KS - March 17 2025
71 car pileup kills eight; KC highway removal proposed; Corporate buying hikes prices in KC?; Ranked voting banned; Winds, snow hit Kansas; KU in, K-State out, WSU in NIT
71-Vehicle Pileup on I-70 Claims Eight Lives, Shuts Highway for Over a Day
North Loop Neighbors Push to Remove Downtown Kansas City Highway Section
Corporate Home Buying Drives Up Kansas City Prices, Squeezes Buyers
Kansas Lawmakers Ban Ranked Choice Voting
Kansas to See High Winds, Light Snow Tuesday Night
Kansas Jayhawks Nab 7-Seed, K-State Out, Wichita State Hits NIT
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1. 71-Vehicle Pileup on I-70 Claims Eight Lives, Shuts Highway for Over a Day
A 71-vehicle pileup that has resulted in eight fatalities forced the closure of Interstate 70 in far northwest Kansas for over 24 hours. KanDrive reported that I-70 was closed in both directions between Goodland and Colby due to the crash that occurred just of Edson Friday afternoon. KDOT says that the affected highway has reopened as of 7 p.m. Saturday. The Kansas Highway Patrol says around 3:20 p.m. Friday, a strong dust storm resulting from a strong weather front severely reduced visibility to near zero, which resulted in traffic slowing down and multiple crashes. KHP, as well as the Sherman County Sheriff's Office, Thomas County Sheriff's Office, the Goodland Police Department, and regional fire and EMS responded to the scene. Eight people were reported to have been killed, while numerous injured travelers were transported to hospitals around the region.
Source: KAKE
2. North Loop Neighbors Push to Remove Downtown Kansas City Highway Section
Imagine this: You leave your apartment along Independence Avenue to grab a coffee in Columbus Park, take a stroll over to the River Market for some ice cream and then hop on the streetcar to grab some food and drinks downtown — all without crossing a noisy high-speed interstate. That’s a possibility a group of organizers and residents want Kansas Citians to consider. Called the North Loop Neighbors, the group is casting a sweeping vision and pushing to build momentum behind the idea to remove the north section of the highway loop that runs through downtown and carves through core city neighborhoods. They imagine re-routing Interstates 35 and 70 through the southern section of the loop, opening up the north section for new development and public space, while reconnecting isolated areas to the river, downtown and beyond.
Source: Kansas City Star
3. Corporate Home Buying Drives Up Kansas City Prices, Squeezes Buyers
Large corporations buying single-family homes have contributed to rising prices, creating intense competition for residents and home buyers. The value of homes in Kansas City has risen by 46.6% [since 2020], slightly higher than the increase in the national average, according to a 2025 report from Zillow. And according to the Mid-America Regional Council, 33 companies owned 14,000 Kansas City homes as of last year. After the housing bubble burst in 2008, investors bought large amounts of property quickly and at low prices. Some of these companies that own single-family homes converted houses into rentals, decreasing the number of available homes and creating more competition in the market. Nicola said he doesn’t remember when he first saw corporations buying Kansas City’s residential real estate, but it’s not happening in just one specific neighborhood — corporations have bought homes throughout the city. According to 2023 data from the Mid-America Regional Council, five companies own nearly 8,000 of the corporate-owned homes. VineBrook Homes, an Ohio-based top five investor in the region, owns 1,106 of those homes in Kansas City as of November 2024. In 2023, NPR’s Midwest Newsroom reported that VineBrook’s fast-paced buying spree led to tenants facing maintenance issues, evictions and poor customer service.
Source: Kansas City Star
4. Kansas Lawmakers Ban Ranked Choice Voting
Kansas lawmakers passed bill banning ranked choice voting, a practice that no Kansas government has used so far. In a ranked choice voting system, voters are asked to select candidates in order of preference rather than picking just one. If a candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, they're declare the winner. Rep. Pat Proctor, R-Leavenworth, said the added layer of complexity damages voter confidence. “I can think of nothing that is more corrosive of voter confidence than a form of elections that requires a paragraph or a page to describe to a voter how a candidate won,” Proctor said. Alaska, Maine and about 50 municipalities nationwide have adopted ranked choice voting for their elections. No city, school board or county in Kansas has used it to select its representatives, but the Kansas Democratic Party did use it in its primary in 2020. This bill would still allow parties to use the system. Supporters of ranked choice voting argue that it drives politicians toward the center and increase voter turnout.
Source: CJ Online
5. Kansas to See High Winds, Light Snow Tuesday Night
A Storm Team 12 Weather Alert has been issued for high winds and some light snow that will impact Kansas starting Tuesday night. While snow accumulations will be minimal due to warming ground temperatures, travelers should be ready to deal with strong winds and reduced visibilities. Tuesday will be a day with gusty southwest winds and temperatures reaching record highs. Much of the state will hit 80, but it will turn sharply colder into the night with a front on the way. Northwest wind gusts of over 50 mph look likely heading into the nighttime and early morning hours Wednesday. Chances for snow will impact central and western Kansas, with some grassy areas in northern Kansas possibly getting upwards of 2 inches of accumulation. Wind gusts will remain between 50 and 65 mph through Wednesday evening, but should start going down pretty quickly after dark. Thursday will have much calmer weather and highs warming back into the 50s.
Source: KWCH
6. Kansas Jayhawks Nab 7-Seed, K-State Out, Wichita State Hits NIT
The 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament and NIT delivered a split outcome for Kansas' big three—KU, KSU, and WSU—as the postseason picture came into focus this week. The Kansas Jayhawks, weathering a stormy season that saw them plummet from preseason No. 1 to a rare low under coach Bill Self, clinched a 7-seed in the NCAA Tournament's West region, set to face No. 10 Arkansas on CBS at 6:10 p.m. CT in Providence, Rhode Island, for their Round of 64 matchup. Kansas State Wildcats, however, fell short of expectations under second-year coach Jerome Tang, missing both the NCAA Tournament and NIT despite a late push in Big 12 play, leaving Wildcat fans to ponder what might have been. Meanwhile, Wichita State Shockers (19-14) landed among the 32 teams selected for the 2025 National Invitation Tournament, opening their 14th NIT bid—and first since 2019—against Oklahoma State (15-17) on Tuesday, March 18 at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2; with an 11-32 all-time record against the Cowboys but a split in their last four meetings, WSU eyes a deep run toward a second NIT crown since 2011, with the winner advancing to face either No. 1 SMU or Northern Iowa on March 22-23.
Source: Citizen Journal
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Sources
- https://www.kake.com/home/eight-confirmed-dead-71-vehicles-involved-in-multi-vehicle-pileup-on-i-70-in-northwest/article_a492f11a-01bf-11f0-b889-9bedf76c7b48.html
- https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article302033544.html
- https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article301519559.html
- https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/politics/state/2025/03/17/kansas-lawmakers-pass-ban-on-ranked-choice-voting-bill/82403855007/
- https://www.kwch.com/2025/03/17/weather-alert-high-winds-some-snow/
- Citizen Journal