Nick’s Picks | Holiday Lightings, Hallmark, Hardwood, and More …

It’s going to be a short week for many Kansas Citians as we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. Here are the upcoming week’s big events…

Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt Flips the Switch on the Plaza Lights

The Country Club Plaza is preparing for its largest event of the year.

It’s the 95^th Plaza Lighting Ceremony this Thursday night.

This year, Kansas City Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt and his wife Tavia will flip the switch.

The 15-block shopping area is expected to be mobbed with people just waiting for the 80 miles of holiday lights to be turned on.

If your life simply won’t be complete without being there at the exact moment the more than 200,000 bulbs are turned on, you should know that it’s scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

A fireworks show will follow the ceremonial flipping of the switch.

Help Wanted: A New Mayor of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas

Will the first candidates throw their hat in the ring this week to be the next mayor of Wyandotte County’s unified county-city government?

In a stunning decision, Mayor Tyrone Garner has announced he’s calling it quits and will not seek reelection next year, after serving just one term.

It has become increasingly rare to see a local politician voluntarily leaving office. Usually, you have to drag them out kicking and screaming. 

But Garner has had health issues. And more recently, he’s gone public about what he calls a fatally flawed government structure that makes it hard for a mayor to achieve anything.

Garner has even proposed splitting up the consolidated government between Kansas City, Kansas and Wyandotte County, arguing it has failed to deliver on its promises.

Wyandotte County residents will vote on a new mayor next November.

New Chiefs Movie Airs on Saturday

And the wait is finally over…

The new Chiefs Hallmark movie premieres this week.  Andy Reid and Donna Kelce are among the stars of “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story.”

It was shot earlier this year at sites across the metro, including Arrowhead Stadium and downtown Independence.

You can watch the Chiefs-themed rom-com Saturday at 7 p.m. on the Hallmark Channel.

By the way, the Hallmark movie’s lead cast members will join Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas at Crown Center Friday for the Mayor’s Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony. It starts at 6:30 p.m.

Last Week, Reviewed

Getting the ’60 Minutes’ Treatment

From fiction to real-life events…

Kansas City politician Jason Kander gets the “60 Minutes” treatment this weekend.

The CBS flagship news program is chronicling Kander’s rescue of more than 300 Afghans during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from the country in 2021.

Kander is a former Missouri Secretary of State who served in Afghanistan.

You can watch the “60 Minutes” story this Sunday at 6 pm on CBS.

T-Mobile Center Hosts Basketball on Turkey Day

It’s going to be a topsy-turvy week in sports in Kansas City.

While most of us will be tucking into turkey and pumpkin pie on Thursday, thousands of college basketball fans will be celebrating Thanksgiving in downtown Kansas City.

T-Mobile Center has agreed to host a rare Thanksgiving Day sporting event.

The Arkansas Razorbacks of the SEC and the Illinois Fighting Illini of the Big Ten are playing a regular-season neutral-site game at T-Mobile Center on Thursday afternoon.

The game has been set up by CBS. It’s the first time the network has ever televised a college basketball game on Thanksgiving.

College Football Season Ends This Weekend

That was fast…

College football’s regular season ends this weekend.

KU, K-State and Mizzou all play their last games on Saturday.

Then get ready for the mad scramble over bowl games.

Chiefs Upstage Black Friday

For many Kansas Citians, the day after Thanksgiving has traditionally meant a dash to the mall for Black Friday shopping.

But that post-Thanksgiving tradition is being upstaged this year by the Kansas City Chiefs.

The holiday is reshuffling the NFL schedule, and the Chiefs are reporting for duty at Arrowhead Stadium on Friday to take on archrival Las Vegas Raiders.

The rare Friday match-up starts at 2 p.m.

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. This Friday, we pick apart the election results and examine what happens now.