Blue Springs News

" Two people died Monday morning in a house fire that could be seen for over a mile. via NBC Action News

Doctors for two young Missouri sisters said the girls will likely face permanent scarring from temporary tattoos. via MyFOX Atlanta

“I couldn't even tell you the last time we had a contested write-in race in a school district”

No signs, no ballots, no election muss.

Voters interested in Tuesday's Blue Springs, Independence and Center school district elections -- among others -- can stay home and relax.

Yet each of those districts had seats up for grab this year. Thing is, only one person sought out each seat. Under that circumstance, a law enacted in 2003 excuses the districts from the hassle -- and cost -- of a formal election.

Not so for cities such as Lake Tapawingo, Levasy and Lone Jack. They have no exemption, so they still have to go to the trouble and expense -- often more than a thousand dollars -- of formally electing unopposed candidates. Read more

“As they were digging around through some old metal appliances that had been dumped back there, they discovered the body”

Police are investigating after a man and woman looking for scrap metal Wednesday found a decomposing body behind a vacant Independence appliance store.Police responded about 2 p.m. to the 8900 block of U.S. 24 ... via KansasCity.com

“Everything is just heading south”

As the falling real-estate and stock markets erode their savings, many aging Americans are delaying retirement, electing labor over leisure in uncertain times. via Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“We would hope that nobody would use it that way”

Today’s problemBlue Springs’ Bill Cobb took his family to the Kansas City Brigade’s home opener March 1 at the Sprint Center and came away with questions.Not about the Brigade or about the ... via KansasCity.com

“How can a house sit unsold at $890,000 for three years and then get bought for $1.25 million - ”

The Kansas City Star reports from Missouri. "Real estate agent Cindy Tomasic was taken aback by her first foreclosure listing in tony Loch Lloyd. via The Housing Bubble Blog

“I pick which fights I'm going to fight”

In Blue Springs, multifamily housing is a good issue for stirring up voters.

It's also the source of the latest City Council kerfuffle, in which Sheila Solon is challenging Jeff Quibell for a statement in his newsletter that, she contends, misleads voters.

Solon, in a letter to The Star, said Quibell was trying to camouflage his own voting record while misrepresenting her stance and that of Ron Fowler, who is running for re-election.

'Councilman Quibell was disingenuous in his attempt to distort the facts and should not have used this as an opportunity to try to advance his political aspirations,' Solon said. Read more

CLAY COUNTY | KC firm hired for audit

County officials this week agreed to hire Cochran, Head, Vick & Co., a Kansas City firm, to audit the county's 2007 financial records.

Eastern Commissioner Craig Porter said the firm has a track record with the county and in dealing with elected officials. The county agreed to pay the firm $97,875 to conduct the financial audit.

BLUE SPRINGS | Property ordinance on hold

The final vote on a proposed property maintenance code in Blue Springs will have to wait. Read more

“If he gets famous, I've got some good coattails to ride.”

There was no way David Cook ever imagined this. Instant fame. Millions of fans watching him sing every week. via DigitalBURG

KANSAS CITY | A woman died Tuesday night after being shot multiple times at an east Kansas City townhome complex.

About 3:30 p.m., police were called to investigate reports of shots being fired at Blue Valley Court Townhomes near 23rd Street and Wheeling Avenue, tactical team Capt. Mark Heimer said. When they arrived, officers found the victim behind one of the townhomes.

Four males -- including two juveniles -- who witnesses said ran into a nearby townhome after the shooting were taken into custody at the scene, police said. However, police were not describing them as suspects. Read more

Missouri Highway Patrol officers this morning found about 75 suspected marijuana plants growing under lights in the basement of a Blue Springs home.

They sent the plants to a lab to be tested.

The patrol got a tip that marijuana was growing in the basement, and it obtained a search warrant to enter the home at 2200 S.W. Walnut St. Patrol Sgt. Dan Green said the plants were 'in various stages of growth,' some just an inch or two tall, others a couple feet in height. He estimated they could yield marijuana that would sell for $40,000 to $50,000. Read more

Reported by: Amy Hawley Email: hawley@nbcactionnews.com Last Update: 6:08 pm BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. via NBC Action News

“If this show remains a talent competition rather than a popularity competition, you actually could win this entire show”

Beneath the shaggy hair and mild-mannered demeanor of "American Idol" contestant David Cook is a seasoned musician who's rocked his way through the gritty club scene in America's heartland. via KMOV-TV Saint Louis

This is a rare inherited type of dwarfism. Maddy is the youngest and smallest Primordial dwarf known to doctors in the world right now. via SportbikeS.com

“If you really want to get a good deal on a house and really want to buy, now's the time to do it. Don't wait”

Some local real estate agents are trying to turn foreclosures into someone's windfall. via TheKansasCityChannel.com

" An indoor sports complex will transform into a Dr. Seuss scene Saturday. In accordance with the upcoming release of Twentieth Century Fox' new movie, "Horton Hears a Who," the Blue Springs SportsCity, 425 NE ... via KSHB-TV Kansas City

“That and installing door sweeps are really simple things.”

Your contractor just outfitted your house with an array of solar panels, and soon the windmill will be up and running out back. Hey, you'll be off-grid by summer.

Not your story?

Then you're like most of us in terms of energy use, living in a regular Kansas City area house without any highfalutin green amenities.

Still, like most people, you'd rather not spend more money than you must on utility bills -- or suck up more energy resources than makes good sense.

Today is the second installment of FYI's Greener Living series. In the first we homed in on trash. This time: reducing home energy use. Read more

JACKSON COUNTY | Wreck kills motorist

A wreck Tuesday along Interstate 70 in eastern Jackson County killed one person.

Garrett A. Clark, 18, of Blue Springs, died in an accident about 3 p.m. when his pickup truck veered off the left side of the exit ramp from the westbound lanes of the interstate at Woods Chapel Road.

His car drove through a grassy shoulder and went airborne before striking a concrete bridge pillar and then a guardrail. He was not wearing a seatbelt.

Clark was pronounced dead at the scene. Read more

By now, it's well established that Alaina Whitaker should be moving onto next week instead of one of the aforementioned female singers. via TulsaWorld.com - Entertainment