Friday, December 5, 2014

Savoy Grill Fire Destroys Kitchen in Historic Restaurant and Hotel by KCMB News Kansas City

Savoy Grill Fire Destroys Kitchen, Closes Restaurant
A devastating fire raged through the kitchen of the Savoy Grill on Thursday afternoon, causing restaurant patrons and employees to flee the building. The fire destroyed most of the basement kitchen at the hotel and subsequent smoke damage permeated the rest of the historic restaurant. The Kansas City Fire Department made excellent response time and the fire was quickly extinguished. No one was injured in the fire, but several people were forced to evacuate not only the Savoy restaurant, but the adjoining Savoy Hotel. The fire was reportedly started by a kitchen worker who "had started cooking and was not paying attention".

The Savoy Grill will be closed for repairs indefinitely and owner Don Lee told KCMB News that "the floor would need a little wax and it might take awhile". In April, Lee had already announced that the Savoy Grill and Hotel would be sold by year's end. Lee purchased the Savoy in 1960 and has kept both the restaurant and the hotel running constantly ever since. The Savoy Hotel, located in the same building as the Savoy Grill, has several permanent residents who had to evacuate the building when the Savoy fire caused the power to go out. The Hotel itself was not damaged and the Savoy fire was contained to the basement kitchen. The restaurant was not physically damaged but did close due to the overwhelming smoke.

Known as the longest consistently operating hotel and restaurant West of the Mississippi, The Savoy Grill and Hotel has been a downtown Kansas City staple since it opened in 1888.

Savoy fire story by KCMB Kansas City News, official kc news site with breaking stories on The Kansas City Royals, Chiefs, charity events, the 2012 MLB All Star Game, weather, sports, MU, KU, ufo sightings, dui checkpoints, Kansas City neighborhoods, nightlife, concerts, the Sprint Center, the Power and Light District and current Kansas City news articles.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Smart Gun Invented by Colorado Teen Kai Kloepfer

Biometric electromechanical firearm safety is the key behind the new smart gun, invented by Kai Kloepfer, a teen from Colorado who's invention of the smart gun earned him a $50,000 first prize at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Kloepfer will use the prize money to design and develop his new invention which renders a gun useless when in the wrong hands. The new smart gun employs the biometric safety feature, which recognizes the gun owner's fingerprints and "locks" the gun if anyone but the owner tries to use it.

Kai Kloepfer is a Colorado teen who has been a witness to his share of senseless gun violence in his lifetime. Shootings in Kloepfer's immediate neighborhood include the disaster at Columbine that ended the lives of 12 people, and also the movie theater shooting spree in Aurora, Colorado that also claimed the lives of 12 people. At age 16, Kloepfer got the idea to invent a smart gun that would make a serious dent in the amount of wrongful deaths that occur from gun violence. Kai Kloepfer noticed that almost all illegal or accidental gun mishaps occur when the gun is in the hands of someone who is not the owner of the gun. A smart gun that recognized the fingerprints of the user would therefore keep guns in the hands of those who legally own them, and if anyone else tries to use the gun it would not operate. Furthermore the gun will "lock" immediately when the owner removes his hand from the sensor on the handle. The sensor in the gun handle has said to be 99.99% accurate for recognizing fingerprints.

The smart gun would prevent criminals from obtaining illegal firearms and would also prevent children in homes from "playing" with guns and injuring themselves or others. There is also a possibility that the military will take an interest in the smart gun, as the gun would be rendered useless in enemy hands. The gun could also be programmed for multiple users, and the scanner would be able to tell if the fingers on the gun are actually attached and alive (eliminating the possibility of cutting off a finger and using the finger to unlock the gun).



Smart gun inventor Kai Kloepfer by KCMB Kansas City News, official kc news site with breaking stories on The Kansas City Royals, Chiefs, charity events, the 2012 MLB All Star Game, weather, sports, MU, KU, ufo sightings, dui checkpoints, Kansas City neighborhoods, nightlife, concerts, the Sprint Center, the Power and Light District and current Kansas City news articles.

Monday, August 25, 2014

Most Popular Wedding Date of 2015 by KCMB News Kansas City

We recently interviewed several experts on Kansas City weddings to find out what the most popular 2015 wedding date currently was shaping up to be. Every year, almost inexplicably it seems, there is one red hot Saturday that a majority of brides choose as their wedding day. Whether the date makes up a clever number combination or it is in the coveted wedding date month of June, thus the popular term "June bride", couples seem to make one day of the year the most popular wedding date each year.

Most Popular Wedding Date of 2007
Let's start with the year 2007, where July 7th fell on a Saturday. This made the excellent wedding date of 07/07/07 - or 777, which in the gambling world is a very lucky combination of numbers, not to mention that the number 7 is generally considered to be inherently lucky. An overwhelming number of couples tied the knot on July 7th, 2007 and there most certainly is a club somewhere just for couples who were married on this popular date. We asked a National wedding band booking agency "Bands for Hire Live!" about their experience…"oh wow, Seven, Seven, of 07, that was a HUGE day for us and almost every wedding band on the planet. We were so swamped with inquiries that we had to bring in some temps to help with the extra call load. I know that there are a lot of happy couples out there with July 7th, 2007 as their wedding date."

Most Popular Wedding Date of 2008
Although not as obvious as July 7th, 2007, 2008 also had it's most popular wedding date. It was a close race in 2008 between May 17th, 2008 and June 14th, 2008 with June 14th just edging out May 17th for the win. June 14th, which was situated perfectly in the middle of June, attracted the most couples as the most popular wedding date in 2008.

Most Popular Wedding Date of 2009
Although we can offer absolutely NO explanation for it, brides went for an unusual month in 2009, selecting the crisp pre-winter month of October to be married. Though trends almost always point to May or June, the most popular wedding date in 2009 was October 10th. Quite unexpected by most Kansas City wedding vendors, a lot of them were wishing they would have raised their prices for October 10th as it was so popular that a lot of wedding vendors were turning away business as they were completely booked up. We interviewed the popular wedding band BIG SHOW Dueling Pianos about this and they were quick to remember…"we had at least 6-8 couples interested in booking us for that date. We never saw it coming, we thought it was a little curious that we booked a date like October 10th almost a year in advance, which is typical for June dates, but then when the calls kept coming in for October 10th we understood why at that point. Either way, we had a great night with an incredible wedding party!"

Most Popular Wedding Date of 2010
Again in 2010 we had a battle between the monster wedding months of May and June, with May 22nd and May 29th ranking way up on the scale, but once again May was beat out by June. Easily the most popular wedding date of 2010 was June 19th.

Most Popular Wedding Date of 2011
This year we saw another memorable and magical number combination with 9, 10, 11 - or, September 10th, 2011. Brides threw both May and June out the window and chose this as the most popular wedding date of 2011. We asked local Kansas City wedding band "The Wedding Crashers" how that date went for them…"this year we saw them coming, haha, we knew well in advance that nine, ten, eleven was going to be the biggest wedding date of the year. We performed for a HUGE wedding reception at Union Station that year, it was awesome!"

Most Popular Wedding Date of 2012
Finally, in this year, May claimed a victory. After being edged out by June year after year, and even beaten out by September the year before, the most popular wedding date of 2012 was May 12th. "This wedding day was very special because of the weather", the owner of Kansas City Wedding Bands told us, "the weather was exactly 75 degrees and sunny all day with clear skies and it cooled off to about 65 that night which, if you were wearing a full tuxedo, was absolutely perfect."

Most Popular Wedding Date of 2013
Amazingly enough in 2013 September came up and grabbed another win. With the weather becoming warmer and warmer, it seems that this fall month has risen considerable in popularity in the last few years. The most popular wedding date of 2013 was September 14th. When we interviewed local Kansas City wedding planner Katie Jones-Barron she said that "September is getting higher and higher on the priority chart for our company as more and more brides are choosing that month for their big day. In the past we would be functioning at full capacity during June for sure, but now we can also throw May and September into the mix."

Most Popular Wedding Date of 2014
Jumping up and grabbing the prize for the second year in a row was September. This time the win was a LANDSLIDE victory with an overwhelming amount of couples tying the knot on this date. Without a doubt the most popular wedding date of 2014 is September 13th. Ryan Bogowith, creator of Kansas City One Stop, told us "…right now our social media pages are going crazy with people still looking for wedding catering companies, wedding photographers, florists, you name it. It appears as though a lot of these companies are all booked up at this point."

Most Popular Wedding Date of 2015
Drum roll please…we will now announce the winner! As far as our research has told us, and after several interviews with local wedding vendors of every kind we have arrived at what we think is the right day. With a landslide victory the most popular wedding date of 2015 is May 16th. We interviewed local Kansas City wedding band The KC All Stars and they said that they have already had over 5 requests for May 16th, 2015 and they expect those numbers to at least triple. "We know that we're going to get a lot more requests to perform on May 16th, but we've been booked on that date for over 2 months now. Even the bands that we typically refer our clients to when we're booked like "The Wedding Crashers" or "The Taxis" are booked up as well. There is a date like this every year, sometimes we can tell what it's going to be, sometimes we can't. But when you're booking us, it's first deposit wins."

If you're planning on having your wedding on the most popular wedding date of 2015 which is May 16th, 2015, you had better start reserving your wedding vendors, because they are going to book up FAST. We hope you enjoyed this article and congratulations to every couple who plans to marry in 2015!

KCMB Kansas City News, official kc news site with breaking stories on The Kansas City Royals, Chiefs, charity events, the 2012 MLB All Star Game, weather, sports, MU, KU, ufo sightings, dui checkpoints, Kansas City neighborhoods, nightlife, concerts, the Sprint Center, the Power and Light District and current Kansas City news articles.

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Kansas City Comedian Chris Porter to Perform at KC Improv This Weekend

After stating in several interviews that he did not enjoy performing in his hometown of Kansas City, comedian Chris Porter will be headlining at KC Improv this weekend. Porter will be doing two shows on Saturday night, one at 7pm and another at 9:45pm, and then one show on Sunday night at 7pm. Saturday night shows are $18-$23 and Sunday night tickets are $16-$21 and can be purchased at the KC Improv website.

Leaving Kansas City
Kansas City Royals players become stars in the MLB and then are immediately traded away (Greinke, Damon, Dye, etc.). Similarly a few local bands put in their time in the Kansas City, got a record deal and then immediately moved away. Kansas City has also produced a few good comedians as well, and they have also moved away. Rapidly rising star Chris Porter did the same thing a few years ago stating that he "had already done everything there was to do in Kansas City, I've played all of the clubs several times over and headlined the big venues, it's time to move on." Alas, Kansas City seems to be a fertile ground for growing seedlings, but in order to become full grown trees, the seedlings must head for bigger cities. We're like a farm team for other big cities, we grow the talent and then send them packing.

There is another problem with Kansas City that lurks beneath the surface that musicians and comedians have commented on many times in the past - the people of Kansas City do not respect the arts anywhere NEAR as much as many other cities. As Chris Porter said in an interview "I told people in Kansas City that I was going to be a comedian and they just smiled and patted me on the back and said good luck with that buddy!" Kansas City is famous for giving their budding artists little or no respect until they move away, become famous, and then come back. The last local band that made it into the spotlight from Kansas City was called "Puddle of Mudd" and lead singer Wes Scantlin said "yeah, our early shows in Kansas City would have about 40 people there, and after we made it big there were about 40,000 claiming that they were there". I suppose that's why they call it the "show me" state, people in Kansas City have a big city attitude without the style or clout to back it up. Comedian Louis CK particularly hates Kansas City and even references our city in his stand up constantly, always negatively.

Last Comic Standing

Although Chris Porter sometimes wishes that he could delete the "Last Comic Standing stigma" that has attached itself to him, it is, partially or entirely responsible for launching his comedy career. In June of 2006 season 4 of Last Comic Standing would change the lives of a handful of comedians forever. Ten comics were holed up in the Queen Mary Hotel in Long Beach, California, all competing in various challenges, head to head battles and overall popularity phone votes. By week 9, Chris Porter had earned a 3rd place finish behind 2nd place winner Ty Barnett and Last Comic Standing winner Josh Blue. Porter's multiple television appearances got the attention of comedy club owners, booking agencies and other television stations, providing a nice foundation for Porter's stand up career.

Chris Porter Today

Giving credit to one of his favorite comedians and a major influence, Chris Porter gives us Doug Stanhope, who Porter terms a "maverick" in the comedy world as Stanhope does things his way and refuses to perform at venues that don't cater to his lifestyle. Doug prefers to lay low in Bisbee, Arizona with his girlfriend Bingo, and claims that his favorite activity is getting drunk and buying items on Ebay. Certainly among the top five comedians still living (Doug Stanhope, Bill Burr, Louis CK, Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock), Stanhope has already solidified his place in comedy history with his unfiltered, seemingly unscripted stand up act. The fact that Chris Porter lists Stanhope as an influence and a favorite is a very good sign indeed. Porter's act today is starting to take shape, and he reminds one of Bill Burr and Doug Stanhope in his casual interviews in that he is funny even when he isn't saying anything textually funny. This is a good sign for things to come for Chris Porter, and those of us who support the arts in Kansas City can't wait to see what he comes up with next...

Chris Porter comedian kansas city kc improv 2014 by KCMB Kansas City News, official kc news site with breaking stories on The Kansas City Royals, Chiefs, charity events, the 2012 MLB All Star Game, weather, sports, MU, KU, ufo sightings, dui checkpoints, Kansas City neighborhoods, nightlife, concerts, the Sprint Center, the Power and Light District and current Kansas City news articles.

Monday, June 30, 2014

Fireworks in Kansas City, Leawood, Overland Park July 4th, 2014 by KCMB News Kansas City

The skies will be popping and sparkling this July 4th, 2014 with several great fireworks displays in Kansas City, Leawood and Overland Park. As we tell everyone every year, we have our secret spot but we cannot divulge it's location because the best part about our spot is that it is not crowded and getting in and out of there is quite easy indeed.

Kansas City Fireworks Displays

Worlds of Fun - Celebrate America
Not only will Worlds of Fun have fireworks on the 4th of July 2014, but they are going to be doing fireworks EVERY weekend in July! That's right kids, there will be fireworks displays on July 4th, 5th, 11th, 12th, 18th, 19th, 25th and 26th. The Worlds of Fun fireworks will start at 10pm each of those nights and the twilight admission will be $36.99.

Fireworks at the K - Kauffman Stadium
If anyone knows whether or not they will have fireworks at the K this year let us know. We know that the Kansas City Royals will be in Cleveland that night so there will not be a baseball game at the K. Most stadiums will be celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Lou Gehrig's speech. Leave comments below if you know anything…

Kansas City River Market Fireworks 2014
The River Market has nothing on their calendar about a fireworks display this year.

Leawood Fireworks Display - 2014 4th of July Celebration

Once again this year the Leawood Park at Tomahawk Creek will be blasting off their fireworks display immediately following the Corporate Woods fireworks show. They will be making a day of it at Leawood Park, offering games, live music, rides and food vendors beginning at 5pm. There will be all access passes for children for the rides for $5. The Leawood fireworks display will begin at 9:45pm.

Overland Park Fireworks Display - Star Spangled Spectacular 2014

The annual Corporate Woods fireworks display "Star Spangled Spectacular 2014" will be the biggest thing going when it comes to Overland Park fireworks displays. The traffic jam (ahem) we mean the event will be held at Corporate Woods located at College and Antioch and begin at 4pm with food and beverage vendors, a children's play pavilion and inflatables. At 5:45pm there will be a country band followed by a 55 piece American Legion Band performing patriotic songs. Actor James Wright will be welcoming everyone at 8pm followed by the National Anthem being performed by Lindsey McKee from the Quality Hill Playhouse in Overland Park. The Star Spangled Spectacular 2014 fireworks will commence at 9:30pm. Don't be in a hurry to get out of there immediately after the fireworks because it will be traffic jam mayhem, it's best to just be patient and wait to try to leave until it clears out a little bit.

Have fun and enjoy your 4th of July Kansas City!

Go to 2022 Corporate Woods Star Spangled Spectacular Info

Go To 2015 4th of July in KC Info

fireworks in kansas city, leawood, overland park by KCMB Kansas City News, official kc news site with breaking stories on The Kansas City Royals, Chiefs, charity events, the 2012 MLB All Star Game, weather, sports, MU, KU, ufo sightings, dui checkpoints, Kansas City neighborhoods, nightlife, concerts, the Sprint Center, the Power and Light District and current Kansas City news articles.

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