Global issues from CrowdStrike outage hinder plans for Kansas, Missouri drivers

Computer issues at the Kansas Department of Revenue are affecting local offices across the state, including at the Kansas Driver's License office in Mission.

KSHB 41 News reporter Megan Abundis found out the office was unable to process transactions on Friday.

The offices normally operate an online queue; that queue was disabled earlier Friday morning because of state-wide issues.

Megan Abundis/KSHB

As of mid-Friday morning, more than 100 people had to turn back from conducting business due to the outage.

One of those turned back was Haylee Bialek, who has been looking forward to getting her license for weeks.

RELATED | Updates: More Kansas, Missouri agencies report issues from Crowdstrike outages

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“I was so excited to drive,” Haylee Bialek said. "School is starting up soon, and I was ready to drive to school. I was going to get my permit, but apparently it's shut down. I was studying online for hours yesterday and today too.”

Her mother expressed similar disappointment.

“It’s kind of sad, because she wanted to drive this weekend, but it'll be OK," said Mindy Bialek, her mother.

A spokesperson with the Kansas Office of Administration says the state Information Technology Services Division was working "diligently" Friday morning to bring Kansas' "consolidated state agency systems back online."

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"I passed my driver's ed, and I came to get my permanent, and it was closed," said Olivia O'Roark, who had an appointment with her mother.

“She’s our third driver in the house; the excitement is that my Uber drivers are getting closer to an end, not today though, not today," Jamie O'Roark, Olivia's mother, said.

Other Kansas drivers were facing deadlines.

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“I came to renew my driver's license which will expire on my birthday," Jeanetta Bilski said. "As soon as I got out of my truck, the man yelled at me that they were closed. So I have to reschedule. These things happen, you just have to let it fall off and go on, not the worst thing."

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"Today was one of the open days I have," Lin Pe said. "My mom didn’t have work today, so we came over here thinking everything would be alright."

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Noreen Wiseman, who recently moved to Kansas, is navigating a new system.

"I live in Basehor, Kansas, and I drove clear over here, and I’m not used to driving far," Wiseman said. "I’m venturing out learning Kansas, so it was a challenge today. They only give you 90 days, so we’re tight with a deadline. Now I’m going to have to come back."

In Jackson County, drivers didn't navigate the outage any easier.

Many drivers who realized the rare sight of an empty parking lot immediately turned around.

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"I took part of the day off today so I could get my license renewed," Thomas Asuncion said. "I was digging around this morning looking for my documents, and I drove up and saw it was closed. I was calling other departments and found out that they are all closed. I'm probably going to need to take more time off from work and try to do it next week."

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“For them to be closed, it's just setting me back a lot, this is crazy," Antonique Daniels said.

For other Missouri drivers, this day was supposed to mark a milestone.

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Leila Cleggett just passed her online driving test and was eager to put those skills into action.

“I’ve been studying since I turned 15 so I could get the license, and I got an 83% on my test," Cleggett said. "I was going with my family to try to get the actual permit, and all the DMVs are closed. It was really hard for me because I was really excited when I took my test. I'm sad because I don’t know when they are going to open up again."

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A statement from Zach Denney, with the Kansas Department of Revenue said, "We do not have an estimate currently, all appointments that were scheduled for today will be notified and rescheduled when possible."

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