Testimony in Kyle Flack’s preliminary hearing ended Wednesday when a Franklin County judge ordered him to stand trial in the shotgun murders of four people last spring at a farmhouse outside Ottawa. District Judge Thomas found that prosecutors had shown probable cause to try Flack, 28, on charges of capital murder and first-degree murder.
This is the 18th Big 12 Tournament, and after the NCAA selection committee does its thing on Sunday, the guess is we will not have seen anything like it. Baylor coach Scott Drew marveled at the field. “Toughest I can remember,” Drew said. “Not even close. More teams can win it this year. Normally, going in there are two or three teams that are the favorites.”
A study released Wednesday about the world’s oldest profession concludes that the lucrative underground commercial sex economy in eight large U.S. metropolitan areas, including Kansas City, brings in a combined estimated annual cash value of $975.3 million. The unprecedented study by the Urban Institute finds that the reach of the Internet has facilitated the flesh trade and made it harder to combat.
Heading to the Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament? Don’t forget to fuel up before the game. These 12 restaurants are within a half mile of the Sprint Center.
25 Under 25 awards banquet
West Bottoms Warehouse Weekend: Saturday
Gala of the Royal Horses attendees
Leprechaun Lane 5K/10K
First Friday in the West Bottoms
2014 KC Gem & Mineral Show
Greater KC Int'l Auto Show
Network After Work: March 6
Sporting KC Takeoff
Beads, Beans & Beer
Johnson County Home & Garden Show
Hotel & Lodging Association Recognition Dinner
Over the past two months, Chiefs general manager John Dorsey and coach Andy Reid have taken turns repeating the mantra build through the draft. So when free-agency officially began at 3 p.m. Tuesday, and five Chiefs starters were snapped up by other teams within the first 90 minutes, it hardly qualified as a shock. Also Tuesday, the Chiefs re-signed backup safety Husain Abdullah to a two-year deal, a source told The Star.
We interrupt Kansas City’s best sports week of the year with Pat Bowlen and John Elway turning NFL free agency into their own personal rap video. Aqib Talib gets six years and $57 million, including $26 million guaranteed (the biggest guarantee ever for a cornerback, which the Broncos will soon regret). The Broncos are also, reportedly, in on former Cowboys pass rusher DeMarcus Ware, which is ridiculous.
Consideration of a plan by the Crossroads Academy, a downtown charter school, to double its size so it can accommodate middle school students was delayed Wednesday by a city development agency. The Kansas City Tax Increment Financing Commission postponed consideration of the school’s request for $5.5 million in TIF assistance until March 24. The delay was required because a late amendment filed in an effort to satisfy objections to the proposal.
It’s a surreal feeling to know you are about to see another person die. Whether you believe capital punishment is well-deserved justice or state-sanctioned murder, it is a difficult act to witness.
The Kansas City area is a hotbed for model railroading with over three dozen “fully finished” private layouts. Perhaps that’s a product of Kansas City’s legacy as a real-life rail hub. In any case, Kansas City’s model railroaders are a collegial bunch. Operating a model railroad can require up to a dozen people, and the gatherings serve as social functions.
The chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence charged Tuesday that the CIA may have broken the law and violated the Constitution by secretly infiltrating computers used by her staff to assemble a scathing report on the spy agency’s now-defunct detention and interrogation program.
On the same night KU plays Texas in front of a sold-out crowd, another college basketball celebration has begun in Lawrence. Three players from Haskell Indian Nations University are lined up at midcourt to be recognized for before their final home game. Their time at Haskell has been rewarding, the players say. But the real news here is three of the players have made it to this point.
Sales of Irish whiskey surged 576 percent between 2003 and 2013 in the United States, making it the fastest growing category, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. Last year alone, sales jumped 20 percent. Americans might be rediscovering Irish whiskey now, but it’s hardly new.
Air Force reservist Leo Brown, a religion teacher at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Overland Park, will be deployed to Afghanistan later this month with the 442nd Fighter Wing. This is his last week in the classroom before he reports for duty. On Tuesday, students and teachers surpised Brown by lining the halls and cheering as he was summoned from his classroom.
President Obama traded barbs with Zach Galifianakis on the comedian’s ‘Funny or Die’ show “Between Two Ferns” in a bid to convince young invincibles to sign up for health care.
A developer is proposing a $78 million office tower at 46th Terrace and Pennsylvania Avenue, the first new office project pitched for the Country Club Plaza area since a controversial plan fell through three years ago. The 12-story building is being pursued by Block Real Estate Services for a 1.5-acre location where the firm had proposed a hotel project last year.
In Washington, Masayoshi Son promised price wars and faster Internet service in return for a little regulatory flexibility. Known as a blunt and sharp-elbowed maverick, the 56-year-old Tokyo businessman is on a mission to revitalize Sprint, which has been losing subscribers as T-Mobile has been adding them.
With a looming deadline for a recommendation, the KCI citizen task force still has a difficult choice to make for the airport’s future: Undertake major renovations at two existing terminals that will likely cost in excess of $700 million and won’t solve all the airport’s problems. Or build a new single terminal and solve all the problems –– but be ready to spend $800 million to $1.2 billion.
