Nick’s Picks | Chiefs Super Bowl Bound Again This Week's News Forecast
Published January 29th, 2024 at 9:52 AM
Above image credit: "Kansas City Week in Review" host Nick Haines. (John McGrath | Flatland)Did the collective mood of Kansas Citians just jump by double digits? As we start our new work week, the Chiefs will once again be the town’s biggest news story.
Are you in any way surprised?
After defeating the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, Kansas City is now heading to its fourth Super Bowl in five years. The Chiefs are aiming to become the first team since the 2004 New England Patriots to repeat as Super Bowl champs.
But fans now have two weeks to wait.
The Chiefs meet the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11 in Las Vegas.
If the Chiefs win, the massive victory parade will come just weeks before voters go to the polls to decide the Jackson County stadium tax. Even with all the lingering questions about the plan’s merits, some of the measure’s biggest critics say giddy Chiefs fans could push the contentious tax over the finish line.
In the meantime, look for lots of local stories this week about how much it will cost you to snag a seat at the Super Bowl. The starting price for tickets on StubHub is currently $6,600. And those seats are in the upper reaches of the stadium.
Kansas City International Airport officials say multiple airlines are now adding direct flights from Kansas City to Las Vegas ahead of the big game.
World Cup Announcement
Kansas City will finally find out this week what games we’ll be hosting when the World Cup comes to town.
It’s been more than 18 months since Kansas City was picked as a host city for the 2026 tournament, but FIFA has shared few details since then.
With the clock ticking, we still don’t know when the global soccer event will begin, how many matches Kansas City will host, or where the final will be held.
Apparently, all will be revealed on Sunday in a special live program airing around the world.
While we’re the smallest city to have ever hosted a World Cup, local leaders are dreaming big.
In addition to multiple opening-round games, they have their fingers crossed that FIFA will award Kansas City a quarter-final match.
All of Kansas City’s games will be played at a reconfigured Arrowhead Stadium.
Last Week, Reviewed
KCI Terminal Demolition
Nearly a year after the opening of the new-look KCI airport, Kansas City is getting ready to demolish its abandoned terminals.
On Thursday, the Kansas City Council will consider a $17 million proposal to demolish terminals B and C. They have stood empty since the new single terminal opened in February 2023.
KCI will use the area to park aircraft and de-ice planes.
The demolition project is expected to take up to 10 months to complete.
According to a city report, contractors will recycle 90% of the concrete from the terminals to fill and level the site. Most of the metal in the buildings will also be recycled.
Buck O’Neil Bridge
Northland drivers heading to and from downtown Kansas City will experience a big change this week.
After a three-year construction project, Kansas City is welcoming the first drivers over the new Buck O’Neil Bridge.
Starting today, northbound drivers will no longer use the old Buck O’Neil Bridge and will instead be directed on to a completed section of the new one.
But drivers beware. The new bridge isn’t quite finished yet. The $258 million project won’t officially open in both directions until the end of the year.
Sister Berta Services
Funeral services are this week for Kansas City children’s crusader and Operation Breakthrough co-founder, Sister Berta Sailer.
The plain-spoken nun died last week at the age of 87. Former Missouri U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill called Sailer “the Mother Theresa of Kansas City.” Others described her as “a living saint.”
In the late 1960s, Sailer opened a free daycare in her home to help impoverished working mothers with no place to leave their children. It would grow into Operation Breakthrough at 31st and Troost, which now serves more than 700 children a day and is considered the largest low-income daycare center in the region.
Sister Berta personally fostered 75 children over the years.
In an interview with Kansas City PBS in 2010, Sailer lamented that “the polar bears at the zoo were treated better than many of our kids.” Not known for sugarcoating issues, Sailer claimed Kansas City was “fast becoming a place that collects tin cans but throws away its children.”
The visitation for Sister Berta will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 31, at St Francis Xavier Catholic Church, 1001 E. 52 St. Funeral services will be at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 1, also at St Francis.
New Border War
There’s always been a big rivalry between Kansas and Missouri sports teams. Now that bi-state bad blood is spilling over into healthcare.
This week, Missouri lawmakers will begin considering a bill that would block the University of Kansas Health System from a merger deal with Liberty Hospital.
If you haven’t noticed, KU has been gobbling up a lot of well-known medical facilities of late, including a recent deal to take over Olathe Medical Center. But state Sen. Greg Razer of Kansas City says taking over a Missouri hospital is a step too far and “terribly wrong.”
“I can’t imagine the outrage of Missouri taxpayers if we opened University of Missouri Health in Olathe, Kansas,” Razer said.
Razer says the arrangement would take health care dollars from Missouri to “prop up Kansas,” and he fears it “would be a recruiting tool for the University of Kansas.”
“Liberty has a lot of high school students. It’s a great school district up there,” Razer said. “They’re all going to be driving by a Jayhawk every day in the state of Missouri.”
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has also weighed in. He says the KU Health-Liberty Hospital merger is not legal under state law.
Statehouse News
Multiple hearings are scheduled at the Missouri Statehouse this week on a series of bills that would tighten the rules for getting issues on the ballot.
The move comes as a new campaign is launched to place an abortion rights amendment before voters in November.
One bill would increase the votes necessary to pass a constitutional amendment from a simple majority to 60% of the vote. Another would require an amendment to pass in all eight Missouri Congressional districts before it could be declared valid.
Meanwhile, Kansas Republican lawmakers will attempt to reinflate their flat tax proposal this week after Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed the proposal on Friday.
The House has the votes to override the governor, but it’s less clear if they have enough support in the Senate.
Other News
- Monday is Kansas Day. It’s also the official start of Tax Season. Starting today, the Internal Revenue Service will begin accepting and processing 2023 federal income tax returns.
- Black History Month kicks off with the start of February on Thursday.
- It’s Groundhog Day on Friday.
- On Saturday, South Carolina voters head to the polls to make their pick for president. But it’s only a Democratic primary. Republicans won’t vote until Feb. 24.
- Awards season rolls on with the Grammys on Sunday. The big question: Will Travis Kelce join Taylor Swift at the ceremony?
Holiday Lights
I think we can officially call this “Take Down your Holiday Lights” Day. It may be more than a month after Christmas, but have you noticed how many of your neighbors are still illuminating their homes like Clark Griswold?
Kansas City’s two-week deep freeze almost certainly pushed the chore off our to-do-list. But with temperatures in the 50s and no rain in the immediate forecast we may finally have run out of excuses.
Amazon Change
If you get your TV and movie fix from Amazon Prime, be prepared for big changes this week.
Starting today, Prime Video will begin showing ads.
Viewers who don’t want to see commercials will have two options: Cancel your subscription or pay an extra $3 a month to continue with ad-free viewing.
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
If you haven’t been to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum yet, this week may be the perfect time to go.
Starting Thursday, the museum is free.
For the third straight year, the Kansas City Royals are picking up the tab for visitors in recognition of Black History Month.
The museum at 18th and Vine will remain free through February.
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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