Good morning, this is Kansas City Local Pulse for Thursday, July 17, 2025.

We're waking up today to some relief from the heat, as overnight thunderstorms have cooled things down, leaving us with mostly cloudy skies and a high expected around seventy-seven. Some light rain is possible this morning, and local roads could still be slick from last night's storms, so let's take it a bit slower out there. Looking ahead, things will dry out with warmer temperatures returning by Friday and climbing into the nineties by the weekend.

Overnight, storms brought heavy rain to the metro and central Missouri. The National Weather Service says parts of Pettis, Henry, and Johnson counties saw flash flooding. If you’re near low-lying spots or underpasses, be careful as flooding can linger after storms pass. Fortunately, no major damage has been reported in the Kansas City urban core.

At City Hall, leaders are debating a nearly four hundred thousand dollar plan to clean up the blighted Robandee Shopping Center on Blue Ridge. The initiative aims to remove unsafe structures and revitalize the area for new business. The city is also rolling out a new food waste composting program, which will help reduce landfill use—an important move for our growing green initiatives.

On the growth front, big changes are underway in the West Bottoms. Developers say investments in housing and entertainment will make the district a true gem of Kansas City in the next few years. This includes new apartments, art venues, and restaurants just west of downtown, so keep an eye out for cranes and construction along Hickory and Genessee.

In business news, the new Panasonic electric vehicle battery plant in De Soto is officially open. The company kicked off production this week, with nearly a thousand workers already on site and hundreds more jobs expected as operations expand by year’s end. This is one of the largest economic boosts to the area in recent memory.

For job seekers, current numbers show about eighteen hundred job vacancies across Kansas City, with strong hiring in health care, logistics, and construction.

On the real estate front, we’re seeing a steady climb in home prices, with most single-family homes in the metro now averaging just over three hundred thousand dollars.

For music and sports fans, CPKC Stadium hosts Taste of the World Cup this weekend, an international soccer event celebrating Kansas City’s role as a 2026 World Cup host city. The Royals made a move this week, picking up veteran infielder Adam Frazier in a trade from Pittsburgh, aiming to boost our playoff hopes.

Local schools are in the spotlight, too. Congratulations to the Olathe Leadership Lowrider Bike Club, whose members just returned from the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C., where they were recognized for their youth engagement work.

Crime reports overnight were relatively quiet, but police in Grandview have charged a suspect in a 2024 homicide after DNA evidence came back with a match. Kansas City police continue to search for a suspect in an August 2024 homicide, asking anyone with information to come forward.

Before we wrap, a feel-good story from Independence: neighbors are rallying around an eight-month-old boy battling a rare liver disease, providing support and raising funds for his family. Moments like these show the best of Kansas City’s spirit.

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