Lee's Summit Archives

Snow-related crashes close westbound I-70 near mid-Missouri’s Rocheport (AUDIO)

January 20, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The National Weather Service (NWS) says the highest snow totals from Monday’s winter storm extend from the Kansas City suburb of Lee’s Summit to Sedalia.

The National Weather Service is urging motorists to slow down in the snow (January 20, 2020 map courtesy of NWS Pleasant Hill Twitter page)

NWS Pleasant Hill meteorologist Sarah Adkins says while snow is ending north of the Missouri River, it’s still snowing in many locations across western, west-central and mid-Missouri.

“We’re seeing the Kansas City area over to Warrensburg and Sedalia into Columbia, Jefferson City and again down into the Lake of the Ozarks and over west in Clinton,” Adkins says.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol also says highways in Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in the Kansas City metro have been slick, because of snow. Blowing snow has also been causing visibility issues.

Meantime, the Highway Patrol says about a dozen vehicles are involved in several snow-related crashes on westbound I-70 near mid-Missouri’s Rocheport. Several tractor trailers are involved, and westbound I-70 is closed there.

The I-70 Rocheport bridge is heavily-traveled. U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, has said more than 12 million vehicles cross the bridge annually, including three million trucks.

Rocheport is just west of Columbia.

As for Adkins, she’s urging motorists to slow down and to give themselves extra time.

“It is accumulating on the roadways and that is going to make them slick,” says Adkins. “So while we don’t anticipate multiple inches of snow, still take it easy. It’s going to be slick.”

Some areas have received an inch of snowfall. Missouri state troopers are urging you to stay focused on the road.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with National Weather Service (NWS) Pleasant Hill meteorologist Sarah Adkins, which was recorded on January 20, 2020:

KMRN: Five tractor trailers jackknifed Friday on icy I-35 in northwest Missouri (AUDIO)

January 17, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Law enforcement officials in northern Missouri’s Harrison County are asking residents and travelers to stay off the roads there, until heavy freezing rain and sleet stops.

A Missouri state trooper assists a motorist who slid off the road in mid-Missouri on January 17, 2020 (photo courtesy of MSHP Troop F Twitter)

National Weather Service (NWS) Pleasant Hill meteorologist Andy Bailey notes heavily-traveled I-35 runs through Harrison County.

“Lots of slide offs, lots of accidents there and Harrison County has actually put out a request for people not to travel,” Bailey says.

Harrison County is located on the Missouri-Iowa border. Impacted towns include Bethany, Brooklyn and Gilman City.

The freezing rain also caused conditions to deteriorate Friday morning on I-35 between Cameron and Kearney. Reporter Jeremy Shields from Missourinet Cameron affiliate KMRN (AM 1360) reports he saw five tractor trailers jackknife this morning in that area. Shields says truck drivers struggled in the ice.

The NWS warns that road conditions across northern Missouri will be treacherous throughout the afternoon, because of heavy freezing rain and sleet. Bailey is urging motorists to stay off the road, if possible.

“If it is still snowing in northeast Missouri, that will probably change in the coming hours as that warm air overspreads the area turning things over to freezing rain up there,” says Bailey.

Freezing rain has also been happening in Trenton today.

As for mid-Missouri, Bailey says temperatures in Jefferson City and Columbia will stay at or below freezing until about 5 p.m., when they are expected to go above freezing. He emphasizes that one degree is critical.

Ice has been reported across central Missouri today, including Jefferson City, Columbia and Boonville.

Bailey also says overpasses and side streets were problematic earlier today in the Kansas City metro. A Lee’s Summit fire truck overturned this morning.

Meantime, the National Weather Service (NWS) in Springfield has issued a flood watch through Saturday morning, across the Ozarks. Impacted towns include Springfield, Branson and Lebanon.

More than an inch of additional rainfall is possible tonight, into Saturday.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview with National Weather Service (NWS) Pleasant Hill meteorologist Andy Bailey, which was recorded on January 17, 2020:

Cierpiot files Missouri Korean War Memorial legislation

January 1, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Legislation that would designate a memorial in Kansas City as the state’s official Korean War Veterans Memorial has been filed by a western Missouri lawmaker.

The Missouri Korean War Veterans Memorial is located in Washington Square Park in Kansas City (file photo courtesy of Kansas City Parks Department website)

State Sen. Mike Cierpiot, R-Lee’s Summit, has filed the legislation, which designates the Missouri Korean War Veterans Memorial in Kansas City for that status.

The Korean War took place between 1950 and 1953.

The memorial, which was dedicated in 2011, is located at Pershing and Main in Kansas City, in Washington Square Park.

The Kansas City Parks Department notes about 37,000 American soldiers died during the Korean War, including more than 900 Missourians. More than 100 of them lived in the Kansas City region.

Cierpiot’s legislation is Senate Bill 656. Missouri’s 2020 legislative session begins on January 8 in Jefferson City.

Haahr: Roeber “will forever be remembered for being a champion for Missouri’s students” (AUDIO)

July 30, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri House Speaker describes State Rep. Rebecca Roeber, R-Lee’s Summit, as a dedicated public servant who will be greatly missed.

House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee Chairwoman Rebecca Roeber speaks at the Missouri Capitol on February 19, 2019 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, announced Roeber’s death today. The Speaker notes Roeber suffered serious injuries in a March head-on collision on Highway 50 in west-central Missouri’s Syracuse.

“Had been released from the hospital somewhat recently and we thought she was on the mend,” Haahr says. “She was on a family vacation in Colorado and passed away in the night.”

Roeber, who was first elected in 2014, chaired the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee. She supported legislation that would have allowed charter schools to expand to Missouri cities and charter counties with a population larger than 30,000.

Charter schools are publicly-funded schools which operate independently of traditional public schools. Under current Missouri law, charter schools are only allowed in St. Louis, Kansas City and in unaccredited school districts.

Speaker Haahr says Roeber “will forever be remembered for being a champion for Missouri’s students.” He says she had a passion to see children develop the tools to succeed in life.

“An incredibly kind person, incredibly talented and cared so much about education, about giving kids the best opportunity forward and it’s a tragedy for the House to lose her,” says Haahr.

Before being elected to the House in 2014, Roeber served as a teacher in the Raytown school district for 17 years. Raytown is a Kansas City suburb.

Haahr tells Missourinet that Roeber was respected by lawmakers in both parties.

“Even when she could be firm, she never seemed angry or upset with people that she worked with and she was just liked across the aisle, universally by everyone,” Haahr says.

After the crash, Roeber did not return to the Statehouse in Jefferson City for the rest of the 2019 session. Speaker Haahr told Missourinet in May that she would need to learn to walk again.

Funeral arrangements for Representative Roeber have not been announced yet.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full three-minute interview with House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, about State Rep. Rebecca Roeber’s death and her education legacy: