Lightning-damaged Kansas City sculpture returns to perch

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A lightning-damaged sculpture again is a fixture of the Kansas City skyline after undergoing repairs.

The Kansas City Star reportsed a helicopter returned the 12-ton metal sculpture to its lofty perch Sunday. It's one of four that sit atop the 300-foot-tall pylons that suspend the Bartle Hall Convention Center above Interstate 670.

Designed by New York artist R.M. Fischer, their official name is the Sky Station sculptures, although locals call them the "hair curlers."

Kansas City engineering firm A. Zahner Co. carried out the repairs at a cost more than $1 million. The city's property insurance covered it.

Workers first noticed the damage last fall while setting up blue lights on the sculptures to celebrate the Kansas City Royals' winning season.