News Headlines: Another summer-like day ahead, new 18th & Vine Pedestrian mall opens

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:01:06]Hi everybody. I'm Firstworn 5 meteorologist Warren Sears. Happy Wednesday. I don't For some reason this morning I was struggling with the fact that it's Wednesday. I don't know. My brain's not comprehending that. Uh but I hope you're having a good day. It is a warm start yet again. It really has felt like summer out there. uh the first few days this week, the mornings especially, you know, when you go outside and it's already kind of heavy and mild and not quite as cool and refreshing as we've had here recently. So, those morning temperatures are definitely getting a little warmer, but a testament to the humidity that's here in the region. So, I think that we're going to settle into some higher humidity levels for quite a bit for the rest of this week and upcoming weekend. We also have some first warns to talk about, two specifically, one on Thursday and one on Friday. And those are going to be because of rain. We have rain and some generic thunderstorm opportunities. Not concerned with severe weather at this time. So, that's a good sign. Uh that's kind of how I want to start off this because this is a pretty or can be a pretty volatile part of the year where we have some of our stormiest months and really after April being so wet and stormy and the beginning of the month, it's been fairly quiet here in May across the board. So, we'll hopefully pick up at least some rain over the next few days to get us uh close to normal for rainfall for the month of May. But today, I really think it's a mostly dry day. I'll show you some of the computers spitting out a small opportunity for a few rumbles later on today. It's going to be real isolated. So, I think most of us do spend the day dry. On your Thursday, there's a better chance for rain and some embedded downpours. Here's what I'll say about Thursday and Friday.

[00:02:55]We have a higher confidence here. That's why the first warns are in place. The placement though of this system is going to be kind of cutting off part of our area. What I mean by that is some of us will encounter likely some higher rainfall totals and others could go through Thursday and Friday more on the dry side. So, we'll detail where I expect some of the higher rainfall totals to fall out of this system. But again, it's a larger system and it's going to be spinning overhead for a little while. Pretty slow moving. So let's get to it. Let's talk about today quickly. First see where are we are already at 78. You can see the feels like temperatures again your heat index values are at 80 78 just a few degrees warmer. It's not significant but it is going to feel again a little bit warmer than those actual air temperatures are reading um out there even through the afternoon as well. Our forecast high today, it's at 78 now. We are at 78 now. I'm going 85.

[00:04:01]Some locations might be able to pick up some maybe upper 80s. Depends on when these clouds start to move in. So, the clouds are not here now. They'll move in as the day goes on a little bit later on. So, uh 85 here in KC. I think everyone's at least in the low 80s. You can see that normal high for this time of the year is uh 79.

[00:04:23]So, we're about six degrees above that this afternoon. One other thing to mention with this, the UV levels are quite a bit higher. Um, they've been high. They're they're they're quite a bit higher though than even recent weeks. The sun gets so strong this time of the year. Burn times in as little as 20 to 25 minutes. So, I know a lot of districts are done and most kids are out of school. If they're heading to the pool today, um, this will be a great pool day. However, just make sure we are reapplying sunscreen. Um, that's something that I forget, too. So, just good reminders as we get dust off the summer cobwebs. Sunglasses, hats, also very important out there today as well.

[00:05:01]Here's that look at the afternoon. So, again, clouds are start to spread in from the southwest. There's a small window here, right here, two, three, four, five o'clock.

[00:05:14]A cell or two could bubble up in this warm and humid air mass.

[00:05:19]We expect most of you to stay dry. But if you do find yourself under one of these embedded um or one of these isolated, I should say downpours, a quick downpour 10, 15 minutes, maybe some lightning, but it's one of those things that three miles down the road, they could be dry. Again, these are real spotty in coverage and real isolated in coverage. So, just note if you have a quick downpour today, that's why. You saw the uh the the radar forecast radar here, though. Again, not a whole lot to talk about in terms of rainfall today.

[00:05:53]Now, your higher confidence comes in tomorrow and Friday. So, first warns are there. Scattered rain and storms. That's the key here. Not a wash out. It's not going to rain every second through these two days. We are still trying to iron out the placement as I mentioned. So, here is the latest high resolution computer data coming in. Again, later in the day today might have a random bubble up shower, but watch down to the south.

[00:06:16]There's actually going to be uh our parent system, the parent area of low pressure actually drops or it climbs up from the south. We don't get this a whole lot where Oklahoma, Texas is the originating location for for these. So by Thursday morning, the heart of this system is likely over Kansas, central Kansas at that northern Oklahoma. The outer bands are what we're going to be watching for here locally.

[00:06:47]The system as a whole will have spotty thunderstorms and just some pockets of heavier rain and many luls and many drier hours. So Thursday 8 in the morning here you can see we'll be having some likely having some stuff on radar especially I7 and south. How far north does this climb? There's a there's going to be a steep cut off. So, Kansas City, we're we're um saying we're on the fringe of this. Northern Missouri at this time, I think that you're going to be a lot less likely up there to see bigger impacts and and, you know, more rain, maybe some thunderstorms up that way. That's just the way this storm system is positioning and spinning. And you can see here by 4 pm, 700 p.m., 8:00 p.m., 11 p.m., we have these just intermittent off andon batches of showers and rumbles coming through. So, we would like for them to come through Casey because again, we could use a little moisture and the severe threat is non-existent tomorrow, which is great, too. So hopefully we can just pick up some batches of showers and and some rain to get your yard some uh some fresh rain and watering without having to use your sprinkler systems and then into the Friday morning time frame. That's when I'm starting to see a little bit more of a northern push here. So we have the first warn there because we could have have some impacts to some of the commutes. We could have some impacts to your daily routines potentially. You know, Thursday, here's Thursday evening.

[00:08:16]Some of you might have some pockets of heavier rain that could impact practices and whatnot. And then some of you will be dry. So, it's just going to depend on where this sets up and where you live, but into Friday morning, this does want to keep pushing a little bit more to the north. Um, so spotty stuff here. You can see there will be breaks within these little downpours and showers around. Um, and so that's going to be likely around into the evening on Friday. Try to extend this a little further here. One second.

[00:08:50]I'm trying to show you Friday evening, but I have a pause point on here that won't go away. Here we go. Okay, so into Friday evening, you can see there still potentially will be a few spotty lingering showers and rumbles. So, be prepared to have rain and and thunderstorms on Friday and Saturday both, but just know it's not going to be an entirety of the day deal.

[00:09:13]What we're trying to decipher here is how far north that outer band decides it wants to climb. The big question is this is the huge drop off over KC in the rainfall totals with the higher numbers across Anderson, Franklin, Lynn, Miami counties, Bates, Henry counties and we're picking up, you know, maybe a couple ten of an inch or is the heaviest rain going to come through and have the drop off farther to the north. So still, I know we're close. still the computers are kind of waffling and the reason being is there's not a whole lot of upper level support with this system to drive it. So sometimes systems like this kind of operate on their own and they just do what they want. So that system is going to sit and spin overhead, but where does that heavier band of rain lift up to? That's something we're still sorting out. But I do expect to have rain at least uh through your Thursday and Friday. You can see the first ones here will end Friday night. Saturday though and Sunday both we're going to keep a small chance a 30% chance with the humidity that we have and any lingering stuff from this big system might be able to pop up a random shower or thunderstorm. Most of those days though are looking dry. Low 80s all the way into next week. So slightly above normal, but that's pretty close to where we should be for this time of the year.

[00:10:31]You'll also notice your nighttime temperatures stay pretty mild and that is thanks to the higher humidity that we have here in the region. That's the latest look at your forecast. So, I'm going to send it to a quick two-minute break. You've got news headlines on the other side.

[00:16:31]Thank you for staying with us here on KCTV 5 Plus. Taylor Johnson, Carolina Cruz, how are you doing, Karolina?

[00:16:36]>> It's been a good day. Good.

[00:16:38]>> Good. I love to hear that. Um, it is a good day indeed. So, speaking of which, we are hoping that we will be able to tune in soon on the opening of the new pedestrian walk at 18th and Vine, which is one of many exciting things that are coming to that area, especially as we get ready for summer and um the World Cup as well.

[00:16:59]>> Yeah, I I feel like yesterday and today and probably just moving forward, we're going to have a lot more announcements on activities, events, the teams, even, you know, the rosters, all of that.

[00:17:10]>> Yes, for sure. So, let's go ahead and hop into our news headlines for the day.

[00:17:15]Starting with some breaking news from overnight.

[00:17:20]So, Kansas City Police, they are piecing together what happened inside a southside apartment after a man was shot and killed. Officers responded to Newton Avenue just before 10 last night. That's right by Banister Road and Blue Ridge Boulevard. They found the victim unresponsive inside an apartment. He died at the hospital a short time later.

[00:17:38]No. One person of interest was detained at the scene and the investigation is ongoing.

[00:17:44]>> All right, this one is for prosecutors in >> All right, let's go. I'll bring it to you, Carol.

[00:17:48]>> Okay, this one's for the parents. We want you to pay attention to this. Seven people are now facing charges after a crackdown on illegal THC products that are being sold to teens in Johnson County. With school obviously out right now, we know kids have a whole lot more time on their hands. And Arm Maya Angel is actually in the newsroom just learning a little bit more about this and also how you can protect your kids.

[00:18:09]Listen up parents. Prosecutors in Johnson County are sending a warning just as summer break begins. Seven people are now facing charges after a yearslong investigation into local vape and smoke shops accused of selling illegal THC products, including to minors. The Johnson County DA, sheriff, and tha's police chief announced the charges together, saying investigators spent years issuing warnings, making undercover buys, and running lab tests before executing search warrants earlier this year. The investigation focused on five businesses, four SNAPS locations, and one exotic vapes location. And there's more. Starting on July 1st, and 70, sometimes called gas station heroin, become illegal in Kansas. Scheduled on par with meth and cocaine. The DA says both are highly addictive and tied to overdoses in the community and that teens know exactly where to find them.

[00:19:02]County leaders are urging parents to talk to their kids and to report any stores still selling these products after the July 1 deadline.

[00:19:14]I was on mute there. That it was our Maya Engel reporting. Murder charges have been filed in the deadly shooting outside a Price Chopper store in Pleasant Hill. This is a story KCTV 5 has been on top of since the shots were fired Monday afternoon. The woman killed is 45-year-old Amy of Strawburg, Missouri. Investigators say she is from the Pleasant Hill area and has no obvious connection to the shooter. A 16-year-old worker at the store was also hit. His name is Aiden and he should make a full recovery. That is positive news there. But as you can imagine, the town of Pleasant Hill is still on edge this morning. KCTV 5's Jordan Frimmstead was there as everyone tries to make sense of this tragedy.

[00:19:53]>> The crime tape is gone.

[00:19:55]>> It's the talk of the town, >> but the memory will not fade with time.

[00:19:59]>> Kind of shot up out of my chair.

[00:20:01]>> That was Gary Ash's reaction after he read a text from his sister on Monday night.

[00:20:05]>> Is everybody okay? A shooting across the street from his home left this Pleasant Hill price chopper parking lot covered with law enforcement and EMS vehicles.

[00:20:14]>> I was getting dinner and I saw the the uh lifelight come in.

[00:20:20]>> We're all just in shock. It's a tragedy for well the whole area.

[00:20:26]>> Gary and Dolores Ash say their son knew Amy >> The woman that was killed was the girl was a woman that he graduated with.

[00:20:33]>> They also raised their family through this store. It kind of strikes pretty deep just because it is local and personal.

[00:20:40]>> Gary used to be a meat cutter here.

[00:20:42]>> I know that store inside and out.

[00:20:44]>> And Dolores used to be a deli manager >> for 16 years and he was 40ome years. So >> their son works here too, but he was off work at the time.

[00:20:53]>> This happened to be a holiday and he wasn't there.

[00:20:56]>> Grateful for his schedule and that more shots weren't fired.

[00:21:00]>> Could be a lot worse.

[00:21:01]>> Al Plant's heart aches for everyone involved. I feel sorry for those families.

[00:21:07]>> A story they're used to seeing on a screen, not outside their window.

[00:21:12]>> That's a once in a lifetime, I hope.

[00:21:19]>> Okay, so the man charged in this Pleasant Hill grocery store shooting wasn't even supposed to have a gun. And new court documents revealed this wasn't his first brush with violence. Alan Prince, the man you see right here, was actually out on bond for a felony harassment charge when he allegedly opened fire on Monday. Back in September, he threatened to quote blow a family member's head off. And when deputies arrested him, they found a shotgun in his closet. His own family even told police that everyone in the house was afraid of him. He was released on bond anyway, though. His bond was now revoked the day after the shooting, and he will be due back in court on June 3rd. All right. A priest accused of stealing from his own congregation is now formally charged and under house arrest. Father Richard Story appeared in court facing charges he stole more than $100,000 from Cure Avar's Parish in Leewood. I hope I said that right. Yes.

[00:22:10]A judge ordered GPS monitoring and barred him from contacting any victims or witnesses. Arch Dascese says it's fully cooperating with investigators.

[00:22:20]>> All right. We've all seen the hearts all over the metro. They're supposed to be a symbol of unity in Kansas City, but look at what happened to one of those hearts.

[00:22:27]Police say someone vandalized it over the weekend. It sat outside the Beehive, a nonprofit at East 8th Street and the PO. And that is where we find KCTV 5's Grace Smith with a look at the damage and also the story behind the artist determined to fix it. There's nothing behind me here, and that's exactly the problem. A beloved parade of heart sculpture was so badly destroyed the artist had to come here to the beehive and pick it up.

[00:22:54]>> Yeah, it's it's definitely a bit of a mess.

[00:22:57]>> Artist Mike Elder loaded his heart into a trailer and hauled her an hour back to his workshop to repair what someone destroyed over the weekend.

[00:23:06]>> To to build it, I probably spent three grand, 30, but it was a welded metal frame with foam and then like a fiberglass coating and an epoxy clay.

[00:23:15]And the epoxy clay is what you can see here. And it's I mean it's so hard I can't break it.

[00:23:19]>> The bee part of our hive sculpture sat outside the beehive nonprofit off the po. But that was hit with something heavy. Yeah, we were actually really excited that it got to be there. You know, their work is really important.

[00:23:32]They help people in the community and offer free medical care and sometimes a place to stay. Um and she was there for well over a month, I think, before she finally ended up like this. Police say an unknown suspect hit his heart and several other items along the PO Sunday morning. They've got video and they're now investigating.

[00:23:51]>> In our four years and 450 hearts later, we have never had a heart damaged to this extent.

[00:23:59]>> Jyn Nusbek is the executive director of Parade of Hearts. She says about 10 hearts have been damaged this year. Most minor and due to weather, except this one. I think I probably can speak for many of the heart lovers. Our region is uh pun intended, our hearts are broken.

[00:24:19]Parade of Hearts tracks every sculpture with GPS monitored around the clock.

[00:24:24]Nespec is sending a clear message. Don't touch the hearts. And if you do, they will hold you accountable.

[00:24:32]>> If you see something, say something.

[00:24:34]This is like any other public structure.

[00:24:37]And we they're intended to be enjoyed.

[00:24:40]>> But you can see, you know, she's very hard.

[00:24:42]>> Elder says he's starting from scratch.

[00:24:45]>> God knows I've been broken enough times in my own life. It just kind of seems right that uh, you know, she gets fixed and put on display again.

[00:24:54]>> And that's exactly what he plans to do.

[00:24:56]Fix her up to put her back on display.

[00:24:59]And if you would like to see all of the hearts, you can until the end of summer.

[00:25:03]They will go up for auction Wednesday at noon. The beehive declined to comment, saying they are fully cooperating with the investigation in Kansas City. Grace Smith, KCTV5 News. All right, we want folks to remember that the money raised from these heart auctions, it actually benefits nonprofit charities and the artists across the Kansas City region.

[00:25:24]You can bid online for these hearts at the paradeofhearts.com.

[00:25:28]>> All right. And I believe Grace said that's supposed to happen at noon. So, we're about 45 minutes from the time that you can go ahead and place those bids. Carolina, I'm talking to you.

[00:25:38]>> You know, those hearts definitely look, they're fascinating. I love them.

[00:25:42]>> All right, so let's turn to some political news today. The decades long US Senate career of Texas Republican John Cornin will come to an end this year. Yesterday, the incumbent lost in a landslide to challenger Ken Paxton. The Lone Star State's attorney general. Reed Bingan reports.

[00:26:00]Tonight, we just sent a Texasized message to Washington.

[00:26:05]>> Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton won the state's Republican US Senate primary runoff Tuesday.

[00:26:11]>> I said it in March and I'll say it again now today. Change was on the ballot and change won.

[00:26:17]>> Paxton speaking to supporters after defeating longtime incumbent Senator John Cornin in a landslide. His victory came after an 11th hour endorsement from President Donald Trump. The president endorsing Paxton just one week before Tuesday's vote, propelling him to a win over Cornin, who previously got more votes than Paxton in the state's March 3rd GOP primary. Paxton has weathered a long list of scandals, which Cornin slammed him for as recently as Tuesday before polls closed.

[00:26:43]>> He's gotten away with so much for so long. He is a an embarrassment. The basic problem is you can't trust Ken Paxton.

[00:26:52]>> Still, following his loss, Cornin said he respects the voters's decision. and while not mentioning his rival by name, said he will support the Republican nominee in the general election. And despite the bitter campaign, Paxton thanked Cornin in his victory speech.

[00:27:05]>> John has dedicated much of his life to serving Texas. And for that spirit of service to the lonear state and our nation, I'm very grateful.

[00:27:12]>> Paxton now advances as the GOP nominee to face Democrat James Tarico in November in one of the country's highest profile US Senate races. I'm Reed Benign reporting.

[00:27:25]All right. Well, some good news this morning. Three people hospitalized here in Kansas City after haunt virus exposure are now home. The University of Kansas Health System released all three last week after holding them for observation since midmay. They were exposed after sharing a flight with an infected cruise ship passenger. Health officials say there there are no confirmed cases in Kansas and the risk to you remains low. 15 days, folks. That is all that remains until the World Cup kicks off. And Kansas City may be the smallest host city in the tournament, but we are getting some of the biggest names. A lockdown riverfront hotel is now plastered with Vamos Argentina signs. And Sporting KC has already confirmed that Argentina will be using its Compass Minerals Performance Center to prepare for the tournament. That means Leonel Messi and the defending champions could be calling Casey home.

[00:28:16]Kansas City's first World Cup game features Argentina taking on Algeria June 16th.

[00:28:21]>> All right. I can't believe we are so close to this. It felt like it was overund something days.

[00:28:26]>> We're like 300 something, 200 something.

[00:28:29]>> Not no more. We're in the double digits now and next thing you know, we'll be in the single digits and then it will be time. So, everybody get ready. And speaking of which, we told you about this yesterday, but here's a reminder.

[00:28:42]Um the FIFA fan festival they just added Cheryl Crowe as a headliner. So she is going to perform on July 10th and she joins the Chain Smokers, Flow Rider Tech 9, Gabby Barrett and many more. So a lot of exciting things going on there. And speaking of which, we are still waiting for this um press conference to start.

[00:29:02]They're cutting the ribbon on the 18th and Vine new pedestrian walk which is going to be opening coinciding with the start of the World Cup. So once that gets started, we will bring that to you.

[00:29:13]But with that being said, we're going to take a quick break and we'll be And if you DIDN'T KNOW, THE CALL PAPER is the only paper that you can find out about information in our neighborhood.

[00:38:07]That's where you found out who died, who got married, and who was moving on and moving on in Kansas City.

[00:38:16]But you CAN'T say you SAY BLUE.

[00:38:26]>> BLUE.

[00:38:32]>> YES.

[00:38:46]Give it up to our ancestors. They make their way.

[00:39:03]Only in Kansas City. When I say Kansas, you say city. KANSAS. Here it is.

[00:39:15]>> And then don't FORGET THE GYM THEATER.

[00:39:17]WATCH HOW THEY COME OUT THE GYM THE OPEN UP THE DOORWAY FOR THOSE PEOPLE COMING out the gym.

[00:39:22]You see, cuz we went to the picture show.

[00:39:26]Yes, I see you sling. YES. AND DON'T FORGET THE BOOM CREATOR. We're really doing it for that boom creator. Look at him moving out the boom.

[00:39:37]Come on, ladies.

[00:39:44]Welcome home. Welcome home.

[00:39:48]We've been waiting a long time to see y'all. But last not least, YOU CAN'T FORGET THEM KANSAS CITY MAR. COME ON, FELLAS.

[00:39:59]You want home, God? It's so good to see you.

[00:40:16]We've been waiting a long time. Welcome home. I say, "WELCOME HOME, BABY." OH, welcome home.

[00:40:26]WELCOME HOME. WHEN I SAY KANSAS, YOU SAY CITY. KANSAS.

[00:40:32]>> KANSAS.

[00:40:34]>> WELCOME HOME EVERYBODY. WELCOME HOME.

[00:40:55]Good afternoon everybody. Let's give Miss Care a round of applause.

[00:41:02]>> All right, Kansas City, we got another day to celebrate in our community to celebrate here at 18th and Vine. And I got to say, Councilwoman Melissa and Councilwoman Melissa, we've been cutting so much ribbon, WE ABOUT TO RUN OUT of ribbon here on 18th and five, congratulations to all OF YOU.

[00:41:22]>> SO TODAY we celebrate something that is vital in some ways overdue, but is just a down payment for more investment. I got to say this a week ago as we were cutting the ribbon over at the garage, but when people ask us when are you done investing in 18th and 5, the answer is never.

[00:41:42]>> NEVER.

[00:41:44]>> WHEN DO YOU STOP? And now I'm just stealing your line, but it was good.

[00:41:47]When do you stop fixing up your house?

[00:41:49]When do you stop taking care of yourself? And so we are going to make sure at 18th and Vine that this is just a down payment for our future. And what a beautiful future it is going to be.

[00:42:01]Today we celebrate the 18th Street Pedestrian Mall and let me make sure I give some shout outs to people who were vital in making this happen. First above all, I want to make sure that we say thank you to our community. Let's give it up to the people of this wonderful community at 18th AND 5. MAKE NOISE FOR THE COMMUNITY AT 18th and five.

[00:42:24]Been a lot of years and a lot of work and I thank all of y'all for making sure you were always on the front burner making sure we did what we needed to do.

[00:42:32]I also want to thank those of whom I am blessed to serve with in government each and every day. There are a lot of exceptional city council members here, but my favorite city council members ever from the third district, Melissa Robinson and Melissa Patterson ask.

[00:42:51]And y'all know how it is sometimes, right? Finding money and making sure you find enough money can sometimes be challenging. And whenever the city calls our congressman's office, whenever the city says, you know, we may need an extra one, two, three, four million, he always delivers. You'll hear from him later. But let's give it up to Congressman Emanuel Clever, the second.

[00:43:18]>> And I'm going to make sure I won't do welcomes and thank yous all day, but I got to say something special about our city staff. When we said to public works, y'all going to do it. Y'all going to do it right. You're going to get it done right before the World Cup. Public works delivered. Mario Vasquez, the city manager, delivered. Our whole city staff, if you work for the city of Kansas City, let us recognize you right now, TOO.

[00:43:44]>> SO, to make sure I get everybody I serve with some shout outs because Congressman Clever told me that was a good way to do this job. I want to make sure I I support and uh recognize our mayor pro Tim Raina Park Shaw, >> Councilwoman Lindseay French, Councilman Wes Rogers, and if you ain't sitting in the front, I may miss you, but it does.

[00:44:05]No, Councilman Daryl Girl.

[00:44:07]>> How about that?

[00:44:09]>> See, we going to make sure we get you.

[00:44:10]He's fixing up every district, including the fifth district at Southeast Kansas City. SO, WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT TODAY?

[00:44:16]And I know it's hot. You going to have a bunch of speakers, so I won't be too long.

[00:44:20]>> For any of us who got to grow up knowing this community, for any of us who have lived here, walked around, know what was special. We know the thing that is special about 18th and Vine is the culture of 18th and Vine. We are proud that we going to get a bunch of visitors coming here in a few weeks. But what I want to tell the visitors who come here is say you have not completed your trip to Kansas City if you haven't stopped in the gym theater. You haven't completed your trip to Kansas City if you haven't been to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, the American Jazz Museum, the Blue Room to listen to some music, the Black Movie Hall of Fame, the Black Archives to learn about our history. If you haven't been able to participate in the culture of black Kansas City and of 18th and Vine, we celebrate it unabashedly right now. Melissa Robinson always tells me, "No matter what others are telling us, we're going to celebrate our culture, our tradition, our heritage, our people, and more than anything, our outstanding future for the people here today and for future generations." So, thank you, Kansas City, for investing today. Thank you for Kansas Cians making 18th and Vine a reality. And more than anything, thank you for making this incredible space that is an example of anywhere in Kansas City of how we can pedestrianize, how we can create this great gathering space, and I'm going to make sure a bunch of entrepreneurs can make a whole bunch of money, too.

[00:45:45]>> So, thank y'all so very much for being here. I will turn it over to somebody I have been blessed to serve. Actually, before I get to her, my mama, Miss Quincy, is here today. I'mma give it up to her too cuz Congressman Mayor Cleaver when y'all was talking about bringing back 18th and she had me down here before we had some of this stuff renovated and it has been a a point of pride to see it all happen and be a part of it. Now to another exceptional mother in Kansas City, the mother of third district I must say.

[00:46:16]Council member Melissa Roberts.

[00:46:26]>> All right. Good morning, good afternoon.

[00:46:29]Hello. How are you all? You all look so beautiful. I know that it's warm out so I will be very brief. Um wanting to um recognize and acknowled acknowledge three groups of people. Uh, one, our city staff, especially Amy Bernell, who was the project manager. Where are you?

[00:46:48]Um, she's in the back. Thank you so much for your leadership in this project. Um, also want to thank uh, Kina and her team for putting this together today.

[00:47:03]We really appreciate our city staff. The other group that I want to acknowledge today is our constituents. These are the individuals who um time and time again through all of the city's ups and downs.

[00:47:14]They still embrace the district. They stick with the district. They go through all of the challenges. So, everyone who stayed open through the construction, everyone uh that continued to provide services and and commerce and and things going on in the district. the district is was open during this construction because of our cultural institutions and our businesses. So, please give them a round of applause. Thank you.

[00:47:44]And then finally, uh Kina and I had the great debate about whether or not we should be handing out proclamations to put people to give to people to put on the wall or SHOULD WE DO A TIME CAPSULE.

[00:47:56]SO, UH, because of her hard work, uh, the third district, we got together and we're going to do a time capsule. And the third group that I want to thank is, uh, what I'm going to be putting in the time capsule today. So, this is a piece of paper because it has to roll up, but this is the men who made it happen. So, these are three men who without their leadership, we would not be here today.

[00:48:22]One, Ali Gates.

[00:48:24]He had the vision for this. He had the renderings for this.

[00:48:30]2017, 2015, long ago. Congressman Cleaver, THE $4 MILLION GUY. WITHOUT MONEY, you can't make anything happen. So, we thank you. And then finally, Michael Shaw, our director of public works, for going after the money, putting the team together. So with that, your faces will be in the time capsule. The men who made it happen. Thank you.

[00:49:12]Good afternoon everybody. Good morning.

[00:49:15]HOW Y'ALL FEELING?

[00:49:17]SO, UM I'M the council woman from the third district at large, Melissa Patterson Hassley, as you know. Uh living my dream job, cutting ribbons every couple of weeks. So, um I'm I feel pretty good about the direction that the district um is moving. No offense to my colleagues, but the third district is the best district. I'm sorry.

[00:49:37]A couple of thank yous and shout outs that I want to give as well. Uh first of all, it's summertime, so school is pretty much out. Addison Hassley, please wave to the crowd.

[00:49:48]My prized possession is here with her friend Natalie. They're going to be hanging out today. You know, we do this really to focus on not just all of us who are here um at this event, but the next generation. You know, we're preparing for the next generation. We talk to the generation behind me and they can tell us about all the places that they went here in the jazz district. you know, piccolo's, the gym theater, the blue room, and they have that experience, and it's our job now to do the things necessary for the generation coming behind us. And so, that's what our kids represent. And I'm glad that you guys are sitting in this heat listening to all these old folk talk. So, thank you. Um, another person that I want to thank, uh, that did get mentioned briefly, but I want to say again, Kina James.

[00:50:33]Where is Miss Kina? my score, but that's an aside. Uh, but Cel Kina has done a fantastic job of really making this event special. It was her idea to have the reenactments, to have the canopy, to have the red carpet, to have all of these things that make this a special standout ribbon cutting true to third district. And it's because of people like Kina. So, let's please give her another round of applause.

[00:51:05]And you know, I mentioned the congressman and all of his support. He supports the third district and really the fifth con congressional district in ways that we can never really keep track of. But he's a man of his word. He has the type of uh political brilliance that I aspire to one day finally, you know, have the tact uh to to do. But Congressman Clever, we want to thank you for being a partner here in Kansas City.

[00:51:31]the mayor, the city manager. None of this works without the leadership of the city being on board with your projects when they are tedious and when they are expensive. And so we are lucky to have that leadership. Uh the man of the hour is dressed in his Sunday best. Him and his wife are matching. I just now noticed. BUT MICHAEL SHAW, LET'S GIVE IT UP FOR MICHAEL SHAW FOR REAL. LET'S HE'S RETIRING. LET'S ACTUALLY stand to our feet AND GIVE IT UP for Mr. Michael Shaw. Okay.

[00:52:03]Yes. Let's do this. You deserve it. When I tell you Michael Shaw will take your vision, will take your idea, will take your problem and turn it into a solution. He is never a complainer. He is a get it done type of guy. Right? So all of this resurfacing that you see in the arteries of the district, the uh the plants in the boxes, the places to sit these big old pebbles that are also uh chairs. You know, this is what Michael sent us a um update, the council woman and I, Melissa sent us an update about all the things that he's doing to put the finishing touches on the pedestrian mall, such as the lights we seeing strugg.

[00:52:43]So, I really want to give um the opportunity to thank him for his leadership. And we know that public works is the hardest working department in K in Kansas City, Missouri. Okay.

[00:52:53]YEP. SAY IT TWICE. PUBLIC WORKS WAS OUT here sweating, getting stuff ready for us to come and sit down and celebrate.

[00:53:01]And so, that type of leadership, you know, it will you you have big shoes to fill. You will be difficult to replace and it needs to be known how special you are. So, thank you. And thank you to all of Kansas City for being here.

[00:53:13]The next person that I'd like to bring to the stage is also another get it done person, Mr. Mario Vasquez. He is the city manager of Kansas City. He's the kind of guy you can call and give him a strange bold idea and he will figure it out and figure it out on time. So, thank you Mario for being here and come on up and say a few words. While he makes his way, I want everybody to look in your seats. I was instructed to tell you about this passport. So this passport is one of a kind where you will have discounts and special offers to visit places in 18th and Vine. So if you need to, you can get reacquainted and you can have, you know, we love a good coupon.

[00:53:53]So you have some coupons on your way through the district. Please use it and and please enjoy yourselves. Thank you.

[00:54:03]>> Good morning everyone. Mario, city manager. Um, I feel like the council woman just threw me a challenge just there.

[00:54:11]There's something I'm going to have to figure out here coming up soon. Um, I just I want to say uh, you know, this kind of takes me back to 1997 when I started with the city and we had a big event, the big opening event. At the time, Mayor Clever was here, Al Jurro was here. It was a big night. Uh, and like the mayor said, you know, we we don't stop investing in Kansas City. We don't stop investigating 2009. And that's exactly what we're doing today.

[00:54:34]Um, and we like like the mayor said, you know, we're running out of ribbon. I don't know where you got that, mayor, but you know, but you know, we are running out of ribbon because we have been doing we have been completing a lot of things for Kansas City. Uh, we are demonstrating progress um for the entire community and and it's gratifying to see that. And we're not done. Uh we do have a lot of a lot of work yet to do here and and we're going to be here all the way through. U I I said it last week and I'll say it again. You know, we're resilient. We're here. We're here to stay. Um I will I I do want to say one thing about public works and and and getting this project done. You know this something the idea came about uh you know a long time ago the design was challenging the costs were challenging there was a point in time when I'm thinking there's no way we got to get this done and then you know that all the the business owners were mad because you know all the all the disruptions and I'm think like man we're taking on the chin but there's one thing that professionals do and and and when it's look at look at it today it looks it looks it's it looks great and it's done well because professionals know how to get it done.

[00:55:39]So, it's a big shout out to public works and the team and the contractor team with Gunter Construction uh Talifer on Brown, huge advocates for F-189 and everybody that that worked on this project all the way through. You are true professionals and this is what it means to be a public servant. This is what we can deliver when uh when we get it right. So, thank you all for being here and more than anything else, not so much a thank you, but a congratulations to all of you because we couldn't have done it without you. So, thank you.

[00:56:18]>> Well, good afternoon, Kansas City.

[00:56:22]>> Man, what a great day God has provided for us today. And you know, I would first, if I'm remiss to say that um I appreciate the accolades, but the true work is being done by this community every single day. 18th Divine, and I the business owners that are here that never gave up on this district. That's who you should be thanking.

[00:56:45]>> That's who we should be thanking. the Jazz Museum, the Negro Leaves Museum, the Juke House, the Black Archives, Smacks, all of those folks continue to believe in this district. And trust me, when I became the public works director, they told me the very first day I became the public works director that you will do something. And um and I'm glad to say that we have done something. But Mario, here is your challenge. This is only phase one of three phases. This is only phase one of three phases.

[00:57:18]>> All right.

[00:57:18]>> There are still two more phases yet to be completed that are required to be done. Um why is this important is that the investment that we have made here at 18th and Vine has put us and stand alongside the sweet Auburn in Atlanta.

[00:57:34]The black wall street in Tulsa, the great his among all the great historic cultural districts in the nation. And this investment here has been a catalyst for over $400 million of economic development right here at 18th Divine that puts us amongst the best in the nation right here in Kansas City.

[00:57:57]A and you got some great speakers going to speak after me. So I'm not going to steal their thunder, but I will definitely let you know the best of 18th and Vine has yet to begun to begin. So the greater the greater days at Divine is ahead of us. Thank you very much for all that you do here in Kansas City. And it's been my honor to have served this community.

[01:02:32]Hey everyone, thanks for sticking with us. I'm First Horn 5 meteorologist Warren Sears. Here over the next 10 minutes or so, we're going to talk about the rain opportunities on the horizon.

[01:02:42]You can tell the moisture is back today.

[01:02:44]It's getting mighty humid out there. And that along with some warm temperatures and some upper level storm system that comes through, it's going to help all produce some bands of showers and maybe a few thunderstorms. The good news is I'm not worried about severe weather at this time. So, I don't expect like a huge severe weather outbreak or anything like that, but we could pick up some more moisture to wrap up the month of May. We actually need it a little bit.

[01:03:07]Um, we had s such a surplus in April and the month started out okay, but we're at a little bit of a rainfall deficit now.

[01:03:14]So, we'll be talking through all of that. Also, just today in general, I mean, look at these numbers. We've got mid80s out there today. Mostly dry, definitely humid out there. And, uh, your current temps sit in the upper 70s, low 80s. It's beautiful.

[01:03:32]the cumulus clouds that you start to see behind you, that's a testament to a warm and humid air mass. So, nothing forming right now. There's a small chance this afternoon that we get like one or two little cells to form with some downpours, but aside from that, I think that your day is just going to be a late spring, early summer feel. So, good to get outside. Some of the cumulus clouds, puffy cotton ball clouds up there are going to aid in some shade from time to time. That alone will be nice, too. So, through the rest of today, you've got 85 is your forecast high. So, another 5 to 10 degrees on top of what you're seeing right now is possible this afternoon.

[01:04:14]One thing to note, a general science principle here, if you have a more humid air mass, it is harder to heat and cool it when there's more moisture in the air. When the air is drier, we actually can heat and cool the air faster. So that's often times why when the air mass is drier, the swings are a lot more dramatic from the morning to the heart of the afternoon. And when it's a lot more humid, you wake up and it's already pretty warm and muggy and the temperatures can't climb quite as high as if the air were to be drier. So that's always how you can know if you ever look at our temperatures on the 7day or something and see a smaller spread from morning to e afternoon. Um it's probably going to be a bit more humid out there. Okay, on top of that, we have first warn for tomorrow. Better rain opportunity tomorrow and Friday.

[01:05:11]What I want to make sure that you are aware of is it is not a wash out. So, we do not have rain at every second, thunderstorms at every second of those days. But I do think there will be spotty stuff on radar throughout both of those days for part of the region. We're seeing some new trends come in. We're seeing a little bit of a cut off where some of you might not get much out of this while others potentially will see quite a bit of rain out of this. So the system coming through, it's not fully coming through here. the outskirts of it are. So that's why.

[01:05:52]Okay. I think a look at your forecast radar would be helpful to envision all of this.

[01:06:00]Where's my Here we go.

[01:06:03]So through the next few hours, we'll see clouds and cumulus cloud coverage increase here in the heart of the afternoon. Let's watch for a bubble up downpour or two. These would be ordinary cells. Classic.

[01:06:21]They just get going by the heat of the afternoon. Dural showers, what we would call them. They get going in the heat of the afternoon. They usually pop up. They could be punchy with some heavy rain and maybe some lightning and then they're not longived. They usually rain themselves out and collapse. There's not much to support them and staying sustained. So, could see a few of those little popcorn showers out there this afternoon. About a 20% chance and that's I would say through about uh probably 6:00 p.m. 700 p.m. and then that's done.

[01:06:56]So, if you have practices, if you have any games out there today, whatever may be going on on this Wednesday, we think that uh mostly should be dry. If for some reason you do encounter one, they would be brief and they would maybe drive you inside for like five, 10, 15 minutes. That's it.

[01:07:15]Okay. The better rain opportunities with the first warning here. Scattered rain and storms Thursday and Friday. Um the placement of this is still being ironed out. And let me show you one of our higher resolution models that goes out that far. So here's Wednesday. Here's the parent. Okay, so let's throttle back. The parent storm system actually is coming out of Texas and Oklahoma and climbing northn northwest.

[01:07:41]That doesn't happen much. The reason being we have a lack of drivers in our upper level winds. Not a whole lot. It's pretty stagnant up there. So sometimes if things can form, they really just do what they want. So in this case, this storm system wants to go more northnorthwest where the heart of it here. You can see that spin, right? You see the counterclockwise spin.

[01:08:07]So what we would be waiting for here is the outer bands of this to come up. The heart of it, I think, is going to stay in central Kansas. So we're waiting on these outer bands. How far north can those outer bands push?

[01:08:23]I would say in the morning, better chance is going to be southwest of Casey. As the day goes on, those outer bands are going to start lifting closer to us and likely giving us in the metro some shower activity into the afternoon and evening. And then what you'll see here again, look, just know how broken this is, right? This is going to be off and on stuff. This is not going to be too much of a wash out, but uh southwest of town, it looks a bit steadier down there. So, Anderson, Lyn, B, uh, Anderson, Lynn, Miami, and, uh, Franklin counties, a little bit of a better chance for you to have some higher totals here. Uh, so then you roll into your Thursday afternoon and again, that starts to try to lift more north. And then Friday, we're seeing signs of it being a bit more successful and lifting north, too. So, scattered stuff around the clock both Thursday and Friday. But that doesn't mean your neighborhood has rain at all those times. Um, so have rain gear and Thursday and Friday afternoons and evenings be prepared to have some showers around, maybe a few thunderstorms, but the confidence is not overly high for, you know, um, hours and hours and hours of rain. So, I still think, you know, we'll we'll maybe have a secondary option for your evenings, like if you have any outdoor plans, have something in your back pocket. But I'm hoping by Friday evening we have a big decrease in coverage here. That's what the latest data is suggesting at least. All right, 7day. Here we go.

[01:10:02]Let's let's walk you through it. 85 82 80 82 83 83. Not bad. No big heat. No big cool downs. Normal high 79 turns to 80 here over the next few days. So, we're really close to that, guys. We don't do that a whole lot. We don't have normal patterns too often where we're sitting where we should be climatologically.

[01:10:29]It is going to be humid though, so the air is pretty heavy through this stretch. You can see those nighttime temperatures only in the mid60s for a few days. Probably some drier air at some point early next week.

[01:10:39]All right, that's the latest look at your forecast.

[01:10:43]We have KCTV 5 News at Noon coming up here in just two minutes.

[01:10:48]Hope you join us then. Thanks for joining us now. And the first one five weather show plus is at 12:30. That is a 30 minute stream of all weather content.

[01:10:57]It'll be me driving it today with meteorologist Cory Coitz hanging out with me as well. That's 12:30 to 1, KCTV 5 Plus and Facebook and YouTube live as well. All right, have a great afternoon.

[01:11:09]Enjoy the day. Enjoy some time outside.

[01:11:12]We will see you here in just a bit.