We decided to take a look back at June and see what you guys cared about last month. The top story of the month: Jackass star Ryan Dunn dying in a drunken driving car crash (with a blood alcohol content of .196 and driving between 130 and 140 mph in his Porsche).
You guys also cared about Donald Jones, who is accused of voluntary manslaughter in the death of his friend, Ronald Oliver. Jones told police that he "threw a knife" at Oliver during an argument while watching the NBA Finals. I'm guessing Jones' mug shot had something to do with this.
I don't have to tell you that we're on the verge of a three-day weekend. Just like you, we're taking Monday off to blow shit up. See you back here Tuesday, unless we see you in the emergency room first.
This is really cool. University of Kansas Libraries has uploaded detailed maps created by the Sandborn Map Company in the 1800s of 241 cities. It's like Google Maps from 1860.
The maps were originally made for insurance companies, but the university says now they can be used to study the state's history.
You have to love arbitrary magazine lists that pit American cities against one another. In this year alone, people who don't live here have ranked Kansas City the 36th drunkest city, the 21st most dangerous city, and home of the nation's second-best barbecue. Men's Health even gave us props for an imaginary light rail project. Honors all.
And now Travel + Leisure has bestowed another ranking on our fair city: The 19th dirtiest spot in the country. Whoo!
Last week, The Kansas City Star published all of the seven mayoral candidates' plans to address violent crime. One of the hopefuls, attorney Sly James, voiced his opinion that the Kansas City Police Department needs more diversity on the force. It's not the first time we've heard that sentiment.
Which begs the question: How white is the KCPD, really? The answer: lily.
According to a new report released by Environment Missouri, Missouri ranks 11th for most emissions of mercury from coal-fired power plants.
Researchers studied the EPA's most recent Toxics Release Inventory, which quantifies the amount of mercury belched by power plants in the state, and the numbers don't lie: Missouri emitted 3,957 pounds of the poison in 2009.
The economic downturn poses a quandary for straight couples. Sex is a fun activity that doesn't come with a Ticketmaster surcharge. But it can result in the creation of a dependent who requires diapers, formula and a phone plan with unlimited texting.
Area couples appear to be doing a little bedroom math, because fewer babies are being born in Kansas City. One public-health official suspects that the recession is causing more couples to take steps to avoid pregnancy.
It's been established that the controversy over unreported E. coli levels at the Lake of the Ozarks two summers ago was manufactured for political purposes.
Missouri state Sen. Brad Lager (R-Maryville) made a huge stink over poopy bacteria levels in the Ozarks' waters that were supposedly hidden from the public over the summer of 2009. Lager made it seem as though anyone who accidentally took a swig of lake water while skanking it up at Party Cove was a victim of some massive, evil coverup by the state's Department of Natural Resources. But Lager's real target wasn't water quality.
It was recently reported that Club Xpressions, the storied shit-show formerly known as Club NRG, got off to a trigger-happy start in 2011 when a man was shot during its New Year's Eve party. But records show that things really heated up the night before, during the club's first night of business.
Before changing owners and names, the club, near Grand and Seventh Street, was known as the place to be if you wanted to shoot someone, smash someone's head open with a liquor bottle, or throw rocks at neighboring businesses. As reports of such fun piled up late last year, the city forced owner Del Hedgepath to sell the club. The new owners, Eric and Natasha Union, threw a "soft opening" for Club Xpressions on December 30. According to a police report, the opening was anything but soft.
For a second there, the press release from the Community Blood Center had me thinking that there were so many bloody accidents on icy KC roadways that the blood bank was tapped dry. But that blood-soaked assumption was grossly inaccurate.
The actual scenario: The first major snowstorm of the year forced the cancellation of three-fourths of the CBC's mobile blood drives. Now, the supply of vampire food is at an alarming low, so the CBC is calling for emergency donations to supply the 70 Kansas and Missouri hospital partners that depend on its services.
WWE's Monday Night Raw returns to Kansas City October 14
DelHi Soul Food Buffet closes in KCK
Courtney Cole, Greater Kansas City Women's Political Caucus executive director, answers The Pitch's questionnaire
Marilyn Manson and Alice Cooper are headed to Cricket Wireless Amphitheater
The Gaf has closed in Waldo
D'Bronx corned-beef sandwich is a deli stopgap
Yo La Tengo is at Grinders tonight
Police leave Union Station after suspicious package found