Kansas

Kansas City snowstorm delays flower shop deliveries ahead of Valentine's Day

Published

1 year ago

February 13, 2025

Kansas City snowstorm delays flower shop deliveries ahead of Valentine's Day

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Flower shops across the Kansas City metro are gearing up for one of their biggest holidays of the year, but the winter weather storm put a thorn in the delivery plans.

It’s petal to the metal for Tobler’s Flowers in Kansas City.

“Keep on making, working and grinding away,” floral designer Brea Oglesby said.

But Wednesday morning’s snowfall kept the petals indoors. Tobler’s Flowers had to reschedule all their Wednesday deliveries.

Jake Weller

“[Wednesday] was a little too winter weather heavy so we were like let’s just call it off for our drivers’ safety,” Oglesby said. “We’ve been prepping for [Thursday] to get back on the roads. Our drivers do this all the time so they’re really good about driving.”

Florists are taking extra precautions to get the flowers out safely for Valentine’s Day orders, like wrapping the arrangements in plastic to create a humid dome.

“Flowers generally don’t mind the cold temperatures but when it gets below freezing they just immediately die so you have to protect them,” Oglesby said. “It’s been challenging but we make the best of it and utilize the time we have to make sure that we better prepare for the coming days.”

Up in the Northland, Dianne Fortner got her deliveries out early on Wednesday but still ran into trouble on the road.

“This morning you couldn’t even see what lanes were what,” Fortner said. “They were snow-packed, most of them.”

Dianne and her husband, Steve, have owned their floral business since 1985, Steve’s Floral Shop.

“He makes the flowers, I do the deliveries,” Fortner said.

Steve and Dianne used to have a shop in downtown Kansas City but transitioned to their home garage after COVID-19.

“You can keep your doors locked here as well as you can downtown,” Fortner said. “We just moved home and we don’t have to pay rent downtown or worry about parking.”

Dianne knows the safest routes for neighborhood deliveries, even in bad weather.

“I was going slow,” Fortner said. “People were a little upset with me but I’d rather get there than have somebody come get me out of a ditch.”

Unlike roses, Dianne and Steve’s love and business have lasted more than 40 years. That’s why Dianne isn’t expecting a bouquet from her husband this year.

“We see flowers all the time,” Fortner said. “I’m like, buy me a margarita instead.”

Tobler’s Flowers is still accepting Valentine’s Day flower orders.

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KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne covers issues surrounding government accountability and solutions. Share your story with Isabella.

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Kansas

Storm causes power outages in Kansas City metro

Published

10 hours ago

March 7, 2026

Press Room

Storm causes power outages in Kansas City metro

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Residents are without power after a storm swept through the Kansas City metro late Friday night into Saturday morning.

According to Evergy’s power outage map, as of 12:22 a.m., 76 active outages are causing 1,628 customers to be without power.

Over 1,000 customers are without power in the Kansas City area.(KCTV5)

WEATHER UPDATES: First Warn Weather Day: The final round of storms on the way. Here’s what to expect

This is an active situation. KCTV5 will make updates to this story as they’re made available.

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Kansas

Chiefs President: New team facilities in Olathe will connect with schools, city

Published

22 hours ago

March 6, 2026

Press Room

Chiefs President: New team facilities in Olathe will connect with schools, city

KSHB 41 reporter Elyse Schoenig covers Johnson County. She’s reported on the Chiefs’ decision to move its team facility to Olathe since the team made the announcement in December. That coverage has included amplifying the voices of residents who have different perspectives on the project, which has ranged from excitement to scrutiny. Share your story idea with Elyse.

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Kansas City Chiefs President Mark Donovan said Friday the team is drawing inspiration from recent team headquarters projects with the Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys as they develop plans for their own new headquarters in Olathe.

In December, the club reached an agreement with Kansas officials to move across the state line. The agreement called for a $3 billion, domed stadium in western Kansas City, Kansas, and a new team headquarters and practice facility near Kansas Highway 10 and Ridgeview Road in Olathe.

Donovan’s remarks on Friday came during the Olathe Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Meeting at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center.

Elyse Schoenig/KSHB

The Olathe Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Meeting on Friday, March 6, 2026, at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center.

The chamber’s theme for 2026, “Olathe Rising,” appears well-timed as the Chiefs work to build out their team headquarters vision.

Donovan said the team and its partners have been busy behind the scenes and hope to have updates on the project in the near future.

He said the club will look to work with the Olathe School District and the Olathe City Council in their plans.

The club is exploring a unique component to the facility by incorporating flag football into the project.

Flag football has been a priority of the club and the National Football League. The sport will make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

In April, the Kansas State High School Athletics Association is set to vote on whether to sanction girls’ flag football as a high school varsity sport.

Funding for the club’s Olathe project will come in part from the sale of bonds paid for by certain sales tax revenues.

In February, the Olathe City Council approved participation in a STAR bonds district to build the team’s new headquarters and training facility at College Boulevard and Ridgeview Road.

Elsewhere on Friday, Kansas legislators introduced the Kansas Sports Authority Act. The act would create a nine-member board to oversee all aspects of sports facility construction.

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Kansas

Former Kansas high school wrestling coach charged with producing child pornography

Published

2 days ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Former Kansas high school wrestling coach charged with producing child pornography

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – A former Kansas wrestling coach was charged with creating child sexual abuse materials by secretly recording minors showering during an athletic competition.

According to court documents, 37-year-old Ryan Brungardt of Salina is charged with two counts of production of child pornography and one count of attempted production of child pornography.

Brungardt is a former employee at Lakewood Middle School and former wrestling coach for Salina Central High School.

Brungardt is accused of using a cellphone to record three minors while they showered in a locker room during the Tournament of Champions, a wrestling tournament was held at Newton High in January 2024.

Brungardt made his initial court appearance for the criminal complaint on Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Brooks G. Severson.

A detention hearing is scheduled for Monday

Investigators are in the process of reviewing additional seized cellphone videos in this case that are suspected to have been recorded at wrestling meets in Newton, Hays, Garden City and Salina during the 2023-2024 wrestling season.

Anyone who believes they witnessed crimes or any suspicious activity at these events is asked to contact the Kansas Bureau of Investigation at (785) 600-8790 or report at www.kbi.ks.gov/sar.

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