A common belief is that traffic speed enforcement efforts are not as prevalent as they once were on the part of law enforcement agencies, not just in this region but throughout the state. I have no idea whether that belief is accurate, but I can tell you that perception lives among many members of the public. If that is in fact reality, has the lower emphasis on speed enforcement resulted in increased fatalities? The answer may surprise you.
No, apparently it has not. At least not in Missouri overall. And not in Kansas City.
Missouri officials say preliminary data shows traffic fatalities are down. And it’s not a one time thing. If 2025 ends with a reduction, it will be the third consecutive year for a decrease in traffic fatalities in the state.
To be more locally specific, traffic fatalities in the City of Kansas City are down rather drastically so far this year compared to this time in 2024. Over the weekend Kansas City reported a traffic fatality. It was the 54th KC roadway fatality of the year to date, according to information I received from the Kansas City Police Department. Last year at this time there had been 75 traffic fatalities in Kansas City. That’s a whopping 28 percent reduction from this time in 2024 to this time in 2025.
Back to statewide numbers. Preliminary data shows from Jan. 1 through Aug. 24 of this year, 577 people had been killed in Missouri traffic crashes. That compares to 589 during the same period last year. While that two percent reduction is encouraging, it’s too early to know if progress will hold.
“Gains on this front are incredibly encouraging, but we have a long way to go to achieve our ultimate goal, especially as the second half of the year typically presents its own challenges,” said State Highway Safety and Traffic Engineer Jon Nelson in a news release sent my direction.
Nelson mentioned challenges in the second half of the year include things like road construction, school-related activities, shorter days, holiday travel, and of course inclement weather.
If Missouri is to end the year with another reduction in traffic fatalities, continued gains in the final four months of the year (remember, the earlier number was only through Aug. 24) will be crucial, state officials say.
“It starts with every one of us making the simple commitment to use the transportation system in a safe manner,” Nelson said. There are four simple actions, he added: Buckle up, phone down, slow down, and drive sober.
Sincere sympathy to the family and friends of former Platte County Clerk Joan Harms, who died last week at the age of 78. I mentioned to her husband, Vernon, who came into The Landmark Monday morning to let us know of her passing, that Joan had reached out to me via Facebook Messenger just a couple of weeks ago and seemed her normal self. He then indicated Joan had a setback in her health last Wednesday and passed away early Friday.
There were some frustrating times among officeholders–county commissioners and the county clerk were frustrated with one another on multiple occasions during the time frame of 2011 to 2014, which was the period of Harms’ one term as county clerk. But what can’t be argued is that Joan Harms maintained a pleasant demeanor with seemingly everyone she met and dealt with. I never saw nor heard of her being anything but polite toward the public and toward her colleagues, which can be an impressive thing to accomplish in politics. Even if you had been frustrated with actions by the clerk’s office, Joan’s consistent kindness made it almost impossible for any rough personal feelings to linger.
School enrollments are down.
Last week, we had an article on page 5 that detailed a decrease of 1.1 percent in enrollment at the Park Hill School District. This week, a front page story details a drop in enrollment of 2.5 percent at the Platte County R-3 School District.
R-3 officials offer their thoughts on why the enrollment numbers are trending the wrong direction inside our front page article, so you’ll want to give that a read.
I don’t think this will exactly make me an official NFL insider like Adam Schefter, but still. Here’s some exciting news from the NFL. . .
Chris Kamler, The Landmark’s Rambling Moron columnist on page 3 for the past 14 years, has an exciting new side gig. And the man does love side gigs, as you’ve probably noticed, and really loves this new one.
Kamler is now a part of the public address announcer’s booth for Chiefs games at Arrowhead Stadium. He is not the PA announcer, but rather the spotter for the PA announcer. He has done two or three games there already and has a commitment to do it for the rest of this season.
“The spotter duties are simple but with a high degree of difficulty. Like diving off of the two foot diving board but needing to hit a pinhole sized spot in the water,” he tells me. I think he is creatively saying a high degree of accuracy is needed. After all, you don’t want to be giving the PA announcer bad info as he’s speaking into the microphone to 78,000 fans.
“Basically, all I have to do is look through my binoculars and when (the PA announcer) says ‘Carry by No. 10 Pacheco, gain of three yards’ I say ‘13’ and then he says ‘tackle made by No. 13, Smith,’” Kamler explains.
“There’s a couple of other things but basically that’s it. Just help the PA guy with the defense. And also eat free food,” says our Rambling Moron.
According to an outfit called Betway, 94 percent of hotels in Kansas City are already booked or unavailable for the World Cup in KC in 2026.
“Only 10 hotels remain available to book for the first game at Arrowhead Stadium. Vancouver is the only 2026 World Cub host city to have fewer hotels available,” according to Betway, which is a British gambling company.
Arrowhead’s capacity of 76,416 is the 4th highest out of all stadiums that will host matches for the World Cup competition. “Excitement surrounding the competition is clearly building in Kansas City. Searches that related to the World Cup in KC stood at 23,020, which is the sixth highest out of all host cities,” says Betway.
(Find Foley breaking NFL announcer booth spotter news. Email ivan@plattecountylandmark.com)
