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Above image credit: “Kansas City Week in Review” host Nick Haines. (John McGrath | Flatland)
Missouri lawmakers have completed their business for the year. But Kansas lawmakers return to Topeka today for a short final wrap-up session.
They’ll be attempting to override Gov. Laura Kelly’s vetoes on several hot-button issues, including a ban on future mask mandates.
Picking a New Police Chief
What do Kansas City residents want in their next police chief?
This week, the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and a coalition of civic and faith-based groups will release their findings after conducting a series of public listening sessions.
That report will be presented Tuesday morning before members of the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners.
The Kansas City Police Department has been without a permanent leader since Rick Smith stepped down as police chief last month.
Interim Police Chief Joe Mabin says he has no interest in staying in the job.
The president of the police board says an executive search firm hasn’t been hired yet and it could take commissioners up to a year to find a new chief.
Catching Up
Women’s Soccer Stadium Funding
It was huge news last fall when the ownership group behind Kansas City’s new women’s soccer team announced plans to build one of the first purpose-built stadiums for women’s sports.
It was even more impressive that it would be built on the Kansas City riverfront and be entirely privately financed.
Now the KC Current ownership group is walking that back.
This week, they will head to City Hall to ask for $6 million in tax incentives to help pay for the stadium.
The team’s ownership group, which includes Brittany Mahomes, says they’re vision has changed and they want to build a bigger facility with more seats. They also contend that construction costs have ballooned since they announced the project last fall.
The price tag has ballooned from $70 million to $117 million.
The team will make their case before the City Council’s Neighborhood Planning and Development Committee this Wednesday.
So far, they’re getting a favorable response from members of the council, who say local tax dollars aren’t at stake. They say the team isn’t asking for local tax incentives but state tax credits that require pre-approval from City Hall.
School’s Out for Summer
School is out for summer. At least for many Kansas-side school districts.
The final school bell rings for most Missouri districts this Friday.
With the Memorial Day holiday this weekend, cities across the metro are scrambling to open their public pools. Some will remain closed or operate with reduced hours due to a chronic lifeguard shortage.
If you’re looking for things to do with your kids or grandkids, Oceans of Fun opens this week. The metro’s largest water park begins its summer season on Saturday.
This week, you can also experience America’s greatest “Monsters, Superheroes and Villains.” It’s the latest exhibit that’s just opened at the National Museum of Toys, the newly rebranded name for the Kansas City Toy and Miniature Museum.
You can get up close to Wolfman, Wonder Woman, Dracula and Luke Skywalker in this exhibit featuring more than 350 vintage toys, posters, TV commercials and movie trailers.
You can learn about real “superheroes” at the National World War I Museum and Memorial. If you and your family have never made it over there before, this is a good week to do it.
Admission is half-price this Memorial Day weekend. That deal includes all visits this Friday through Monday. The museum is totally free during that time for veterans and active-duty military personnel.
Celebration at the Station
You can also start your summer with the largest free Memorial Day holiday event in the Midwest.
For the first time in three years, Celebration at the Station is back.
Pack up a picnic and join the Kansas City Symphony on the expansive lawn south of Union Station for what until COVID-19 had been a big annual tradition.
You can catch the music, live cannons and a huge fireworks display this Sunday evening.
If fighting the crowds and sitting on a blanket or lawn chair isn’t your thing, you can watch live on Kansas City PBS. We’ll be bringing you the whole show live, starting at 8 p.m.
Nick Haines, tracks the week’s most impactful local news stories on “Kansas City Week in Review,” Friday at 7:30 p.m. on Kansas City PBS.
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