Besides, if your locals are out, the KC locals will also be out. The problem is almost always because of cloud cover or snow buildup on your end. I've been a dish customer since 1997, and I have seen weather cause an uplink problem exactly twice in that time.
The reason the locals are out is because of where DISH "pick up" the locals is out of power. The central part of the state is with out power. See the news article. I believe that you will see the Direct is in the same boat. The pick up I believe is with out power as they try to repair the power lines. Since they were up and running on Jan 1, I think this is a temparory thing.