Coming up, President Trump's latest mission to oust Kansas City Congressman Emanuel Cleaver.

But how?

We have more on the white House push to close down the USDA and ship thousands of jobs to Kansas City.

Two years from today, we'll be swearing in a new Kansas City man.

This week, the first candidate steps forward.

And it's a week of tragedy as the community mourns a sheriff's deputy killed in the line of duty.

And Kansas City makes national news in a fatal collapse of a Family Dollar store.

And now we know the streetcar extension.

Opening date.

Now get ready for some big changes and tickets and fines.

Those stories and the rest of the week's news straight ahead.

Week in review is made possible through the generous support of Dave and Jamie Cummings, Bob and Marlese Gourley, the Courtney as Turner Charitable Trust John H. Mize and Bank of America Na Co trustees, the Francis Family Foundation through the discretionary fund of David and Janice Francis and by viewers like you.

Thank you.

Hello and welcome.

I'm Nick Haines, glad to have you with us on our weekly journey through the Metro's most impactful, confusing, and downright head scratching local news stories.

Hopping on board the Weekend Review bus with us this week.

From the prime time anchor desk at KMBC nine News Kris Ketz This is my first time on the new set.

Love what you've done place.

Thank you, thank you Kris makes a huge difference.

Former star, reporter and editorial writer Dave Helling is with us from KCUR News.

Local government reporter Savannah Hawley-Bates and at the helm of our Metro's newest newspaper, Next Page KC Eric Wesson.

Now, this week, Donald Trump has a new mission to oust Emanuel Cleaver.

The president is urging Missouri Republicans to redraw the state's political maps to squeeze out Kansas City's Democratic congressman.

It's part of a newly outlined strategy to keep control of Congress in 2026.

Among the tactics being considered is the calling of a special Missouri legislative session to rewrite the boundaries of the state's Congress and districts.

How seriously, though, should we take this latest push by the president?

Savannah, I think very seriously.

He clearly wields a lot of influence down in Texas.

Governor Abbott wasn't super keen on the idea.

And then reportedly, after a call from the president called the session and now they have a new map unveiled.

So it's sort of the same tactic here in Missouri, although I will say Missouri lawmakers did try this before and it failed because they don't want to create what could be new, contested districts.

And it's kind of up to Kehoe to see if he wants to stake his political career.

So what is the appetite of governor McNeil, also a Republican, to say, let's bring lawmakers back for special session?

Oh for sure.

The leadership, of the legislature in both houses seems skeptical about this idea, in part because of the problem with creating problematic districts in the rest of the state, in part because it's just one seat, in part because it's occupied by a black man.

And that raises all sorts of legal concerns.

If they, if they gerrymander too much.

So it's a very, very difficult thing for not a great return in Texas.

Five seats might be at stake.

And in California, if the Democrats do it, nine seats, one seat you don't think would make that much of a difference.

So the odds are probably more likely that they won't pursue this.

But it's not zero because Donald Trump isn't.

So how would this actually work, though, Eric, you just trying to find as many cobbled together as many communities that have a lot more Republican voters close to Kansas City and, and push them into that district that Cleaver represents.

Yes.

that would be the ultimate goal if they were to do it that way.

But, you know, generally speaking, I think, Representative Cleaver brings a lot of money to Kansas City.

I think people on both sides of the aisle like him as a person.

Now, whether they would, they would succumb to President Trump's wishes and wants.

But I think he's pretty safe in in being in that seat.

Now, these kinds of efforts, though, can backfire.

isn't it true on the on the Kansas side, they tried to squeeze out Sharice Davids, tried to take that, yeah.

County away from her, and it still didn't work.

And she still won by a huge amount.

Still won by a big by a big number.

I think, you know, my sense, the the leadership in the legislature, their reaction is lukewarm, at best.

And I think the fascinating question here is, how can governor Mike Kehoe, how can a Republican dominated legislature say no to this president?

And if you do, what's the cost on the backside?

And apparently the white House was calling individual lawmakers.

This is not just an academic philosophical conversation.

We're already calls in Congress for an investigation.

I think a couple of things.

First, it shows how much Trump believes the 90 or the 2026 shows.

My 2026 elections will make a difference.

If the Democrats take the House, it'll be two years of investigations and potential impeachment motions, that type of thing.

So that's problematic.

The other thing to keep in mind, Nick, is Missouri is already A62 state, right?

And, the state is actually 45% Democratic, roughly, maybe a little less to 55% Republican.

So the the seats are already skewed to the Republican Party in the state of Missouri to make it A71 state really sticks out like a sore thumb and again, suggest some sort of legal interventionist posture.

And, you know, the last election, the presidential election, Representative Cleaver wanted by 60% of the vote.

And that means that he had Republicans voting for him.

And when you look at places like Marshall, Missouri, and those places, they support him.

One thing that I know is, several years ago, there was an issue with the highway and the kids getting across the highway to get on the bus.

He had a walkway built over the freeway for them to cross over to catch their school busses, and they've been in love with him ever since then.

Well, that cleaver is feeling also pressure from his own party this week has not one but two Democratic candidates filed against him, including activist and social media personality Hartzell Gray.

We're accustomed to Cleaver facing mainly token Republican challengers.

Isn't this a new and different challenge for Cleaver?

It it's somewhat new, certainly different.

He has faced about six challengers in the primary since he was first ran for the office in 2004. but like Eric said, he's been popular ever since, and the vote, and he's defeated every primary challenger, especially as recently as 2022. this is sort of new.

And the fact that he has two, challengers, Jordan Herrera and Hartsville Gray.

And Hartsville Gray is a well-known name around Kansas City.

So, you know, time will tell you, though, we're looking dismissive.

Say you don't believe that that poses any danger.

He is 80 years old now.

It doesn't matter if those two names don't have the same political clout that he.

But I don't think that it's going to be much of a challenge.

I think Eric's right in this particular case, but the idea that 80 year old members of Congress 80 and older are facing some pressure from younger people is very real, not just here, but across the country.

And, if there is one chief democratic criticism of the national legislature is that it's so old and that it's run by old people, and that the chairman and women of the committees are so old.

And so this is a sign, a sign that Cleaver's, membership in the House is going to face some pressure going and a sign that progressives all over the country are going to be stepping up and and challenging situations like this.

I think in this particular situation, though, if you're the Rev, you're probably more concerned about the possibility of redistricting than the opponents that he potentially.

Lots of other stories happening on our weekend review.

We're still waiting to hear more details this week about a new Trump plan to move thousands of federal Agriculture Department jobs to Kansas City.

It's part of a new push by the white House to shift government offices closer to the people they serve.

The USDA employs close to 100,000 people around the country.

How many of those jobs could be heading to Kansas City?

Dave?

Well, it's not completely clear yet.

5 or 6000, maybe this was tried before NEC, as you know.

Yes, in the first Trump term, I think in my recollection that's right.

First come true and it and it failed largely or it didn't fail, but it did not achieve its goals, in part because people didn't want to move from Washington.

They had families, kids and school kids and sports that type of thing.

It isn't clear why this time will be different.

It's more than Kansas City, of course, in this, in this proposal that several different, cities across the country.

But it isn't clear that it will be a huge boon.

How come, though, we're not hearing any sort of celebratory announcements from Quinton Lucas saying, thank you, President Trump, for the thousands of jobs you want to bring to Kansas City?

Well, these aren't new jobs.

These are moving jobs from D.C. to different field offices in Kansas City and other places around the country.

If there's one in Colorado.

and again, it didn't really work last time.

Many people just quit.

And, you know, that's maybe also part of the motivation to move these jobs is to continue to reduce the workforce.

The USDA has already lost 15,000 jobs under their restructuring and and offering people those, retirement bonuses that fork in the road.

and so I think people are inherently skeptical about any new federal jobs coming under this Trump administration, especially what the motives are.

Yeah.

And didn't they do this with, over in Kansas?

And then DOJ's came in and eliminated all of those jobs.

So you pack up your family, you move here for how long?

Six weeks.

Six months, maybe.

And I think one of the things is, is so unclear as to what's happened, what's going to happen as to why, mayor, Quinton Lucas is not really excited about it.

Well, funeral services, this week for a Wyandotte County sheriff's deputy killed while responding to a domestic incident.

Kol Elijah Morning was a nine year veteran of the department.

He was 34 years old.

Now, just like any death is tragic and painful.

But what, Chris, when it's a member of the law enforcement community, gets an awful lot of more media attention.

What catapulted this story to the front page in the top of every local newscast?

I think part of it was the fact that this was a death that involved a domestic violence case.

For one, this, this was a situation where a woman in a part of town living in a house was looking to move out and perhaps getting away from a partner.

she called for help.

And that help arrived in the form of deputy missing and a Kansas City, Kansas police officer.

The man inside obviously saw what was going on and opened fire on an individual with a fairly long criminal history.

So I think I think the circumstances there probably resonate with an awful lot of people.

And I think to add to that, he was a nice guy.

Yes, he and everybody in the community knew him, respected him, was.

And I think people were really shocked that it actually happened.

Very strong ties.

Yeah.

He basically yeah, he really did.

And, and and I know him from like covering several stories that he was involved in.

He was a nice guy.

He really was a sincerely nice guy.

Now Kansas City also hitting the headlines national headlines.

In fact, this week amid another fatal tragedy, one person died and another suffered severe injuries after a Family Dollar store collapsed in Kansas City.

It happened at 37th and Broadway.

What's even more interesting about the story is that there were media reports that multiple complaints had been filed with the city codes enforcement department, complaining the building was not safe was tilting dangerously to one side.

But is that just speculation?

Savannah anecdote or reports?

So did people really file those complaints officially?

Well, a city inspector did visit the building just days before it collapsed and reported, that they did notice some issues with the building.

They didn't, the Family Dollar did not replace, the structural beam that had been knocked down in a car crash, nine years ago.

And so these issues have been persistent, but no action was taken after that city inspector came out, and multiple neighborhood community members, continued to complain about it.

Not always with the city, though.

Sometimes with the Community Improvement District, which did not report it to the city.

Now, what are we supposed to be getting tough on these, building codes?

Cast your mind back.

Four years ago, this very month, when nearly 100 people died, when a condo building shockingly collapsed in the Miami suburb of Surfside.

Remember that?

It was a huge story.

Meg Quinton Lucas was heavily quoted in a New York Times story about the need for cities to now engage in more intense inspections of older buildings, and he would be demanding new rules, he said.

And code enforcement in Kansas City.

What we've seen recently in Miami, when you look at pictures of a building where there was rebar exposed, where there were concrete issues, it gives me cause for concern.

I think it gives much of the rest of City council cause for concern.

I think all options are on the table to make sure that we keep people safe.

And if we're seeing a failure in building codes in one part of the country, I think it's a sign that maybe there's more work we can do.

Did that ever happen then, Chris?

if you look at this particular case, the answer is no, because this is a property that people have been complaining about.

As we've said for an awfully long time, nothing's been done about it.

A city inspector there two days before saw the the problem that people were seeing.

And I think the question here ultimately after a city inspector, okay, a city inspector saw what was happening two days before the collapse.

Why wasn't something done then?

What?

What when did the what did the city know and when is, would be my question.

And the answers will be very interesting.

In that New York Times article I reference with Quint Lucas, heavily quoted in it, it was another line that said, it's fair to say that code compliance and structural engineering rarely gets voters animated in the same way as crime or even street repaving.

We have the sort of view that we've got all these inspectors running around town looking at restaurants, you know, look for problems, looking for these, buildings that have problems.

But that really isn't the case.

We do not.

And people just assume that buildings are routinely inspected not just for structural integrity, but fire.

And whether fire escapes or blocked or whatever, that, you know, inspections and code compliance are extraordinarily labor intensive occupations.

You can't just drive by and go, oh, look, that brick is out of place.

You have to do some real work.

And it takes real people.

And with the pressure to reduce city staff and reduce code compliance efforts, it isn't a surprise that things like this happened.

Although, to be clear, the fact that complaints were filed should have raised red flags, but ultimately.

Okay, but did you see the, the press release that the city put out and it had this line, it said ultimately the responsibility for the structural integrity and safety of a building lies with its property owner and manager.

That's what they do.

And if you go down the court and you look at people with tickets for their gutters hanging off their houses, their yards are not being cut properly, you would think that they were on top of it.

But if you were driving down Broadway, you could visibly see that building leaning.

And that was no accident.

And if they went in there a few days before that and, and did an inspection and saw that, and then we have this collapse that's on the city.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas is marking a milestone this week.

Today he hits the midpoint of his final term.

Two years from today, Kansas City will be swearing in a new mayor, and the first candidate is about to make that big campaign announcement.

City Councilwoman and Mayor Pro Tem Rayner Park Shaw says she will make it official at a campaign kickoff and fundraising event on August 16th.

Does that mean she's, by default the frontrunner to be the next mayor of Kansas City?

Eric.

No.

and I think this is her second or third announcement.

I think this is really I think I've written about it and I've seen it before.

I think this is her formal fundraiser, this coming up.

It's not really her first announcement of it, but no, it doesn't have her as a frontrunner.

You know, I remember when Quinton Lucas first ran when Slide James, you know, was term limited out.

There were 11 candidates running for the job.

In fact week when we were putting on a debate, we couldn't find enough podiums, to make it all work.

Are we going to see that sort of level of interest now that Quinton Lucas is term limited and will be on his way out?

I don't think it'll be as hyper competitive as it was when Lucas first won his, mayoral seat.

But, Rena Park shot is certainly not the only council person who will be running for mayor.

She might be the first to publicly announce.

She might be the most public candidate so far.

But there will be more.

And developers have also been talking about running their own sort of outside candidate for this role as well.

So it certainly will be competitive.

It's going to be, an interesting race.

And Quinton Lucas might may play a role.

He may have pick a favorite or a couple of favorites.

And that doesn't always work out like slight change David Jolie justice, justice.

It doesn't work out.

So we'll see how it, develops going forward.

One of the reasons for the early announcements is fundraising and money.

It takes a lot of money to run for mayor in Kansas City.

Not so much council offices, but for mayor.

And so everyone involved is going to try and, start the phones ringing as quickly as possible.

And it's going to be interesting because a lot of the council members are terming out, but there are some other council members that are taking other seats.

You have Crispin Ray, he's going to be running, one of those, city council people from up north is even going to resign their seat and go run for a state office as well.

So it's going to be interesting.

You might have an overwhelming majority of the council will all be new once this smoke clears on this thing.

After more than three years of traffic snarls and torn up roads, Kansas City's new streetcar extension is ready to roll.

The new three and a half mile route down to the Country Club Plaza, and Umkc will officially open on Friday, October 24th.

This week, though, city leaders joined streetcar officials along the Main Street extension to detail how its new transit only lanes will work.

Unlike on the existing route, streetcars will run in designated lanes prohibited to other traffic.

The city is expected to announce stepped up enforcement and fines for violators.

Now all we asking for trouble here, Chris, as we've been so accustomed to be able to ride and drive along those tracks and now was somehow somehow now we're not supposed to do that.

And they are talking about fines for this.

Yeah, there's going to have to be a an education process here, an education, an educational element to this.

Because listen, I can see the stories happening right now of people who get caught driving in those transit only lanes and picking up a $50 ticket and being upset about it and calling their favorite television station, saying, what the heck's going on here?

You know, that's going to happen.

Yeah.

And I think also, the part of the streetcar only lanes is not only just to prioritize a streetcar, but it's also to calm the roads, down in midtown and towards the plaza.

you know, in the downtown portion where people can already drive on the streetcar tracks.

The roads are more narrow there, so they can't have a transit only lane.

but applying a transit only lane on the new extension, or parts of it allows them to sort of make the street narrower, make driving a little harder so people can't drive highway speeds down Main Street.

of course people don't like that.

But I think what's new here is also the the city's declared intent to enforce this.

people park in the streetcar lane all the time downtown.

People, drive, you know, stop right in front of the streetcar.

If the city really does enforce this, I think it could change sort of the thinking around.

It'd be interesting to see what the business owners along main have to say about all of this, too, because if their traffic drops dramatically and all they can do is watch the streetcar whiz by a couple times a day, they may be frustrated at the same time.

How how'd you like to be on Broadway?

I mean, you know, the the traffic that's going to shift in that direction will be, immense.

And, potentially cost.

And as we're just off Main Street, this is your official warning, guests that you can have struggle in future to ever find a parking space here at the station, because everyone who's at those downtown garages is going to be parking it out a lot here to save themselves the money of the downtown parking garages, perhaps.

Okay, PBS, take the streetcar to the show.

Okay.

All right, all right.

That's a that's a good way of looking at something else.

From the history books.

This week marks the 60th anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid, the nation's signature health programs that support seniors and low income Americans.

It.

There's a big local tie in.

President Lyndon Johnson would fly into Kansas City this week to sign the two programs into law at the Truman Presidential Library in Independence.

By the way, the museum had lots of free ice cream and cupcakes this week to mark the milestone.

But health care groups say this is not a moment to celebrate, pointing out the millions of Americans now losing Medicaid coverage as part of a package of sweeping budget cuts in Washington.

But what is the impact so far, if any, in Kansas City, Missouri?

Or has it not played out the way Trump's biggest critics forecast?

You know, I think in in Missouri, in Kansas, tens of thousands of people might lose their coverage.

And so it is sort of a bittersweet recognition that, you know, all these decades ago, it did kind of start in Kansas City or independence.

And Harry Truman got the first Medicare card.

That's right.

but at the same time, on that anniversary, tens of thousands of people who would have been his constituents aren't going to have health care.

Remember that the Medicaid work requirements that are part of the Trump bill don't take effect until, next year, I think, after the election, 27 so after the congressional election.

And so the immediate impact is less, although if you run a rural hospital in Missouri or Kansas, particularly in Kansas, which has an expanded Medicaid, you remain nervous about the cash flowing in and out of the bank in your behalf.

So that's an issue.

just a personal reference.

I remember when Lyndon Johnson came to Kansas City, I lived here, I was ten years old.

He was going to say, you number that.

You know, I was young to write for the paper at ten.

but I remember listening to it on the radio.

There was a day when radio stations had news departments, which they don't anymore, and they actually covered it.

So it was quite an event.

Truman got the first Medicare card.

He was Medicare recipient number one.

So, it's an anniversary worth remembering Medicare.

And I say this is now someone who gets Medicare is a pretty important.

By the way, next week, Dave Helling will tell us about his coverage of Abraham Lincoln's inauguration, which he was also at.

We'll get to that story next week.

Now, when you put a program like this together every week, you can't get to every story grabbing the headlines.

What was the big local story?

We missed?

If you want to save a few dollars this weekend is Missouri's back to school sales tax holiday.

No state sales tax on everything from clothes, computers to school supplies through midnight Sunday.

It had dogs and beer.

So what could have gone so terribly wrong?

Okay abruptly closes.

Apparently inflation problems, hiring staff, and yes, relentless construction along the riverfront.

Just too much for the canine friendly attraction.

The state of Kansas wipes out all diversity and inclusion programs, starting today.

It's no longer just ending gender pronouns on college campuses, but the state went through 20,000 job titles across all state agencies to eliminate any positions that reference denied.

Early voting continues in Wyandotte County to pick the next mayor.

Election day is Tuesday and a little fisticuffs as the Chiefs wrap up training camp in Saint Joe.

The team's first preseason game is next Saturday.

All righty, Chris Katz, did you pick one of those stories or something completely different?

I did the story down on the riverfront.

I found what was interesting and some of the talk around town.

points to maybe the people behind it expanded too fast.

Keeping staff became a challenge.

Dogs not getting along.

You add alcohol to that and, gee, what's wrong with that picture?

Eric?

I picked something different.

the report on congestion.

What?

Kansas City highways and freeways.

Evidently, they didn't drive on I-70 going east and west during the rush hour or 71 highway any time, because those are the most congested places that I know of anywhere in the country.

Savannah.

You know, I think it is cactus.

new leaning benches to me.

There was a lot of outcry when they posted this online, about how people wanted someplace to sit instead of someplace to just sort of lean back against, and, you know, they are installed downtown and some of the busiest, bus stops.

And only time will tell if people accept them or if CCTVs to get rid of it.

Was that really just to try and prevent the homeless?

There are you know, it's not explicit, but, the reason the benches were removed in the first place that these stops are because business owners and the police, requested that cacti remove them.

So it's certainly hostile to architecture.

Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri is involved in a tiff with the president of the United States, of all people.

In fact, on Wednesday, President Trump called Hawley a second tier senator, in part because Hawley has pushed for this bill that would prohibit members of Congress and at least at one point, the president, from owning individual stocks.

when you couple that with his idea of a rebate for people from tariffs, he's staking out some interesting territory for a guy who was a pretty solid, Trump supporter up until now.

You must think that was a good line for the presidency.

Could be.

I mean, that may be exactly what's going on.

That the the fist raised in the air photograph.

Yeah.

Needs to be balanced with something else.

And so he's taken some real populist positions recently and he's just being a more interesting senator than he was maybe a year ago.

And on that, we will say all week has been reviewed courtesy of Casey was Savannah Hawley Bates and from KMBC nine News Chris Katz.

The best dressed man in Kansas City media Eric Wesson from next page KC and news icon Dave Helling.

Now, you may have heard we just had all our federal funding cut around here.

So we're sticking our hands in between the cushions of the sofa in search of loose coins.

For the next couple of weeks, we will be hitting the pause button the week in review to make room for our summer membership drive.

As our truckers like to say.

We'll see you on the flip side from all of us here at Kansas City PBS.

Be well, keep calm and carry on.