Kansas City District News

  • February

    Navigating and maintaining the river

    Navigation is one of the eight authorized purposes of the Missouri River that mandates the Corps of Engineers to manage the navigation channel between Sioux City, Iowa and St. Louis, Missouri. The Rivers and Harbors Act of 1945 calls for a 9-foot deep and minimum 300-foot wide channel. Today, the focus of the Corps of Engineers navigation mission is to provide safe, reliable, efficient and environmentally sustainable waterborne transportation system for movement of commerce, national security needs and recreation. In order to meet this mission, the Corps focuses on repairs to river structures from damage such as ice, debris, scouring and high water velocity.
  • Water Management: An overview of Osage River Basin operations and rainfall events at Harry S. Truman Reservoir

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Runoff in the Missouri River basin was slightly above average in 2017. Increased releases through the fall has allowed the reservoirs to have all flood storage capability ready for the beginning of the 2018 runoff season. Water management teams help guide the decision making process that prepares our system to handle the unexpected. The coordination through the Northwestern Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in setting releases and storage at the main stem dams in the northern portion of the basin, sets the conditions for our reservoir system on the tributaries that feed into the Missouri River.
  • River outreach underway

    Communication is key, and the Kansas City District understands that concept and strives to implement it. “We have more stakeholders than we know,” said John Grothaus, Kansas City District’s chief of planning. “We are actively searching for them, working to communicate with them to learn their needs while informing what the Corps of Engineers does and how we can best serve the public.”
  • December

    Finding a pathway to natural resource management opportunities

    How does a college student find a career with the government? In 2010, an Executive Order was signed by President Obama to implement a program titled Pathways, this authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District to hire students two different ways. The first authority allows the hiring of temporary park rangers and maintenance workers to fulfill a seasonal work program at lake projects. The second authority allows students to enter the Natural Resource Management or Maintenance Training programs in which students are provided employment while they are trained for these specialized careers.
  • Serving to make a difference

    There are some people we look up to, strive to be like and aspire to set goals that would impress them. Over the past fourteen years, one individual has stood out to the staff at several Kansas lake projects within the Kansas City District. This quiet, thoughtful, intellectual individual has spent numerous hours dedicating his service for the greater good and has made a lasting impression on our team.
  • November

    Groundbreaking kicks off first of a four-phase Missouri River Levee Project

    A groundbreaking event occurred Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016 for the first of four phases of the overall St. Joseph levee project. The City of St. Joseph, Mo., and Buchanan County hosted the event for project sponsors and stakeholders adjacent to the MRLS R471-460 levee unit northeast of Rosecrans Memorial Airport.
  • Labor Day weekend earthquake doesn’t rattle district

    The Sept. 3, 2016 5.6 magnitude earthquake reported in Pawnee, Okla., rattled several surrounding states, include several projects in the Kansas City District. When such events occur, dam surveillance plans and emergency action plans are in place so staff know how to respond.
  • October

    Mega projects continue at McConnell Air Force Base

    You’ve probably heard chatter about the KC-46A Pegasus aircraft. One of the Kansas City District’s largest projects is to provide support to the warfighter and the latest incoming equipment at McConnell Air Force Base. The KC-46A is an aerial refueling and strategic transport aircraft for the military. A new fleet of aircraft is scheduled to replace nearly 100 of the oldest KC-135E Stratotankers across the U.S., which have been in production since 1957.
  • Corps power team claims 1st place at Lineman Rodeo

    Corps power team claims 1st place at Lineman Rodeo. Unlike a traditional rodeo, here Soldiers compete against power teams to install electrical equipment under difficult circumstances.
  • FLW roundabout opens to traffic

    Detour signs came down Friday, Oct. 14, marking the opening of Fort Leonard Wood’s first roundabout in the vicinity of Alabama, Iowa and Nebraska avenues. Completion of the nearly eight-month project is expected to help lessen traffic snares associated with