Every flight grounded at KCI just ahead of the new airport opening, the governor gets COVID and hits the pause button on his state of the state.

Don't you have this feeling?

You never know what's going to happen next.

We tried to make sense of the week's biggest local stories in 26 minutes.

It's week in review and it starts right now.

Week in review is made possible through the generous support of AARP, Kansas City RSL.

Dave and Jamie Cummings.

Bob and Marley Scali, the Cortney Turner Charitable Trust, John Mize and Bank of America.

And a co trustees.

And by viewers like you.

Thank you.

Hello and welcome.

I'm Nick Haines.

We're thrilled to have you with us on our weekly journey through the news of the week.

Who says America is too divided?

This week, we bring together two rivals, cross-town news anchors.

Dia Wall 41 Action News anchor competing for your attent in the same time slot over a Channel nine, KMBC nine News anchor.

Chris Ketz You didn't notice.

I did see you as far apart as possible with love.

Cruz Is there is there a news anchors meeting that takes place every month where you get together happening?

What's happening right here?

That is very, very nice of you to be with us.

I have to say, we also have a big deal in public radio with us keeping track of state politics on both sides of state line.

Brian Allison from KCUR News is here and also around the cozy confines of our weekend review table.

Former nationally syndicated columnist and star opinion writer Mary Sanchez from our Kansas City PBS digital newsroom.

Flatland Now, how are you celebrating Valentine's Day this year?

Would it be the height of romance to spend it checking out the bathrooms and the parking garage at the airport?

KC officials have announced that Valentine's Day is when they've decided to launch their much publicized similarly test with some of the 12,000 people who signed up to be pretend passengers for the day.

Will you one of them, apparently you'll be getting an email this week if you've been selected.

Dear Will, were you surprised that that many people would give up their day?

Remember this for free to try out bathrooms and wait in parking lots for shuttle busses just for a chance to see this new building?

Absolutely not.

This is the biggest infrastructure project in Kansas City history, number one.

Number two, have you seen the current situation?

We got what?

You get the case.

This is Ruff, ruff, ruff.

There's also the natural curiosity, right?

This has been a project that's been going on for years.

So you got to have the lookie loos and it's not all day.

It's like from 10 to 2, you got some windows, you'll get in, you'll get out, and there's still plenty of time for your sweetheart to take you on a date.

But Chris would take.

My wife to Kca on Valentine's Day.

As you all know, my wife, it probably wouldn't work out.

So you can't say I'm not doing flowers this year.

I'm not giving you Taylor Swift tickets.

I'm taking you to the airport.

That's why these 12,000 people are going to have really good seats and having one day off for doing what they're doing.

We got an opening day for this yet.

And I see that you know it would this stall said this week the building is built and quote.

The shell is up.

My guess is the only hard deadline here is the NFL draft in late April.

I know that everybody is pointing to March.

If you've ever built a house and you've set a moving date, there's a pretty good chance you're not going to make it because things come up.

And I think this is just the.

Natural course of things.

You know, we in the media love to point out problems and flaws and controversies.

Mary, But other than the befuddlement and indignation over the bidding process at the beginning of this, has this been relatively drama free, this entire airport project?

Relatively.

And I think, you know, it's like anything if you scratch deep enough, if you talk to some of the vendors and some of the construction, there's been a few things, but nothing that really needs to concern the public.

But it's going to be if we get international flights, you know, start talking to Fort Leavenworth, which is a huge user of KC.

I start speaking with some of the corporations that are based here that are international.

And how does it work for them?

Does it really help with their workweeks?

That will be one that's going to be one of the big tests.

And I think what's as you said, the current situation at KC has become so dire, mediocre, I would bet.

Dire better.

Yeah.

That I think anything is an improvement from a PR standpoint.

I think part of why you're not seeing an announcement about an early opening date is that it's far better to let that date drift a couple of weeks than to make an announcement and then have something go wrong.

But but to your Valentine's Day point, Nick, I mean, think of all the new restaurants that are opening and available.

Who wouldn't want to check those out with their loved ones?

One thing I would add when you talk about the process being relatively drama free, I think that community benefits agreement was critical.

And when you also put in a penalty, if y'all don't finish on time, they're going to make it.

But there could have been things like supply chain issues.

We're doing a construction project here.

It's a big deal.

We're already behind.

It could have been a lot of different issues that could have somehow put this in a very difficult position, and yet they managed to do that.

What seems to be on time and on budget, You know, two months after Missouri voters greenlighted the legalization of recreational marijuana, pot is going back on the ballot.

At the same time, Quinton Lucas will be asking for your vote in the mayoral primary election.

The city wants you to greenlight a new 3% tax on marijuana sales to fix what Mayor Lucas says are some of the city's pesky problems.

Going to allow us to invest in neighborhood quality of life, in trash pickup and homelessness prevention and importantly, violence prevention?

Three things that we underfund regularly as Bryan.

The state is already going to add a 6% tax on all joints, edibles, weed products, So local cities are allowed by law to add whatever they want.

On top of that, they are.

And if that was part of the plan from the beginning, it's actually part of why many local city leaders were so supportive of this proposal when it went on the ballot.

3% is something that I think most consumers of these products are not going to be overly concerned about.

And it certainly will be of benefit to to local municipalities.

The particulars of the way Kansas City plans to use this money are interesting.

The mayor is talking about combating illegal dumping, cleaning it up, talking about combating homelessness.

They're not they're not necessarily causes that are related to the use of marijuana.

But I think it's going to be something that a lot of folks are going to get behind.

So illegal dumping is all part of this.

We have the reducing homelessness funding violence prevention programs.

According to the city.

This is going to bring in about $3 million during the first year.

It could rise to $10 million in five years.

How much trash does that remove?

How many homeless are removed from the streets because of that?

How are we going to be that much safer?

The homicides going to go down because of a 3% tax there?

Well, first, let me say that's a lot of weed.

Okay.

And number two, I think there comes a point where you have to align this windfall, shall we say, of money with the priorities that people have outlined.

We've done countless stories on illegal dumping and just not having enough people to address those cases.

We've done lots of coverage on trying to find solutions for the houseless, especially during this time of year when temperatures are cold.

And then when you talk about using that money for trash pickup, Kansas City is growing, especially up in the north land.

Those people want their services.

And so I think it's a smart use of those funds because these are pain points that have been issues for the city.

And it comes down to manpower, money.

You can get both of those.

Yes, I forget it's Kansas City, Missouri.

It's independents, it's Jackson County.

There are other local communities looking to do the same thing.

They're looking to do the same thing over in Saint Louis.

So it's not.

Just if it's on the ballot in April, what would be the reason for people to vote no to that, Mary?

Well, I think some people might still have kind of this attitude that is this just a sin.

Taxes is something that people shouldn't be doing anyway.

You know, a little bit of the pushback just on marijuana itself.

However, I mean, one of the things that actually might sell it a little bit is a fairness issue.

India was kind of touching, touching on this.

The communities that are mostly hurt by illegal dumping, by house lawlessness are generally our lower income and our east side.

And it has largely been African-American and Latino who have suffered some of the consequences of overpolicing around marijuana, you know, being suspected of you're the ones are who are doing it illegally when actually we know drug consumption is really pretty balanced across all races and ethnicities.

Also, the violence prevention piece, look for more community and I mean community officers, community policing, more people who are not necessarily on patrol, but folks who are engaging with your community.

And let's hope the projections are right.

3 million in the first year, maybe 10 million after five years based on experiences in Denver and Portland, Oregon.

Let's see if that happens.

I'm assuming the way Kansas were to vote to legalize marijuana, all bets would be off with those figures.

Well, I think that's right.

Now, of course, Kansas, there will be proposals in this legislative session for medical marijuana.

Governor Laura Kelly does support that.

It seems very unlikely that Kansas is going to get anywhere near Missouri's approval of recreational marijuana any time soon.

But I think you're right.

I think what happens in the surrounding states is a big factor in those revenue projections, which we have to be honest.

We have no idea.

We have no idea what kind of revenue.

It could be a lot less for a lot more.

You take that bet.

Yeah, I think Kansas is going to end up in the same boat as Missouri.

I think what they get, you know, medicinal, they'll go ahead and appropriate.

Even even medicinal is a pretty heavy lift, especially in the Senate right now.

You think if the Republicans controlled legislature have been very hesitant to go down that road?

You mentioned Laura Kelly.

This was supposed to be a grand celebration week for the governor.

It was the week of her second inauguration and a big bowl in her honor.

Hello, Kansas.

I'm back.

Now.

I'm not sure if she was traveling Jack Nicholson in The Shining or Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Terminator with that line.

But if she was back, it wasn't for long.

Kelly called COVID and she hit the pause button on his State of the State address Wednesday night.

It's been postponed now for two weeks, but would anyone have cared if she said, let's skip it this year?

I'm just going to email my prepared remarks to every lawmaker and put it on my websites.

Chris.

Well, here's the thing.

You know, I was thinking about this just the other night in my almost 40 years at KMBC, I'm sure we carried a state of the state address in Missouri, in Kansas.

But I couldn't remember.

I couldn't tell you when.

It's not it's not in prime time on KSAT.

Be on it wouldn't have been in Windsor.

Can't we all post these addresses on our websites and we cover them and and they're on our digital platforms where so many of our customers seem to get our content today.

Does anybody care about them anymore and do people watch them?

Mary?

I think some do.

You know, you're hyper political people, you know, all of her supporters that are really that that is true.

I mean, but I think the general public not so much it's going to be going forward.

What can she accomplish?

And she did try and set the tone, at least during the inauguration, speaking to civility and can we kind of try and work together more?

I don't know how far that will go, though.

If Kelly, though, was delivering her speech this week, Brian, we're told she'd be trying to help you with your grocery bills by calling for an immediate elimination of the sales tax on food.

Currently, that's gradually being cut back over several years.

Kelly would also be calling for dropping all state taxes on must have items like diapers and feminine hygiene products, which, yeah, some may be surprised to learn that taxed at the same rate as luxury goods.

Kelly also would be renewing her pushed into what most states have already done and that's expanding Medicaid and as we've mentioned, legalizing medical marijuana.

If Republicans still have those veto proof majorities in both chambers, what's the best that Kelly could achieve out of this session, in your judgment?

Brian?

I think that the reality for Kelly is that her best hopes are to achieve some very modest bipartisan initiatives, mostly in the area of tax cuts, which I think she is going to find common ground on things like accelerating the reduction of the food sales tax on the feminine hygiene products.

I think, you know, in an atmosphere where Republicans are going to be very happy to talk about tax cuts and not be afraid of giving Laura Kelly an electoral victory, something she can use in a campaign because she doesn't have any campaigns left.

I think she's going to find a lot more support.

The reality, Nic, is that anything she might have rolled out in that state of the state address she did roll out this week in her budget proposals that were presented to the legislators committees.

So I think, as Mary alluded to, the themes she sounded in the inaugural address of kindness and civility and bipartisanship, that's probably her area for the most opportunity of influence because she's a Democrat working with Republican supermajorities.

I also think when you look at that list that you guys just highlighted on a beautiful full screen, shout out to the crew of Kansas City.

You're welcome back.

Yes, But all of those things she knows she has a little bit of room to gain some support amongst Republicans.

Those are largely popular things that voters in the state of Kansas have already indicated.

We want this.

So I think she has a good shot.

We'll see what.

Happens.

Well, perhaps low over towering over this entire session more than any elected official or issue is a gigantic pile of cash.

Disclaimer These are not scenes of your local lawmakers scrambling to grab as much money as they can.

But a symbol of a bigger point.

Thanks in large part to big injections of pandemic money to states, Kansas is sitting on $2 billion in cash.

Missouri sitting on $6 billion.

They've never had this much money to play with in their history.

In Kansas, that means the state and I did the calculations on this for you could send out a $681 check to every single man, woman and child in the state of Missouri.

If you carved that up, they could afford to cut almost $1,000 check to everyone.

So should we be checking our mailboxes for that point?

I would not wait by your mailbox.

However, I do think there are probably some legislators who would like to propose something very much like that.

The reality is I think tax cuts and tax credits are more likely going to be on the on the agenda.

Now, I will say Governor Laura Kelly in Kansas, she'd like to see Medicaid expansion.

She'd like to see half a billion dollars go to the rainy day fund of the state.

She she has some big ticket items that are going to cut into that number that's available for a per person check, as you say.

I'm thinking of.

Expansion has has a lot of legs in this session, but I will.

Say probably not among Republicans.

And of course, the the argument for it is that it actually will save the state money in the long run because it brings in more federal funds.

But we should not be thinking we're going to be putting in the in-ground swimming pool as a result of a check like Clark Griswold.

We're probably going to be getting the Jelly of the Month club subscription.

Mary.

Probably so.

But, you know, one of the things that COVID really should have taught everyone is it really showcased some of our cracks and crevices in social services.

And who were the people that suffered first, unfortunately, and who died at higher numbers?

So perhaps what they should be looking at is we just went through and hopefully kind of are still in a horrific time period for the United States and for the world.

How can we use that money for if something else comes again that we're more prepared?

Well, I think you have it wrong there, Mary, because lawmakers actually have a better use for that money.

Did you see they've actually wanting to raise their salaries and in fact, in Kansas.

Yes.

They want to triple their salaries.

Currently they're paid.

You might be surprised to learn this $88 a day in Kansas that would rise to $320 a day if it passes.

How would that go down with voters?

Dear?

Good luck, because nobody else is getting a three times their salary raise.

Right.

Is the money low?

Yeah, but they're also not in session all year.

We're not talking about you and me.

How we go to work every day.

I push that clock.

Okay.

It's 80 before.

This is a 90 day set, right?

It's a 90 day session, essentially.

And so I think is there room to raise the rate?

Certainly.

But it will not be.

Just by way of comparison, Missouri lawmakers make about 37,000 a year.

That's a pittance compared to the 142,000 New York state lawmakers make.

I know it's a full time legislature.

It's a bigger state.

But do they work four times harder than our lawmakers, Brian?

I don't think they work four times harder.

But I do think there's another side to this argument, which is that the low rate of pay is going to have an impact on who is willing to run for these offices.

And in both Missouri and Kansas, there's been a lot of conversation over the fact that you either have to be independently wealthy or already retired or maybe have a spouse who is working full time.

And this may or may not be the full collection of people we want to consider running for public office.

And that argument has been made.

De is right about how the public responds to this though.

And time and again, even if some legislators come along and support it, it gets voted down or a governor vetoes it.

I did meet one drywall who is in the Kansas legislature, but by and large, these are returnees, older folks who can have the opportunity to be able to go there, not worry about a job.

Mary.

That's very true.

And it's also part of the problem.

You know, it's partly why we don't have enough people in Congress who have served in the military.

There's just it's a much broader issue of how do you really fairly represent people if you have grown up, perhaps quite wealthy?

I mean, do you really understand some of the problems and the people problems that people face that you're going to be legislating?

Well, it may be a three month session.

The reality is who can take three months off of their job to do it?

Yeah, it's I couldn't tell you the last time that Kansas or Missouri had a had a raise in pay in terms of the legislature.

Is it time?

Yeah, but obviously, politically, that's always a heavy lift.

We talked a lot about cash being something in free supply currently in Kansas and Missouri with lots of pandemic money.

Could lots more federal cash be on the way to Missouri?

While the tortured drama over picking a new House speaker consumed, political reporters lost, for the most part was the two Missourians were picked to lead two of the chamber's most powerful committees.

Southern Missouri Congressman Jason Smith is the new chair of the influential Ways and Means Committee and local Kansas City area Congressman Sam Graves will now lead the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Does that mean we're now going to see I-70 paved in gold from Kansas City to Saint Louis with added lanes in each direction Brian.

Well, I do think that Sam Graves being in charge of the Transportation Infrastructure Committee is very significant for the state of Missouri and for the Kansas City area.

It potentially.

I was speaking with Sharice Davids, the Kansas Democratic congresswoman, this week.

Even she commended Sam Graves for his leadership in that committee and said she looks forward to the benefits that will bring to the Metro.

Sam Graves will have significant influence over that.

The how that $1.7 trillion infrastructure package that was approved in the last Congress is spent.

I don't know if I should look for the gold plated I-70 quite yet, but I do think remember, Missouri has hundreds and hundreds of miles of state funded roads, more more per capita than almost any other state.

You're going to see a lot of projects, a lot of bridges that are going to happen as a result of that money.

Well, certainly if you're in Missouri and you have a big project that you're a part of, you want Jason Smith and Sam Graves on your side in Congress.

Believe me.

Now, some of us are still distressing from the last election.

So why are we in such a rush to begin the next one?

And it's not just the relentless reporting over the 2024 presidential race.

Closer to home, former Marine and Missouri Senate candidate Lucas Koonce has announced he's running to defeat Josh Hawley in 2024.

My name is Lucas Koontz.

I've done a lot of running in my life, running to stay healthy, running to fight for my country, running to defend democracy.

Oh, and by the way, that guy you're looking at, that's not me.

That's our current U.S. senator, Josh Hawley.

This guy.

When things get tough, Missourians deserve a U.S. senator who will stand up for them, not run away.

That's why I'm running to replace Josh Hawley.

Already Lucas Counsell lives in Independence, getting lots of national attention for his provocative ad.

But let's remember, Coons lost to truly Josh Valentine in last year's Democratic primary for Roy Blunt Senate seat.

Why, Mary, does he think he has any better chance of doing better two years from now?

I guess you just keep trying.

And, you know, he has a little bit more name recognition right now.

It feels a little bit like a He-Man kind of contest there, trying to show who's the most virulent male.

And I just don't know how far that's going to go.

You know, he's a he was seen as an attractive candidate in the primary.

He certainly did a good job raising money.

I think he surprised some people there.

But the last time I checked, it's still Missouri.

And in a race against Eric Schmidt, that would have been hard.

A race against Josh Hawley is even harder.

Yeah, I don't know if I agree completely.

I certainly agree it's a hard lift.

But I do think if there is any path to Democratic victory in Missouri, and I'm not sure there is, but if there is such a path, it might be the kind of campaign that it sounds like Lucas Coons is trying to run.

Let's take a look at Pennsylvania, where John Fetterman ran a successful campaign against Mehmet Oz.

He did that by sort of playing up his masculinity, his normal guy ness.

He wore hoodies to press conferences.

He also had a track.

Record he didn't have He was the lieutenant governor.

But.

But I would suggest that, particularly if he is aided by any sort of mistake or misstep by Josh Hawley, he may have a better chance than than anyone else.

There is a playbook out there.

You're right.

Do you believe in miracles?

If you do, we might have just experienced a New Year's miracle this week.

After vowing to close ten schools, the Kansas City School District is just down to 180.

Amid intense public pushback, The school board now says they will close just two schools.

No high schools are on the chopping block, just Troost and Longfellow Elementary Schools.

Did something miraculous happened here that we don't know about?

What does this tell us?

Parents and the public really can make change if they're willing to raise their voices enough and complain?

Yes or no?

I think there are a couple of things at play here.

One, the current interim superintendent wants the job, right.

So the last thing you want to do is show up and say, I'm shutting down ten schools.

But still, please, please be on my side to be the next leader of this school district.

I think to not include that would be a huge oversight.

So I think Dr. Collier is really campaigning to get the permanent slot.

Let's start there.

Number two, I think Central High School has such a strong history and legacy for people in Kansas City.

I have never lived anywhere.

When you ask people where they go to school, they talk about their high school proudly.

And I just think that legacy means something to folks.

And so I think people thought, okay, we'll put the numbers forward.

Maybe they'll understand.

But that wasn't enough to overcome the.

But we spent the better part of a year telling people that if we don't close these ten schools, there won't be a Kansas City, Missouri school district.

Mary.

Well, there are some realities of just enrollment and how can you have this many schools and still properly serve all the youth?

You know, you've got schools that they're just not being used to Central.

One of the things that I think was really missed in this conversation central when it opened was part of the whole desegregation case.

And it was part of the huge promise to this community that finally, we care enough about your students, your children, that we are building this massive magnet program to reach an equal path.

And so to have that talked about that, it's going to be shut down.

It was just another.

Was too much symbolic importance to, as you mentioned there, by the way, 20 years ago, there were 30,000 students in the Kansas City public schools.

Today, closer to 14,000.

When you put a program like this together every week, you can't get to every big story grabbing the headline, What was the big local story we missed?

Who's now dreading the thought of flying after every flight?

Two cases grounded after a federal system outage.

It's the first week on the job for New Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach.

A big changing of the guard in Johnson County is former Roland Park Mayor Mike Kelly is sworn in as the county's new top leader.

Kansas City inching towards paying reparations to compensate black residents of the city.

Patrick Mahomes signs on as a new co-owner of Kansas City's women's soccer team, The Current.

Does that mean he's staying here forever?

And if losing weight was one of your New Year's resolutions, close your He is.

It's Restaurant Week.

More than 200 eateries now offering cut price meals and specials designed to get you to try some when you run into a wall.

Did you pick one of those stories or something completely different?

Something completely different.

It's a national story with a lot of local implications.

Tim Hamlin has been released from the hospital.

I think this entire country was holding its breath, really hoping and praying that he was going to be all right.

Now we're looking toward the playoffs.

He's doing well, so we could talk a little football.

I think the decision that the AFC championship game, if it is Kansas City and Buffalo, is going to be at Mercedes-Benz and Atlanta, which I can't wait to go.

I'm surprised.

By the way, it wasn't you waiting in line for 2 hours to get Prince Harry's new book, Spare.

Respectfully already got it.

All right.

Ryan, I've been watching this week, Nick, the the Republican leadership in both the Missouri and Kansas legislatures to see whether they will sort of take note of the fact that Republicans did not do as well in elections and sort of scaled back sort of those national legislative priorities or where they're going to double down on them.

They're doubling down on them.

Nick, the the Republicans in the Kansas legislature are speaking this week about combating woke ideology.

The Republican leaders in Missouri have talked very assertively about abortion and tax cuts.

The opening of both sessions has indicated that this is going to be another year of Republicans seeking to push the ball forward on their conservative agenda, while Democrats do their best to hold it back.

Mary Sanchez.

I think you know, almost on that same line, let's look forward to what Monday is We're going to celebrate Martin Luther King Junior holiday.

So much about civility, so much about what is good for communities, what is good across the board, for, you know, for everyone.

That's where we need to focus going forward.

And I think with the Damar Hamlin, we saw the good of people.

Most people are good.

Give them an opportunity to show it.

And Chris, kids.

Keep an eye in Topeka.

The selection process of supreme court justices.

The the chief justice of the Supreme Court met with members of the legislature this past week.

It didn't come up, but certainly Attorney General Kris Kobach and his campaign talked a lot about this.

It's going to be something to watch.

And we will be watching.

Thank you, Chris.

And on that, we will say our week has been reviewed thanks to Channel 41 News anchor and reporter Dia Wall and Brian Ellison.

Of course, you are news from our own Kansas City PBS News with Mary Sanchez and bringing you the news at the same time as do all but a few channel buttons away.

Chris Ketz from KMBC nine News.

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

Be well, keep calm and carry on.