Skip Sleyster dead at 85

The Kansas City Star comes to us with some bad news: rich and cranky Skip Sleyster unexpectedly died Thursday at age 85. Sleyster was known for his Super Flea Swap & Shop flea market and his Sunday ad in the Sunday Kansas City Star, “One Moment of Your Time, Please!!”

We’ve poked a bit of fun at Sleyster’s columns — here, here and here — but even we admit that the guy was a fascinating Kansas City character, and Joyce Smith has a really great story about Sleyster’s life in today’s paper. Didn’t know that Sleyster once dubbed himself the “Donald Trump of Blue Valley.”

Our condolences go to Sleyster’s family … and would someone finally do something about those stoplights on the freeway!