Thumbs up to Kansas City drivers for a job well done in calendar year 2025, apparently. Through Dec. 16, there have been “only” 63 traffic fatalities in 2025 in Kansas City. I say “only” because that is a large drop from 2024 when there were 89 fatalities through the same time period. A reduction of more than 29%, to be exact.
More good news in the traffic fatality department. Missouri State Highway Patrol says there were “only” three fatalities on Missouri roadways over the long Thanksgiving weekend this year. That is down from six fatalities over Thanksgiving weekend in 2024.
From the category of “news you may have missed:”
Not only are traffic fatalities down, but crime numbers in Kansas City have also dropped significantly in major categories, according to statistics released by the Kansas City Police Department. Here are the stats, as reported recently by Cpt. Jake Becchina of the KCPD media unit.
Homicides are down four percent.
Robberies are down 23 percent.
Property damage is down 36 percent.
Stolen autos are down 33 percent.
Stealing is down 20 percent.
Non-fatal shootings are down 32 percent.
Crime in Platte County. I’m just here to give you the facts. Interpret them as you wish. If these factual numbers don’t fit your political talking points, don’t call me or email me about it. Don’t try to drag me into your nonsense, I’m not falling for the banana in the tailpipe. That’s a debate between you and the facts, and my money is on the facts.
Prosecutions of felonies in Platte County dropped slightly in 2025, with nine fewer felonies in the 2025 numbers. That’s a drop of 1.3 percent. Since 2022, felony prosecutions in Platte County are down by a notable six percent. Numbers of felonies as reported by the Platte County Prosecutor’s Office the past four years:
2022: 729.
2023: 661.
2024: 695.
2025: 686.
My buddy and Landmark columnist Guy Speckman on page 3 this week humbly let’s us know he has a garage refrigerator on the way and his garage fridge can only be occupied by things that qualify as life’s necessities, such as water, tea, Bud Light, and any other beverage he happens to be in a romantic relationship with.
I could be wrong but I interpreted his garage fridge story as code for he wants to host a Landmark party for all readers. Don’t you interpret his words the same way? Big, if true. I’ll investigate further and keep you posted. I may need to first do an on-site garage fridge inspection. The health and safety of our readers is always of utmost importance.
I have come to appreciate the phrase “utmost importance.” No point in giving you the name, but at one time there was an elected official in Platte County who always pronounced the phrase as “upmost importance” and it made me cringe. This same official also pronounced “supposedly” as “supposably.” Yikes.
Traffic alert. If you often travel from the Downtown Kansas City area to the Northland, take note. Urgent evaluation necessary. That’s what MoDOT says closed the northbound US 169 viaduct bridge over the BSNF railroad located just north of the Buck O’Neil Bridge and the downtown airport on Tuesday. “The full closure will remain in place until further evaluation can be completed,” MoDOT announced. We’ll have more next week but early indications are further evaluation didn’t go so great.
The really interesting part is the northbound US 169 viaduct bridge is already scheduled to be replaced in the coming summer “after the 2026 World Cup.”
Sports talk powered by futures wagers.
You know by now that each NFL preseason I offer up to you my “Pay Your Mortgage” futures bet on win totals. You also know by now, mainly because my ego has been determined not to let you forget, that I have never lost one of these bad boys.
To review: In 2021 I told you to take the Raiders over their projected win total; in 2022 the advice was to bet the Eagles over their projected win total; in 2023 we told you to bet the Commanders under their projected win total; in 2024 I gave you two–the Patriots under 4.5 wins and Bears under 8.5 wins.
That means we were a perfect 5-0 heading into the 2025 season. And in our Aug. 20 edition, I advised you to bet the Rams over their projected win total of 9.5 and the Dolphins under their projected win total of 7.5. Guess what? The season still has three weeks remaining and the Rams have already gone over that total with a record of 11-3, which means we are now a perfect 6-0 on the Pay Your Mortgage picks. An exact quote from my Aug. 20 column: “The health of quarterback Matthew Stafford is key on this one. If Stafford is healthy the Rams will fly over that 9.5 win total with ease.” Nailed it, if I must say so myself, and pretty sure I must say so myself.
Which brings us to that Dolphins pick. We have some drama. With three games left on the schedule, the Dolphins have six wins. If they win only one–or zero–of their remaining games, we’ll advance to a perfect 7-0 lifetime record on Pay Your Mortgage picks. But if the Dolphins win two of their final three, we’ll suffer our first ever loss on these historic moneymakers. Hold onto your shorts, things are getting dicey.
You might be asking yourself: Self, what does the Dolphins’ remaining schedule look like? Here it is: vs. Bengals, vs. Buccaneers, and at Patriots. The Dolphins will probably be underdogs in all three of those games (they are 2.5 point underdogs this week against the lowly Bengals). But as you know, anything can happen in the NFL.
I’m offering up this suspenseful information just to give you a reason to follow the NFL now that the Chiefs are out of playoff contention and without their starting quarterback.
Anyway, feel free to join me in cheering against the Dolphins in these final games. Or if it’s more fun for you, cheer for the Dolphins and against me. We’ll still be friends either way.
(Get a garage fridge and email ivan@plattecountylandmark.com)
