Coming up all the week's most impactful, confusing and downright head scratching local news stories, and all in less time than getting a pizza delivered to your home.

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Thank you.

Welcome on the Kings.

What a news weekend is being in Kansas City.

And we've got four voices to unpack what happened, why and what it means to you, from the Kshb TV newsroom.

Charlie Keegan is with us.

Former star reporter Dave Helling is here.

Casey was local government reporter Savannah Bates.

And at the helm of our Metro's newest newspaper.

Next page, Casey Eric Wesson.

Now, just weeks before the new streetcar line to the Country Club Plaza officially opens, Kansas City leaders are revving hitting plans for an East-West streetcar line.

Matt Quinton Lucas was among the leaders at the 18th and Vine Street Car kickoff event Monday.

The city is exploring a proposal to run streetcar tracks to the East Side Entertainment district, Drive, 18th Street at 18th and vine.

Today you see construction, see a new garage project, new multi-family.

I expect us to be able to build up even more.

So this is probably something that will be a key part of the future for 18th and vine.

Now, if you asked residents, Charlie, whether the next streetcar line should be built, would 18th and vine be on the top of that list?

I'm not so sure it would be, to be honest with you, but the city is in the midst of a Revive the Vine movement, so it's definitely getting a lot of attention from kind of city Hall offices and the mayor put together this group to really take a harder look at it.

Why would that make sense and how would it actually be paid for?

it would make sense.

Very little sense.

And it would be paid for by a lot of that property on 19th Street is owned by the city.

The city can tax themselves and the the one of the questions that has to come into play is where is it going?

So is it just going to run to 18th and vine, or is it going to go to prospect?

Where exactly is it going?

And I think that's what the committee that he put together a research to find out how many blocks it could go and where we go, you know, a few years ago, of course, we had heard about a much more robust, ambitious plan that would have a line that would go from the CU Medical Center on the Kansas side all the way through to all these points, including the 18th and Vine Jazz District, to the Truman Sports Complex.

But all of that sort of fell by the wayside.

What happened?

Was it financially unfeasible?

Well, those cities are still active.

So in addition to the 18th and vine study that they just launched, they also have that east to west line study that along, Linwood and 39th Street, and also a study that they revived a couple of years ago as well up to the Northland.

So the issue with these is that these studies take years in and of themselves.

And then once the studies are done, you have to seek federal funding, local funding, then you have to do some studies on the environment and then you can start construction.

So all in all, it takes about ten years to get, a streetcar line from conception to opening.

And it could then be voted down, going out.

Linwood.

Yes, they voted that down when, Sly James was the mayor, coming out.

Linwood.

So why would you go back and do another study?

because nothing has changed in that area.

And could you say it's actually even worse timing now because we now have a federal administration, that it doesn't look favorably on projects like this one, and it's ignore immensely expensive to build fixed rail, even streetcar rail.

you almost can't even think about doing it unless the federal government contributes at least something to the project.

A by the way, Nic, ten years ago, 12 years ago, there was also discussion of taking the streetcar down Southwest Boulevard, of all things, to try and go a little bit to the west and link up with the west side.

That seems to have fallen away too.

So there was no shortage of places you could build streetcar.

The problem is money, time, and the logistics to get it done.

And does the city even have the money at this point in time, when even some even higher priority items on their to do list are now finding challenges?

While we were hosting our Frank White Recall town hall last week, another big city project was being dealt a body blow.

The Roy Blunt Luminary Park, also known as that concrete lit they want to put on top of the downtown highway next to T-Mobile center, is being delayed as the price tag soars by an extra $100 million, and the evidence, Charlie, the city is now hitting the pause button on that.

No, they we've talked to them this week, and they say they're still looking forward to trying to find the money to get this project done.

They just said inflation.

And as they've gotten a little bit more in the weeds on exactly the cost associated with the project, that they've realized it's going to be more expensive than their original estimates.

But there's still sound committed, and they have gotten some private donations for this park already, so maybe they'll be leaning on that a little bit.

We heard a lot from our viewers about this, Eric, including from Ron, is a former city staffer who says even if the city can't find the cash, it's going to be an ongoing, expensive money sock.

He writes.

It's going to require a 24 over seven security and maintenance, plus the constant costs of programing activities to attract visitors.

Is he right?

Is absolutely correct.

In addition to all of those things, you figure five years ago, seven years ago, they tore up the street.

They did the streetscape and cut outs along, 18th Street.

Now you come back six years later, tear all that up at $12 million, and then you put a pedestrian walkway there.

Then you're talking about coming back again, tearing it up to put some, streetcar tracks down.

So where are they getting the money from?

And it's got to have all of those things that that you mentioned.

Missouri's new congressional map is still stuck in limbo.

Two weeks after lawmakers approved a mid-decade redistricting plan, the state's redrawn political map is still awaiting the governor's signature.

Why the delay?

You know, we don't know quite why the delay.

He has a little bit more time to sign it.

though this is Quixote's plan.

This is what he said.

This is the map that he said he put forward and that his office drew.

so there's not really a question of whether or not he will sign it, just I guess, when, they also are planning this petition movement that has 90 days from the time he signs it to get the signatures needed.

So there might be a question of timing there.

We also heard this week there was a concern that some voters may be actually in now, in two congressional districts.

he said that was bogus news.

I mean, is he right on that one?

Well, his interpretation is that this particular precinct, it was split in two, basically.

And so one of the one part of the precinct is in Congressional District five and the other part of the precincts in Congressional District four.

But some other people interpret it a little bit differently.

And there's a lawsuit, points that out.

You know, there's also the first signatures were collected this week for a referendum to try and put this before voters to try and walk back this map, but they have until December 11th, Eric, to collect 106,000 signatures to put that issue on the ballot.

Is that even possible in such a short period of time?

It's not possible in such a short period of time, but they are starting to mobilize to start collecting the signatures.

I think they're they're starting to give classes on doing it on Thursdays, and they're going to put the petitions out on Sunday.

So they are moving.

But that's a lot of signatures to try to gather in that short period of time.

You know, day by day.

Quite a significant Republican elected leader locally about that, statewide vote and whether he'd actually even have an interest in running for Congress against Emanuel Cleaver.

And his view was that he thought this statewide referendum would be successful and these maps would change.

is that why we're not seeing any prominent Republicans coming forward and saying they're going to challenge Cleveland?

We've got some time.

And it's, you know, even, with the redrawn maps, it's going to be, you know, you need to gear up, raise money, do all the things you do to get a campaign going.

And if it wasn't possible, if there was no chance at all of a referendum, then Kehoe would have signed the map some time ago.

He's delaying that precisely because he wants to impact the, referendum.

Yeah.

And I will say I mean, it will be hard for sure to gather these signatures, but the people who are organizing these signature gathering events are so.

And organizing volunteers are saying they've never had the amount of the groundswell of people who who not only want to sign the petition, but also want to volunteer to get signatures and get more people to sign it.

I think people in the Kansas City area are mad about the redistricting, but also people in Mid-Missouri.

They don't want to share a representative with an urban area like Kansas City.

And so I think there is a lot of, disagreement over the redistricting statewide.

And it would be very expensive.

It would be very expensive.

But there are groups nationally who want to plow money into this.

Yeah.

And that's, you know, Missouri has some experience in petition gathering.

I mean, virtually every piece of major legislation in this state is the result of petition.

So the people who do it know what they're doing, know.

There are reports this week that former Missouri secretary of State Jason Kander and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas could challenge Congressman Mark Alford in his new, more Kansas City centric seat.

But is that still just idle gossip, Charlie, or is there evidence they're ready to launch their campaigns?

I don't know if we've seen evidence of a launch, but I think Quinton Lucas is definitely considering it.

He's kind of straight out said that he would consider it.

I haven't checked to see if he's filed any kind of, fundraising or, you know, new campaign with the Ethics Commission to get that started.

but I think it's something that he I'm not sure would be a surprise to you, Eric, because you at one time said he was going to be the next Jackson County, executive.

But I think this door opened up, and I think he'll go through this door.

I think he already has a federal PAC already from some time ago when he was thinking about running for United States Senate.

But I believe I don't know about Jason Kander.

I thought he was through with politics.

But I do know that, Quinton Lucas is very interested in and testing the waters to see if he could run for that seat, if you live on the other side of the state line, you should know the Kansas leaders are continuing to talk about redistricting to squeeze out the only Democrat in that congressional delegation, Sharice Davids.

But Governor Laura Kelly demanded this week that lawmakers host a series of public town hall meetings before voting on changing the state's political map.

But why Kelly, while she is the most powerful person in Kansas, does she have the power to stop lawmakers?

Can they just ignore her completely?

Oh no.

They can call themselves into special session.

And that's a, quite, a possibility in Kansas.

and they have veto proof majorities under the current, set up in Topeka.

So she couldn't veto the map either.

It's going to be jawboning.

but I think my colleagues have pointed out something important.

There is resistance to this in some ways, even from rural, constituents who believe their votes are diluted.

When you start throwing in, say, Johnson County or Wyandotte County with Goodland, or Salina or Dodge City, I mean, which is the current situation.

And so I think that the Republicans are treading carefully.

And that's why, by the way, they haven't called a special session yet, because I want to I think they want to understand the full ramifications of the deal.

Now, speaking of Laura Kelly, you remember when the Kansas governor was telling reporters she was looking forward to working with the Trump administration and congratulating the president on winning a second term.

Now that goodwill is out the window is Kelly is now in the middle of a public spat with Trump, who is now withholding more than $10 million in food aid to Kansas.

I truly believe in many ways, this particular governor looks at the law and says, as long as nobody stops me, I can do whatever I want.

State of Kansas.

Losing that money is bad enough, but when that money is being taken out of the pockets of needy Kansans trying to put food on the table, that is unthinkable.

All right, Charlie, what's behind this war of words that is now leaving thousands of needy Kansans without cash to put food on the table?

It all comes down to your personal data or the data of the Snap benefit recipients in Kansas.

the USDA is asking for that data.

Have the social Security, the names, birthdates of the people who receive the food stamps, what we're talking about.

But Kelly is concerned that the federal government use that for other things, like maybe Ice.

arrests and other things unrelated to, food benefits.

So she's holding back the Trump administration says this is really about, trying to weed out fraud and abuse.

Who is actually getting this money?

And doesn't the federal government pay for all 100% of Snap benefits?

These, what is it, the, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program?

There you go.

Right.

Yeah.

So all the the federal government does pay 100% of that.

So you could argue that they're entitled to 100% of the data, as a result of that.

but Kelly sees it differently.

Here's just quickly, food stamps were invented in some ways by Bob Dole, who is a very famous Kansan.

And, my guess is he would be a little concerned about this between the state and Washington.

But for Chris go actors to cry crocodile tears about the poor in a state which has refused to expand Medicaid aid, for whatever the time frame is now is really hypocrisy at the highest order.

Did crime in Kansas City plummet this week as the police department move forward with a new policy on Tuesday, in which all Kcpd patrol cars will now keep their blue lights on at all times.

We also want to make sure that our our people know the Kcpd is out there.

We're out there serving you, and this is just another way that we can show you our visibility.

Okay, Eric, did crime go down?

No, no, and I don't think that's worked in any city.

Chicago, for example, they their police department drives around with the blue lights on.

And we already know about some of the issues there, even though crime is going down.

But they still have a lot of issues that, you know, it looks good.

It sounds good.

I was glad to see her because I haven't seen her like two mass shootings, women getting calls.

We haven't seen her, but now she's good to see that.

She's concerned about blue lights being shown.

What man?

Lucas and the Chief Graves think this would do?

You know the thing it does do, whether or not it can deter crime is is let people know that they are patrolling.

And so that's something that Lucas and Graves pointed out was that, you know, when people complain, like, I don't see the police in my neighborhood, I don't know when they're out.

this will point that out.

it'll it'll let people know of an increased police presence.

anything beyond that, though, depends on the action they take after the blue lights.

But then people in the Northland claim that they don't see police because they're basically in this central city.

Now that to reinforce their position that there is no police in that area, it will be a good way for people to track them for sure.

Also, on the crime front, by the way, this week with Kansas City still out of jail, even Jackson County lawmakers are offering the city a big gift their old jail, which will be vacated in December as the county moves inmates into its new detention center.

What an hour for an all for free was Mayor Lucas Charlie jumping for joy, thanking lawmakers for their generous gesture this week.

He was not jumping for joy.

He gave a very, you know, diplomatic well.

We'll look at any proposal they want to give us.

But that jail in downtown Kansas City that the county's been running has been a problematic for years.

And different audits and reports have really pointed out huge problems with that jail in terms of the safety and sanity of the jail.

So it would almost just be passing on a big, problem to the county from the county to the city.

And I don't think the city will remember, you know, in nine months, we're going to be hosting a global event called the World Cup.

We don't even have anywhere to put these people there is talk of having a temporary jail there, trying to move forward.

That's going to cost about $30 million.

We told now they have a solution right here.

Well, so yeah, they are investigating proposals for a modular jail, which would, sort of be the temporary place to put inmates before they build that permanent jail, which won't be ready in time for the World Cup.

the problem with this Jackson County jail, though, beyond the actual issues that it's had, they think the human rights concerns that it's had there.

I just thought it might not even be ready in time for for Jackson County to vacate it and then Kansas City to move in.

So it might also be, sort of something that doesn't work out.

In addition, the new jail might not even have enough a bed space.

So you're still going to have people in the county jail because there's not room for them in the new jail.

I think they're, you know, predicting that they'll be probably about 100 beds short of the new jail and housing people that they need to wear out.

Yeah.

And we haven't, by the way, and maybe my colleagues have, but I have not heard of plans for the old jail once it's empty.

Does it just sit there in the middle of downtown?

Is there any any proposal to bring it down to, disassemble the the facility?

that would be a real eyesore and a potential danger over time if they don't figure that out.

So maybe this is an attempt to try and fix that problem, but it is a problem.

93% chance it could be a new data center, because we have to have one of those on every single block in Kansas City on a possible site for a new downtown ballpark.

play vertical baseball.

Okay.

All right, well, the next time we meet around this table, we will finally know the verdict on Jackson County Executive Frank white.

The special recall election is on Tuesday.

We spent an hour with white and his opponents during a televised town hall last week.

Is there anything more we need to know before voters cast their ballots?

Savannah I think voters also need to consider who will replace Frank white if he is recalled.

If the recall election is successful, it does not go to voters to pick a replacement.

It's picked by the legislator legislature.

Sorry.

and right now, you know, the, the sort of three candidates who are, who are sort of putting their hat in the ring to replace Frank white, one of those being Darren McGee is the chair of the legislature later.

So I think that might inform people's vote as well.

Charlie, any final thoughts before people head to the polls on Tuesday?

We talked to some people at the polls and were kind of one person told us that, yeah, they kind of prefer the devil they know to Savannah's point than going down and and seeing who might win that kind of roulette, and replace.

So even though we're not seeing any yard signs that say we love Frank white because he's everything seems to be recall, recall, recall, you know, he still has support out there.

Yes, he still has support.

I don't think it'll be enough to get him over the threshold.

But at this point in time you have three people.

Who is this?

A fourth or fifth person might throw their hat in the ring to do that.

I think that's, we cross that bridge when we get to it right now.

We got to do something about these attacks and the other implications we need to know before we vote today.

Things.

First of all, if Frank white is recalled by voters on September 30th, the legal battle probably won't end.

He'll probably go back to court and try and overturn those results.

So the uncertainty in Jackson County will continue.

And then, as we discussed before the show began, there is suggestions.

You can hear suggestions in the air that, if Frank white is recalled and it becomes official that there may be another attempt to do the stadiums on the ballot in Jackson County in April of next year, that's, you know, that's not substantiated.

That's just what you hear people talking about that.

And that's, by the way, why I think labor, organized labor has been, a supportive of the of the, recall.

Well, we'll find out and we will report those results to you next week.

Now, the Kansas Missouri border war is officially back.

The Kansas City Council voted unanimously to end its truce on business border poaching.

You'd have a business at 435 and all and one at 435.

And Laurel.

And they'd be jumping back and forth and getting incentives for every move.

That was absolutely preposterous.

It's true.

For instance, Kansas City, Missouri lost corporate offices for all these companies to Kansas City, Kansas, which in turn lost offices for all these companies to Kansas City, Missouri.

And that isn't creating jobs any more than moving your couch from the bedroom to the living room is creating furniture.

We're going to return to a time when Kansas City is offering millions in incentives to move a company, sometimes just a few yards over one side of the state line.

In the other.

I mean, I think that the border war was only over in name only.

They were with the with the Royals, sales tax extension, vote failure.

They sort of reignited anyway.

And and both leaders on both sides of state line were saying no, no, no, we're not doing the border war.

But also here's, you know, here's what we would do if you decided to come over to Kansas or here's what we would do to keep you in Missouri.

this is only ending it.

officially, yes.

So the truce was a little bit of a joke then, Dave, at some level, it's always been a bit of a, a ephemeral.

I mean, you don't know for sure what, conversations are happening under the table.

I do think there was some backing away from the absurdity of Applebee's going 100ft and then coming back 100ft.

and Applebee's, of course, has collapsed in the Kansas City area anyway.

So I do think a lot hinges on the Royals and Chiefs.

If either franchise goes to Kansas, the gloves will come off.

Now while we were hosting our Frank white Recall town hall last week, the Kansas City Council was voting to drop height requirements on the Country Club Plaza.

It will allow for up to a 20 story building on what was being a vacant eyesore, the big lot intended for Nordstrom before the luxury retailer backed out.

Now, you might think they'd have something in mind to make such a major policy change.

But no, there is no tenant lined up.

So why did the council vote so enthusiastically to do this?

Well, I think maybe a couple reasons.

They probably the probably first of all, personally sick and tired of looking at that pit on the west side of what is the crown jewel of Kansas City.

I think they're sick and tired of hearing about it from folks, and I think there must have been some developments or developer groups in the background saying, you know, what would do really well, there is a 20 story XYZ, so you need to help us out, even though we don't have a name of a special retailer that's coming in.

Yeah, I think probably multiple retailers or commercial real estate organizations were in their ear.

I was sort of in two minds about adding the story day, because if you're new to town, you might say, so why does it matter what height it is on the plaza?

Why is that such an issue in the first place?

It's been an issue for 50 years down there, because the people who live in and around the plaza don't like height.

They've objected.

one of the first stories I ever covered to the 1980s was the Sailors Project on the east side of the plaza, where there was a 53 story building, a planned.

It was subject to a referendum.

We had prime time specials.

I mean, the people are very, very, very protective of what they call the bowl.

Yeah, on the plaza.

And the idea that a 20 story building like this would go in lickety split shows you how much politics has changed, and maybe how much of a threat people see to the plaza that they maybe didn't see 25 or, you know, it has been more than a year now since a brand new company from Texas came in promising lots of change on the plaza.

Privately, though, our members of the city council a little peeved that they haven't seen the progress they expected there.

Yeah, I mean, the the new owners, they came in really hot saying that this is all these things we're going to do and nothing's really come to fruition yet.

I think that's part of the reason that this ordinance passed so quickly and easily is that, no, there's not a tenant that needs the height restriction changed yet, but there's not a tenant there.

And so something has to change to maybe get someone to that spot.

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

What was the big local story?

We missed?

The parties over for the Royals.

No October ball after all, the last game of the season this Sunday.

This is hard to watch.

A T-Mobile center employee brutally pummeled by a team during a concert this week.

Why?

He was told he was in the wrong seat.

Could this be attractive to some of our cash strapped police departments?

Ice now offering financial incentives to local law enforcement to arrest and remove immigrants?

Move over me, I Wolf Atlas nine opens this week on the site of the doomed Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas City, Kansas.

And God forbid you be accused of having one of the worst flanks in the country.

Now Overland Park rebranding as it raises a new flag over the city this week.

Was it worth the money?

All right, Charlie, did you pick one of those stories or something completely different?

I have my own.

All right.

I thought that the family of Charles Adair, the inmate who was killed.

And why not?

County retaining Ben Crump, kind of a national, civil rights and, lawyer to help them out.

And him coming to town this week was a big sign.

This is a serious deal there.

I want I can I'm just getting a lot of national play.

Eric, I do give a thumbs up to Kansas City, Missouri public schools.

They had a coffee with, Doctor Collier.

She laid out the goals and the great progress that the school district is making.

Grades, improvement, attendance, graduation rates are up.

A lot of times we kick them for negative things that they're doing.

But this is a positive step toward, gathering community support.

So.

So sometimes we can talk about positive things on the show.

Eric, thank you for that.

Savannah.

Well, I don't have a positive thing.

I'm sorry.

so it's more bad news for the tens of thousands of federal workers in Kansas City?

if this next looming government shutdown, instead, a Trump has threatened that if the government does shut down, instead of furloughs for all of the tens of thousands of government employees here, he is, thinking about layoffs.

Yeah.

And we're going to find out again by the time we sit around this table next week, what happened?

Because that federal shutdown is looming, Dave, a Missouri judge, said that the language put together for the abortion effort on the ballot in 2026 was insufficient and unfair, and ordered it to be rewritten.

that will be appealed, of course, before the election in 2026.

But the battle over that language, plus the campaign for the amendment plus the continuing, litigation over the existing constitution in the state of Missouri as regards abortion, will be a dominant political story in 2026.

Seems like every single story you heard on this program do not worry.

There's no resolution.

It is going to be fought in court right afterwards for months.

And on that we will say our week has been reviewed courtesy of Casey.

While Savannah Bates and from the world of television news KCBs, Charlie Keegan from next page Casey, Eric Wesson and news icon Dave Helling.

And I'm Nick Haines from all of us here at Kansas City PBS.

Be well, keep calm and carry on.