remains blocked off indefinitely while local officials work to secure funding for its repair or replacement. Frustration is mounting for residents and business owners who say they don't know why new projects are being undertaken before bridges already under construction can be opened to commuters. Pearce said his restaurant is a 'working lunch kind of place.' When diners can't get in and out quickly, they go somewhere else. 'We live and die by the good weather months, so if there's anything that becomes an obstruction on those months when you're just barely staying alive or potentially losing money and just trying to keep your employees employed, those things, the impact of those is proportionally much greater,' Pearce said. He said he doesn't doubt that local officials have residents' and business owners' best interests in mind. But he feels there's a lack of urgency around construction projects that are choking off access to KCK. 'I don't want to sit here and complain about those guys too much because KCK got us up and running in two seconds flat,' Pearce said. 'It's still got a small-town feel when we need to work through problems.' Although he's excited that work is finally underway on the Central Avenue Bridge, his patience is running thin. 'We're slowly dying on the vine.' Rose Eilts, president of the Strawberry Hill Neighborhood Association, said her vibrant community has started to feel like an island in recent years. 'We're pretty much surrounded by bridges and the lack thereof,' Eilts said. 'It increases everybody's commute time, makes it inconvenient, and it keeps people from visiting us and our businesses and keeps us from getting out to our work and other places,' Eilts said. When the Lewis and Clark Viaduct Bridge closed abruptly for several months over the winter, Strawberry Hill residents received an influx of confused motorists on their narrow streets, including semi-truck drivers who needed help backing out, Eilts said. Detours have been an endless source of frustration for Shawn Hensley, a regional operations manager at trucking company Dana, which owns two yards and a rail transfer facility in KCK. 'One of my yards is directly across the river off the Central bridge, so it used to be a two-minute drive, and now they've got to go all the way around I-70, come down James Street,' he said. Hensley, who fights traffic every day to get to work from his home in Blue Springs, said he's just waiting for the James Street Bridge to be put out of service because of all the extra traffic it's taken on. 'It just adds time, and time's everything anymore,' Hensley said. 'You add fifteen minutes to every trip and then the day's over before you even get started, it seems like.' As work kicks into high gear across the Kansas City metro to address aging infrastructure ahead of next year's World Cup, KCK residents increasingly find themselves cut off from the nearby communities they're used to traveling freely between. Besides the Central Avenue/I-670 repairs, KDOT's Wyandotte County projects include work on multiple Interstate 435 bridges, the 18th Street Bridge, the Turner Diagonal Freeway and the KS-32 bridge, and a K-5 bridge deck replacement that's scheduled to start this week. 'Coordinating projects in a densely populated area that encompasses numerous roadways and multiple public entities' needs can present challenges,' agency spokesperson Philip Harris told The Star in an email. Projects managed by other entities, including the railroads and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, can compound those challenges, he said. 'The logistics of project delivery are complicated and KDOT acknowledges the potential for frustration,' said Harris, noting that the agency is in regular contact with the Unified Government about the status of its projects. Some residents are skeptical about whether the overlapping layers of government are doing everything they can to coordinate — especially when multiple nearby bridges are closed at once. 'That's the frustrating part — thinking that the agencies with this much expertise on transportation and infrastructure would have their act together,' said Jim Schneweis, a retired high school teacher who lives in the Cathedral neighborhood. 'We can't get to our doctor's offices, grocery stores — even to other parts of the city. More importantly, we have people who can't get into the city. It's real difficult for people that own businesses here that rely on people from outside the Kansas City, Kansas, area to come in.' Disruptions to north-south traffic in the middle of the city have also proven detrimental to local retailers. Jorge Salazar, owner of Tapatio Mexican Grill on 18th Street, said he's noticed a steep decline in customers since the closure of the 18th Street bridge in February. 'It's hurting a lot,' Salazar said. 'I know a lot of customers, they say, 'I don't order right now because the bridge is closed.' Schneweis said he also worries about whether first responders can quickly make it to his neighborhood if they're needed. The Kansas City Kansas Fire Department falls short of national standards that recommend departments send out four firefighters per truck and meet a four-minute travel time between station and response scene during at least 90% of incidents called in. A spokesperson for KCKFD said advanced planning and real-time adjustments help minimize response time delays. 'Road closures and construction can be inconvenient and sometimes complicate how we respond to emergencies. Fortunately, we have enough resources to adjust quickly,' assistant fire chief Scott Schaunaman said in an email. Every morning, crews communicate construction updates through emails, Zoom calls and in-person briefings, Schaunaman said. If something comes up unexpectedly, like a train blocking a route, dispatch can send another crew from the other side. Schneweis said he's unconvinced that response times across the city aren't being affected by the number of construction projects and indefinite closures. 'In our area, it's real difficult to get emergency equipment because of all the closures,' he said. 'As you get further out west, it's not so bad, but for us, it's a nightmare.'
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Yahoo
When should you evacuate for a gas leak? Fatal Missouri explosion raises questions
Reality Check is a Star series holding those with power to account and shining a light on their decisions. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email our journalists at RealityCheck@ Have the latest Reality Checks delivered to your inbox with our free newsletter. More than a week after a gas explosion killed a 5-year-old boy in Lexington, Missouri, no one is saying who was responsible for the decision not to evacuate homes near the source of the leak. Not police, fire or city leaders, who all say they've been silenced, requested by the National Transportation Safety Board to pass on communication responsibilities to the federal agency as it investigates. And not Liberty Utilities, whose gas line a worker subcontracted by Sellenriek Construction damaged while excavating to lay fiber optic cable. They, too, refer questions to NTSB. In the 3 ½ hours before the explosion, as utility crews worked to repair the line, residents smelled gas and worried whether they were safe. But for hours, they said, first responders assured them they were. Until they weren't. Alistair Lamb's body was found in the rubble hours after his father, Jacob Cunningham, and his 10-year-old sister, Camillia 'Cami' Lamb, were airlifted on the night of April 9 to Kansas City hospitals with severe injuries after their home was leveled and several others were damaged in the explosion. With no answers in Lexington as to why residents weren't told to leave, The Star spoke with fire departments in pockets of the state, and examined two other gas explosions across Missouri in recent years and how they were handled once leaks were reported. At one, three years ago in O'Fallon, Missouri, firefighters and utility crews evacuated homes around a gas leak about an hour before one home exploded. Andy Parrish, an assistant chief with the O'Fallon Fire Protection District, said each department has its own protocol and standards on how it handles gas leak situations. And each scene can be different, he said, depending on where the leak is and how much gas is emitted into the air and inside buildings and homes. But there is one rule that often comes into play during an incident of a leak, he said. 'If we smell the gas, we're going to monitor and we're going to ask you to leave,' Parrish said. In that 2022 call, six or seven homes were evacuated early on after crews went door to door and found gas levels inside two residences that were 'sufficient enough to evacuate these folks.' 'It's a good thing they did,' Parrish said. Several Lexington residents whose homes were damaged in the blast said first responders did not go door to door, and they weren't aware of any testing done. In fact, they said, they weren't alerted to any possible danger — until after the home where Cunningham and his children lived exploded. Keith Hollway, NTSB spokesman, said any questions about which agency was in charge, why homes weren't evacuated and what took place from around 4:15 when the line was damaged to 7:45 p.m. when the explosion occurred are part of the ongoing investigation. 'NTSB is continuing to collect records, policies, and procedures of those entities involved,' Holloway said in an email. 'NTSB will review any audio, video, photos, etc., that may be available. 'Part of the NTSB investigation will be to review the chronology of events leading up to the explosion. This is an ongoing process of the investigation.' In Kansas City, when a gas leak is reported, the Kansas City Fire Department works in collaboration with the local gas company, Evergy. Fire department spokesman, Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins said that, over the last 10 years, the department has been dispatched to approximately 3,700 calls each year for reported gas leaks, both inside and out. The department, he said, uses a four-gas meter to test for the level of natural gas in the air. A meter is a hand-held device that tests the concentrations of oxygen, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide (sewer gas) and combustible gases, such as natural gas. 'Anytime there's a leak, we're going to check,' Hopkins said, 'even if it's an outside leak. Say a contractor hits a main or feeder line. We're going to check all the surrounding structures using our four-gas meter to see if we're getting any build-up in the basement or within the structure itself.' If, for example, a contractor damages an outside gas line while installing a sprinkler system, the fact that the gas line is outside makes no difference, Hopkins said. 'We would check your house as well as the surrounding houses within a few houses in either direction or across the street, just to make sure that we're not getting any build-up in the basements or throughout the structures,' Hopkins said. 'Because once the natural gas is being released into the ground, into the soil, it can actually travel through the cracks and crevices, and depending on the type of foundation you have, it can find its way into the structure.' Hopkins said fire department personnel also monitor the outside air and wind direction, knowing that homes downwind are likely to smell the gas and call the fire department with concerns. 'We don't discount that,' he said. 'We'll send someone down to check with a monitor just to make sure.' Firefighters, he said, also roll out fire hoses as a precaution at the site of a gas line break. Regarding evacuation, 'the department, per se, does not have the authority to force someone to evacuate, We can't just say, 'Get out of your house, because we said so,'' Hopkins said 'Anything we do on an evacuation standpoint, initially, is us going up and saying, 'There's a gas leak and we're getting high levels. We recommend that you evacuate this structure.' That decision would come from either us, or in collaboration with the gas company, once they arrive on the scene.' Phil Oakes, the chief of operations and training for the National Association of State Fire Marshals, emphasized that guidelines or standard operating procedures for handling gas leaks tend to be developed by each department. As such, they can differ from municipality to municipality But there are commonalities. 'One of the first things that everybody always tells you, if you smell gas in your house is, obviously, to get out of the house,' Oakes said. 'What most people don't realize about natural gas, and it's something we teach in our curriculum, is that natural gas underground flows a lot like water. 'It follows the path of least resistance. It will follow sewer lines. It will follow conduit. It will follow cable and loose soil to get where it needs to go. If it comes up and hits asphalt, it will go laterally instead of vertically. If it's blocked, it will move side-to-side, which is why you could have a leak in the street and get gas in the homes on either side.' If an individual smells gas in their home, even if the leak is from outside, the response ought to be the same, he said. 'Get out. Get to an area where you no longer smell gas,' Oakes said. 'Don't even touch a light switch. Don't open the garage door. Don't start your car or anything that might be an ignition source.' Oakes again stressed that local responses can vary, but 'typically, and this is typical,' if a line is damaged outside of a house, a fire department is 'not just going to check the outside, because the gas moves laterally to either side of the street, or could flow in any direction.' 'They should be knocking on doors and checking and saying, 'Look, we just want to make sure it's not in your house — using their air monitoring devices,' Oakes said. 'That's what the average response from a fire department would be. That's why it takes a whole lot of air monitoring to do it, because you've got a whole lot of houses to check in a city block. ... They've got to. That's the only way you can determine where the gas is.' Three years ago, fire and utility crews in O'Fallon learned how critical evacuating homes after a gas leak can be. On March 1, 2022, a contractor struck a gas line in a residential area and called the utility company and the fire department, according to media reports. When fire and ultility crews arrived on scene, they walked door to door talking with residents who were home and testing gas levels. 'And so at that point, they kind of investigated and found whatever levels they found that were sufficient enough to evacuate these folks,' Parrish said. Seven homes were evacuated. Firefighters on the scene stayed to monitor the situation. 'We were parked on that corner,' Parrish said. 'Out of the way from anything that could happen. 'That's when it happened. That's when it blew.' About an hour after crews had arrived, one of the homes — where someone was before the evacuation — exploded. Parrish said the explosion 'caught our people by surprise.' Residents, too. Media reports from three years ago said no one was hurt in the explosion, but one home was leveled and four others severely damaged. Other homes were also damaged. That call demonstrates, Parrish said, why fire departments and utility companies are cautious when working a gas leak. 'Just because you have a gas in the house doesn't mean that it's going to ignite,' he said. It has to be the right fuel and air mixture. ' … But if it's a strong smell, that's enough for us. If there's any smell at all, why not be safe and just get out?' Fire officials say they listen to residents at the scene of a gas leak in order to ensure safety. That becomes hard to do when no one is home. Last August, a construction crew running a fiber optic line in Independence struck a gas line. They immediately called for a fire crew, said Battalion Chief Eric Michel, a spokesman for the Independence Fire Department. From there, the department used standard procedures it had in place and sent one truck to assess the situation. Once there, Michel said they discovered an active leak and called dispatch to request the gas company respond. 'They brought the equipment that they needed to dig down and make the repair,' he said. And because no one was home at a nearby residence to smell and report the odor of gas, crews didn't know that it had made its way inside the home, Michel said. Until it was too late. 'As the crew was repairing the line, the explosion happened,' Michel said. 'We thought (the gas leak) was isolated outside, so we didn't realize it had gotten into the residence until the explosion occurred.' No one was hurt. Once crews discovered the leaking gas had 'found its way into the sewer line,' Michel said, employees with the utility went door to door testing for levels in each home. Ultimately, they found two homes that 'had dangerous levels of natural gas in them.' That prompted an evacuation of one block in each direction. 'This was kind of a strange situation,' Michel said. 'If it had happened like, say, at a mall, and people inside the mall started smelling gas, that's a different story. We would have been able to address it.' And if someone had been inside the home where the gas initially seeped inside, they would have reported it and crews could have worked to repair the problem sooner. 'If somebody had been home to tell us about it,' Michel said, 'the explosion would never have occurred.'
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The looming ‘big concern' that could threaten Chiefs' & Royals' stadium efforts
Reality Check is a Star series holding those with power to account and shining a light on their decisions. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email our journalists at RealityCheck@ Have the latest Reality Checks delivered to your inbox with our free newsletter. When Jackson County voters rejected a stadiums sales tax in April 2024, the economy was strong. Inflation had dropped significantly over the past two years and an imminent recession appeared unlikely. A year later, the outlook's changed. President Donald Trump's trade war with China and his whipsaw approach to tariffs on dozens of other countries have sent stock markets plunging. Fears of inflation are rising and J.P. Morgan, the country's largest bank, places the probability of a recession in 2025 at 60%. Kansas City-area elected officials and civic leaders must now contend with this new, darker economic climate as they seek to secure the future of the Chiefs and Royals in the metro. Any potential second public vote later this year in Jackson County risks taking place amid a downturn or, at the very least, continued uncertainty. With or without a public vote, elected officials will confront high-stakes choices about how much public aid they're willing to support for the teams, whether in the form of sales tax revenue or other incentives. A generous aid package for projects that would move one or both teams out of the Truman Sports Complex risks blowing up in the faces of elected officials if it comes during a sinking economy, with voters grappling with higher prices and shrunken 401k accounts. 'For us, the idea of tearing down either one of them just to build another somewhere else is wasteful spending. It's fiscally irresponsible,' said Becky Nace, a former Kansas City Council member who led a campaign against the 2024 sales tax proposal. 'And then when you add to that economic uncertainty, cost of groceries going up, cost of goods and services – when you add that to it, it's a failing proposition.' The Star interviewed a dozen elected officials, civic leaders, economists, academics and others this week about what a recession would mean for efforts to build new stadiums for one or both teams. Most agreed a downturn would make another public vote more difficult, but they were divided on whether it would pose an insurmountable obstacle to winning over a majority of voters. Some elected officials cast new stadiums as economic development projects, as thousands of workers would potentially be needed to help build them. But academic research has consistently demonstrated that stadiums are poor drivers of economic growth and an analysis published last month found stadium projects spur little growth in local construction industries. At the same time, the Trump administration's aggressive efforts to cancel and claw back federal funding have left other officials questioning the wisdom of dedicating state and local tax dollars toward helping what are privately-run entertainment businesses. Missouri legislation that would create a path toward partial state funding of new stadiums in Jackson County has so far not advanced in Jefferson City. 'I think it's a big concern that, you know, in this environment, asking taxpayers to foot the bill for something for billionaire team owners will feel like a really heavy lift,' said Missouri House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, a Kansas City Democrat. 'And I honestly don't know that, you know, in that atmosphere, that lawmakers will have the will to put it in front of the voters.' The Chiefs and the Royals also face a ticking clock that leaves little room to sit out a recession before finalizing their future plans. The teams' leases at the Truman Sports Complex expire in 2031 and Royals leadership has been clear it doesn't want to remain at Kauffman Stadium. The Chiefs have been more open to remaining at an upgraded Arrowhead Stadium, but have also explored relocating to Kansas. While the date remains several years away, the massive task of building potentially two stadiums means the teams are quickly running out of runway to make key decisions about locations. The Chiefs declined to comment for this story. The Royals didn't respond to a request for comment. 'I think anything new at that point is going to be hard to sell to taxpayers, no matter what it is, where it is,' Jackson County Legislator Manny Abarca said, referring to a potential recession. When Jackson County voters rejected a 3/8th-cent sales tax last year that would have brought the Royals into the Crossroads and kept the Chiefs at Arrowhead, the margin wasn't close. The measure failed, 58% to 42%. The decision to hold a second vote in Jackson County would mark a major gamble. An August or November vote would give the teams and their supporters just a few months to mount a campaign that demonstrates what, exactly, is different this time. The deadline to certify questions for the Aug. 4 ballot is May 27. In addition to uncertain economic conditions, Nace and other critics of last year's ballot measure say voters also lack trust in government leaders and how they spend tax dollars. 'It was misguided and I think they're out of touch with the taxpayers,' said Nace, who supports keeping the teams at the Truman Sports Complex. Phil Andreas, mayor of Lone Jack in eastern Jackson County, said the county 'hasn't helped themselves in any way, shape or form' because of the continuing dispute over property tax assessments. The county recently lost a lawsuit challenging a State Tax Commission order to reduce property values on most parcels hit with large valuation increases in 2023. On Thursday, county officials announced they would limit increases to 15% this year. Missouri state Rep. Aaron Crossley, an Independence Democrat, predicted economic uncertainty would have a significant effect on any future vote. Governments already fall short in delivering basic services that have been promised, he said. 'And I think we saw that in that county-level vote last year,' Crossley said. 'I think that makes it harder to build trust after citizens have already said they're not trusting, kind of that county-level process that's in place.' A spokesperson for Jackson County Executive Frank White didn't respond to questions about how economic conditions could affect stadium discussions. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said a public vote could, under the right conditions, succeed even amid a recession or economic uncertainty. In an email, Lucas said Kansas City voters hadn't rejected any city initiative during his time as mayor, including sales and earnings tax votes during the financial challenges of the pandemic. 'If the project makes sense and is responsible and we give ample time to answer questions, I am confident the people of Kansas City and Jackson County would support a new initiative,' Lucas said. At the NFL owners meetings this month, Chiefs team president Mark Donovan said the team could consider an August or November ballot measure in Jackson County — should the team opt to pursue a renovated Arrowhead Stadium. Three weeks later, though, an August vote appears increasingly unlikely. Last year, the Royals announced their Crossroads location – at the site of the old Star printing press – less than two months before the vote. If the Jackson County Legislature sets up an August vote, the Royals would still have less than four months to pitch a new site, even if the team announced its decision today. But it's not clear the Royals have settled on a site, even privately. The Star reported on Wednesday that the team has evaluated the possibility of a stadium in North Kansas City in Clay County, a location it also considered ahead of the 2024 vote. The team has also explored an Overland Park site across the state line, in addition to Washington Square Park near Crown Center in Kansas City. Abarca, who supported the April 2024 ballot measure, said the whole region would feel the effects of a recession. The issue wouldn't belong to Jackson County alone when it comes to the teams, he said. 'It becomes, 'can we afford it anywhere,' right?' Abarca said. 'If I can't afford eggs and the basic necessities, can I afford to bring a new team to my region?' Kansas' mechanism for courting the Chiefs and Royals doesn't require the public to vote. But that doesn't mean it's immune to public pressure. The Kansas Legislature last year passed a super-charged Sales Tax and Revenue, or STAR, bonds program that could provide billions to finance construction of one or two stadiums. The bonds would be paid back by tax revenues from within any new stadiums and surrounding retail development, as well as future sports betting and Kansas Lottery revenues. The law authorizes Kansas to potentially issue STAR bonds to pay for up to 70% of the cost of stadiums for one or both teams – up from the 50% ceiling for other projects. A Chiefs stadium alone could cost at least $2 billion. A Royals stadium could be another $1.5 billion, if not more. The debt would be repaid over 30 years by a combination of tax revenue from the stadiums and surrounding development, sports gambling revenue and Lottery revenue. As part of the bill, annual Lottery revenues above $71.5 million each year will now be redirected into a fund to help pay off the bonds, a change likely worth about $10 million a year. The law authorizes the Kansas secretary of commerce to negotiate a STAR bond agreement. Any deal would have to be approved by the Legislative Coordinating Council, or LCC, which includes top House and Senate leaders from both parties. Republicans hold a 6-2 majority on the council. The STAR bonds plan will sunset on June 30, but the LCC may approve a one-year extension. Top lawmakers on the council may face pressure not to approve an extension if the economy is souring in June. A spokesperson for Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican widely expected to run for governor, said it's too soon to know whether an extension will be necessary. The spokesperson, Mike Pirner, pushed back on the notion of an imminent downturn, saying that economic indicators remain strong. Pirner said that under STAR bonds, any risk is held by bondholders, not taxpayers – an argument frequently made by the program's supporters. While true, experts have said it downplays the way a default would make government-issued bonds in Kansas seem less reliable to future investors, which could raise borrowing costs. Masterson, in a statement, called the Chiefs and Royals essential to the region, from both an economic and cultural perspective. 'That's why Kansas didn't wait — we stepped up to the plate a year ago with a home run package to keep the franchises in town,' Masterson said. 'I envision Kansas remaining fully on the field of play throughout the process.' The Missouri stadium legislation – introduced by several lawmakers – would cap the total amount of funding the state can provide at 33% of the total project costs. It would also limit funding from all public sources, including local governments, at 75% of the total project costs. It would allow Missouri to offer financial assistance for stadium projects through tax increment financing and other mechanisms. For example, funding could come from state sales and income tax revenue generated from stadium projects. The measures haven't advanced, even though under a month remains in the Missouri General Assembly's annual session. No hearings have yet been held. The only stadium-related legislation that has gained traction would allow Clay County to create a sports complex authority similar to the one in Jackson County. The Missouri Senate has passed the bill, 26-6. It's now in the House. 'No bill has moved in the legislature that has anything to do with Jackson County, keeping professional sports teams there. You know, the only bill that's moved involves Clay County. So there's nothing being done,' Missouri state Rep. Mark Sharp, a Kansas City Democrat, said. 'I mean, there is absolutely nothing being done and there's nothing that will get done before June and they know that. Everyone knows that. Everyone knows that except for the people, apparently.' A host of top Kansas City-area business and civic leaders are now publicly pushing for action to retain the teams in the region. A letter released Monday and signed by the leadership of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, the Civic Council of Greater Kansas City and other groups calls for state and local leaders to 'act decisively' to keep the teams. 'Public leadership must intensify efforts, ensuring the Chiefs and Royals fully understand their options and feel confident in making the decision to stay in the region,' the letter says. The groups make no similar demand of the teams, saying that they are working hard to stay in the region. The groups make no endorsement of any specific plan, other than calling for a 'realistic and positive public-private partnership' that keeps the teams in the region, which they call 'vital regional assets.' Michelle Cronk, a KC Chamber spokesperson, said in a statement on Thursday that economic conditions are shifting, 'and that can make it more difficult to secure public support.' 'But this is a long-term decision with long-term impact, and we hope everyone considers what's possible when we invest in bold ideas that can shape our region's future,' Cronk said. Critics of stadium subsidies say the projects offer few economic development positives. Professional sport stadiums – even those that host concerts and other events – most often sit empty. A 2022 review of 130 studies over 30 years reported that nearly all empirical studies found 'little to no tangible impacts of sports teams and facilities on local economic activity' and that the level of subsidies typically provided for stadiums 'far exceeds any observed economic benefits.' 'Stadiums are just about the worst possible thing you could subsidize from an economic perspective,' said John Mozena, president of the Center for Economic Accountability, which opposes government subsidies in economic development. Any new stadiums would likely open years after any looming potential recession is over. But the economic benefits during construction would also likely be limited. A study published in March in the Journal of Urban Affairs found no significant evidence that building professional or college sports facilities leads to higher employment in the construction industry. The study, by Minnesota State University economics professor Phillip Miller, examined sports-related construction in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. 'Our findings suggest that construction jobs at stadium and arena sites effectively substitute for construction jobs at other sites,' Miller wrote. Lucas, when asked how a recession or economic uncertainty should factor into decisions regarding incentives for stadium projects, said Kansas City views any future project as, first and foremost, an economic development project for the community. Evaluating public support, the mayor said in an email, starts at linking proceeds and revenues from the stadium and surrounding development to the project itself. 'As with CPKC Stadium, Kansas City and its incentive agencies can build transformative projects and districts without a draw on the general fund of the City and a negative impact on other important taxpayer priorities,' Lucas said. 'Regardless of economic conditions, this ensures that a stadium project proceeds in a fiscally responsible manner.' Crossley, the state lawmaker from Independence, said in any future vote, it will be incumbent on 'folks like me' to help voters get a grasp on how a ballot measure would affect their personal finances. Amid stock market turmoil and hits to retirement investments, 'I think folks will have a harder time saying yes to that,' Crossley said. 'We really need to make sure that whatever solution we come up with is communicated well,' Crossley said, 'and there is a direct benefit to working families that we can communicate.' The Star's Matthew Kelly and Sam McDowell contributed reporting
