Nick’s Picks | Super Bowl, Aviation Disaster, Black History, and More … Preparing you for the week ahead, before it happens…

Super Bowl Week

If you haven’t heard by now, the Kansas City Chiefs are just days away from making history.

Could the Chiefs be the first team to win three back-to-back Super Bowls?

The NFL’s biggest game is Sunday at 5:30 p.m. in New Orleans.

I just did an online search for tickets, and you can still snag a seat in the nosebleed section of the Superdome for $3,500.

And getting there has just got a whole lot easier. United Airlines is adding two more daily roundtrip flights to accommodate Chiefs fans. Southwest Airlines has added seven new nonstop flights to New Orleans this week.

If the hefty price tag seems out of reach, you can watch the game with thousands of your fellow Chiefs fans on the city’s biggest outdoor screen, in the Power and Light District.

The all-day party starts at 11 a.m. with music and giveaways.

No Super Bowl Rally

If the Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, the victory party in Kansas City will look very different.

Multiple sources now confirm there will be no public rally, after gun violence marred last year’s event.

And even the proposed parade route is being modified to minimize security risks.

According to Fox 4, instead of a public rally, a private event for players, coaches, their families, and dignitaries will take place at Arrowhead.

Following that private stadium celebration, players will load up on double-decker buses near Crown Center.

And here’s another significant change: They will travel northbound, instead of taking their usual southbound route to Union Station.

The proposed reworked parade route would end at Sixth Street and Grand Avenue.

Last Week, Reviewed

Mayor Lucas Delivers State of the City

Before boarding a plane for New Orleans, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas will deliver his annual State of the City Address.

Lucas will offer his vision for the next year in a noon speech Thursday at City Hall.

New Details on Wichita Plane Crash

The search for remains continues this morning in the Potomac River, four days after an American Airlines flight out of Wichita collided in mid-air with an Army helicopter, killing everyone on board.

It happened as the plane was preparing to land at Reagan National Airport.

It is considered the deadliest U.S. air disaster since 2001.

As of this morning, all the black boxes from the plane have been recovered, but the NTSB says it could take up to 30 days before they are ready to release an official report on what happened and why. That won’t stop the blame game and finger-pointing already underway on social media and Capitol Hill.

In the meantime, American Airlines has resumed flights out of Wichita. But the flight to Washington will no longer carry the flight No. 5342. American Airlines has permanently retired the number.

Streetcar Shutdown Continues

For a second straight week, the Kansas City’s Streetcar line has ground to a halt.

Service has been suspended to allow workers to tie the new riverfront extension to the existing rail line and electrical system.

There’s no word yet on when the streetcar will resume operations.

Buses will run along the route during the disruption.

The Big Workplace Dilemma: Take Buyout or Be Fired

Thousands of federal workers in Kansas City have been told to return to the office this week or prepare to be fired.

They’ve been given a Thursday deadline by the Trump administration.

Many federal employees continue to work from home, nearly five years after “stay at home” orders at the start of the COVID pandemic.

Workers have been told if they resign by the deadline they’ll be paid through the end of September.

If they don’t, they risk being fired.

There are around 41,000 federal workers in metro Kansas City.  Uncle Sam is Kansas City’s largest employer.

Black History Month

Black History Month is now underway, just as the Trump White House walks back DEI programs, and tells agencies not to use official resources, including working hours, on “cultural awareness months.”

Closer to home, Missouri lawmakers are debating a statewide ban on diversity programs.

But the changing political winds have not deterred the Kansas City Royals from using their cash to honor Black History Month. 

For the fourth year, the Royals are providing free admission to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum throughout February.

Here’s another local way to mark Black History Month: Come to our Reel Black Film Fest.

My colleagues at Kansas City PBS are hosting Kansas City’s first-ever film festival showcasing local Black documentary makers.

It’s taking place at The Truman event space in downtown Kansas City on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 3 pm.

You can reserve a seat here.

New Cell Phone Policy

This week, Shawnee Mission becomes the latest local school district to enact a student cell phone ban.

The new policy, which takes effect today, blocks elementary students from using devices during the school day. Middle and high school students can only check their phones between classes and at lunch.

In addition to being an annoyance to teachers, the push to ban phones is tied to the debate over whether social media is causing depression and other mental health problems in children.

Some district administrators say parents are actually the biggest obstacle to cellphone bans in schools because they want to immediately reach their kids and keep track of them.

Caitlin Clark in Town

WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark is in Kansas City this week.

The women’s basketball phenom speaks Tuesday at the WIN for KC Women’s Sports Awards banquet.

Clark is such a big attraction right now the event had to be moved to the T-Mobile Center to accommodate the huge number of people who wanted to attend.

Her appearance comes as Kansas City is pursuing a WNBA expansion team.

And speaking of women power players…

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is also in town this week.

Pelosi speaks about her new book, The Art of Power at the Truman Library tonight.

Nick Haines tracks the week’s most impactful local news stories on Week in Review, Friday nights at 7:30 pm on Kansas City PBS.