Five, four, three, two, one.

Get excited.

It's our annual year in review edition of the program by chance.

You're welcome.

Welcome to Kansas City and the 2023 NFL draft.

This half hour, a look back at the metro's most memorable moments and newsmakers.

Outrage in Kansas City as a black teen is shot by a white resident after ringing the wrong doorbell.

It was a year for big openings.

This was the finest airport facility in America.

And not just at the airport.

Let's not forget the new aquarium at the zoo.

And, yes, the opening of a new downtown landmark.

I love it.

It's lit up at night, all different colors.

It's a great addition to the city.

We can't forget the problems that plagued us all year long.

This could end up being the deadliest year on record.

One thing I can tell you for sure, it ain't over.

We remember the lives we lost this year.

Some big political names and cultural icons, too.

And we break out the crystal ball to predict what we can expect in this brand spanking new Year come 2024.

We ain't done yet.

Week in review is made possible through the generous support of AARP, Kansas City RSM Dave and Jamie Cummings, Bob and Marlese Gourley, the Courtney S Turner Charitable Trust, John H Mize and Bank of America NA co trustees.

The restaurant at 1900.

And by viewers like you.

Thank you.

Hello and welcome.

I'm Nick Haines.

Move over.

Great British Bake Off.

Public television's biggest show has arrived.

Are you ready for laughter?

Tears and astonishing insight?

It's all coming up on our year in review edition of the program.

We've been pouring through the last 12 months here in our Metro quiz show style.

With us on this Yuletide romp is 50% of Dana and Parks on KMBC.

Dana Wright and a real life husband, top KMBC nine News anchor Chris Ketz.

Love having you on the show this week.

The best dressed man in the whole of Kansas City is with us from next page.

KC, Eric Wesson and still recovering from a storied multimedia news career in Kansas City, Former star newsman Dave Helling, our first stop on our weekend review sleigh ride is a fill in the blank question.

Now.

We've just showed you a series of video clips that could all be viewed as serious contenders for the biggest story of the year in Kansas City.

But Dana, right, the story that had the greatest impact on Kansas City in 2023 was blank.

Well, when Time magazine does this, Nick, you know, it is the story that had the greatest impact, for better or for worse.

That's true.

And I hate to start out on a sour note, but I do believe it continues to have the biggest impact, not in a good way.

The Jackson County Assessor's office and the dumpster fire that continues to plague taxpayers.

With those bills coming due soon, 200,000 properties affected.

We have had listeners call in and say they cannot pay their taxes.

People are being forced out of their homes in some cases.

The attorney general's office is now involved.

The audit that just came back was scathing, called it incompetent and legally deficient.

And in the meantime, the taxpayers are saying, my mortgage company doesn't care.

This bill is due.

Am I supposed to pay it?

And then are you going to cut me a check back?

There's no resolution here yet.

This has been dragging on for the better part.

So I see 30 more shows on that coming up in the new year that do that.

Dave Helling, what did you put down?

Well, a couple of things.

I think the story with the most impact ultimately will be the opening of the new airport, which opened on time and on budget.

To everyone's surprise, frankly, that's a 50 year project out there.

And it it's had problems, as all new structures do.

But by and large, ultimately, long term, that will have a huge impact.

But I also wrote down the continuing controversy over Eric to walk in here as we sit here today.

We don't know the ending to that drama yet, but it has the potential to be very disruptive in Kansas City and it brings attention, as it should, never to police behavior in our community, which I think in 2024 will be a mix.

Chris Katz The Great The story with the greatest impact in Kansas City in 2023 was what?

I'll go ahead and jump into that pond.

And this is proof that we didn't we didn't swap notes or anything like that.

And I thought, sure, you would say Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.

I really did.

If for no other reason.

You have you have a major star on a global stage, you have a future pro football Hall of Famer, and it's all coming together in a place like Kansas City.

And the thing of it is for all of the people who complain about the amount of attention that this story is getting, and they're right.

Listen, there are people on both sides of that fence.

I don't know that there's been another story that has overall created as much curious city in Kansas City.

As this one enjoy.

And huge amounts of economic impact for the city at the same time.

So, yes, Eric.

I said the KC ten is making people talk about affordable housing.

I think that's something that has been kind of swept under the rug and not addressed.

But I think their tenacity in talking about affordable housing and those kind of things, I think that's been tremendously.

They sort of came out of nowhere a few years ago and seemed to be at the center of almost every big discussion now at city hall.

Yes, it's up next, it's a multiple choice question for you.

And it's our Person of the Year.

Now, Time magazine just named singing superstar Taylor Swift as its Person of the Year.

Really?

How do I do that?

Welcome to Paris.

Well, what if you were picking the Person of the year in Kansas City?

Might you also choose Taylor Swift?

After all, didn't the global superstar spend just as much time here this year than anywhere else?

Oh, would you pick her name?

Squeeze Travis Kelsey, who managed to upstage Patrick Mahomes as the most talked about man in the NFL or y'all, the no slam team who made global news after being shot in the head for ringing the wrong doorbell.

He's making a remarkable recovery now, but he was one of the year's most visible faces of violence in Kansas City, igniting a new debate over the state of racial progress in our country.

Oh, would you pick John Sherman, the royals owner who simultaneously infuriated many Kansas City fans with his torturous negotiations over a new stadium while still remaining one of the metro's most pivotal and courted power players all Chris cats.

Did you pick someone completely different?

It was.

They're all wonderful choices, Nick.

You know, I might go any other year.

Aside from Travis and Taylor, I might go with Kathy Nelson from Visit KC and the Kansas City Sports Commission.

Despite the issues that that you brought up, I think the the NFL draft largely went over just fine.

She has work to keep the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City, which I have a feeling was probably a lot harder than people think just because of what is happening in college sports.

Of course, she's busy right now raising money for all things World Cup, and we'll start really seeing that effort kick up.

Well, for example, starting next month in Topeka, like I say, there are a lot of challenges ahead.

Certainly for her and the organizations that she represents.

But I think 23 was a pretty good year.

For Person of the Year.

Dave put Quinton Lucas.

He won reelection with 80% of the vote.

No real opposition.

He's a very polarizing figure.

Nick, A lot of people think he's doing a great job.

A lot of people think he's doing a horrible job.

There's not really a middle ground on Quinton Lucas, but he remains the most important political figure in the Kansas City area.

Dana My choice was Cathy Nelson.

Visit KC and the sports.

You did for Rachel about last night.

Yeah.

Okay.

All right.

Stole my choice.

Oh.

Didn't even print out my taxes this morning.

I know that.

But was visit KC in the sports commission for all of the reasons you just mentioned and really all of just not the economic impact that all of those exciting things have brought into this town but the global understanding now of what a great place Kansas City is.

She had other cities and other towns from across the world saying, How did you pull this off when it comes to the World Cup, when it comes to the NFL draft?

How did you do it?

They now are looking at Kansas City as this great shining place that we all know it to be.

And I think kind of some of us want to go don't shout it that loud.

We were kind of like, you know, we want to turn it to Nashville or something.

But she was my choice.

Who was the Person of the Year for you?

Eric I picked two.

I picked Laura and a Quail Bay.

They are the parents of Cameron.

LAMB Yes, I would be.

I write as an understatement if I had to go through what they gone through.

And they have been just class acts all the way.

They've never raised their voice about anything.

They've never been quoted out of bounds with anything in the papers or in any places that I've ever seen them.

I think they're a class act as if that was my son and the circumstances were the same.

And the governor was even entertaining the thought of releasing the person that killed my son.

I think I would be a totally different person.

Did we do you already, Chris?

We did.

I'm really thrilled to hear that.

Dave Haley, you are going to fill in the blank for us.

The biggest winner in Kansas City in 2023 was blank.

The KC current.

Yes.

With all of the talk of baseball stadiums and football stadium stadiums, the owners of this women's soccer team said, The hell with you.

We're going to go build our own stadium on the riverfront.

It's going to be great.

People are going to like it.

They did a great job.

They're a great addition to this community.

And by the way, the subtext of the Kathy Nelson story is women's sports is going to be a the story of the decade soccer, volleyball, basketball.

People are really paying attention to women competitors.

And the KC current is at the top.

Dana, biggest winner.

I absolutely love it.

I add on to everything you said with women.

Look at Beyonce and the economic impact of her coming in here.

Look at, of course, the Taylor Swift concert globally and that economic impact.

But also don't forget the movie Barbie.

And if you had said to me two years ago, I would have said that I enjoyed that.

I think it's impactful.

I think it's culturally relevant.

The women owned this year.

Eric.

I say quite low because for a different reason than Dave, he has.

Remember when he first was running, he said, Hey, I'm going to get homicides down under a hundred.

So here is a person that got reelected, 880 homicides under his belt as the mayor.

And we've had absolutely no conversation about what the plan is.

You may never.

Or the winner.

This is the winner category.

He's the winner because he kept his job.

Know?

No, that is.

My career lecture.

I understand.

Yes, absolutely, Chris.

I went with.

The Kansas City current to the the impact on women's sports, not just here but everywhere.

The new stadium set to open up in the spring season.

Tickets have sold out.

They have some of Kansas City's finest restaurants along for the ride.

And it's been an amazing ride so far.

And it's not over yet.

Dana, write complete this sentence.

The person, group or institution who lost the most in Kansas City this year was blank.

I'm going to say the voters because we know have no we are no closer to any understanding of where the stadiums are going to go, when they are going to go, how they are going to go and now there's this suggestion that, well, let's put something on a ballot.

Ask for the re-up of the 3% sales tax, but we're not going to tell you what it's for or where it's going.

And we could not think on our program of another time where someone has put something on a ballot.

And Dave right.

Challenged me here where you don't even really know what you're going to get more of that money.

Tax in Jackson County, the sales.

Business.

The research triangle, that was equally vague and it lost by 80% of the vote.

So you have to tell voters what you want money for and they have not done that yet.

Eric.

As she copied my note.

Okay, I said Kansas City voters, but I said for a different reason.

I said.

You were really nuanced today.

Yes.

Kansas City voters, you look at the amount of lawsuits that the city of Kansas City settles out of the general revenue, fine.

It is in the millions and nobody's held accountable for Chris.

I think a lot of Jackson County property owners might go with Gayle McCann Bailey, the county assessor for the dumpster fire.

That has been the assessment process in Jackson County.

And now there's the state audit, which says the county broke the law.

The attorney general is suing the county As a county legislator who wants her resignation.

MCCANN Beattie says this is all politics, But and you have almost 15,000 Jackson County property owners who are waiting are waiting for their appeals still to be heard.

And Frank White said it's Republicans versus Democrats as well.

Right.

And so the biggest loser, I think, is Frank White.

He the county has a cut yet.

He won reelection not long ago.

No, no.

In 2022.

You know, we said at the time I was still on the editorial board that the jail was going to be a problem.

It is a problem.

Appraisals are going to be a problem.

They are a problem.

The stadiums are going to be a problem.

They are a problem.

The county really does need to get its act together.

Having said that, people who are paying attention know that the auditor's report this week didn't say the appraisals were wrong.

It just said that people weren't notified in the correct way.

Well, that that's a problem, but that doesn't mean the appraisals are wrong and the remedies that are under discussion, which is capping at 15%.

Some appraisals would distort the market even more and cause further problems down the road.

Chris Katz, A fill in the blank question for you.

The most overreported story in our metro this year was blank.

The whole stadium saga regarding the Royals and well, later the Chiefs, I am reminded it.

Only took up 51 weeks of our entire show this year.

I'm reminded of a line that our friend and colleague Michael Mahoney has said often and might say at a moment like this, at this table, never have so many said so much about so little.

Because.

We.

Don't know.

There is just so much that we don't know about what the royals want and what the chiefs want.

And we're just days away from a January, late January deadline where, again, a sales tax extension may end up on the April ballot in Jackson County.

The most overreported story.

Eric.

I said the royals, they they copy me again the royals.

But I and I think the tax thing is also something that was really overreported because we don't know any more.

But I do disagree with Dave.

I think that the assessor's office did say that they did something wrong because they were the ones.

Oh, okay.

Well, we're 15%.

They were supposed to go inside the house and look at things.

So those are all notification and execution problems.

What I'm saying is that the fundamental problem of how houses are appraised and businesses in our community remains on the table.

And I unaddressed.

Dana, the most overreported story I.

Know people would say the most overreported story would be the private life of one very public football player named Travis Kelce.

I can't agree with that for all of the reasons you mentioned earlier.

I think it has been a tough year for a lot of reasons in the news cycle, and I welcome Joy any time we can talk about things that are making people happy for whatever reason, if you can find joy in the headlines and in showing her at the stadium and in bringing two groups of people together that otherwise never probably would have had anything to talk about, I applaud it from from A to Z, and I hope they get married this year.

Date the overall reported stories.

First, the NFL draft.

It's basically picking sides like it used to do in the playground and it's on the news for six weeks.

But the winner and it retires the trophy next year.

The Kansas license plate dropped more and more ink and air time spent on the stupid colors of the metal plate you put on your cars.

It's ridiculous.

There are other things to worry about in Kansas.

The colors on your license plate are not in the.

Top ten for that.

Really quick look at how quickly the government responded yet over a lie.

Right away, the governor came out and said, you're right, we have heard you.

We're going to make change name another important issue or anyone in the government.

But a lot of people didn't like the choices that they were often still upset about this.

Let's change it.

It doesn't.

Happen.

All right.

Number of people that voted yeah to have 200 and something.

Over.

3 million, it was 10,000.

And you could have voted many times year to complete the sentence.

For us, the most underreported story of the year was blank.

I said the c, c, e, d farm, which is a central city sales tax, is underreported, is doing some great things in areas that would otherwise be ignored, and they're not getting the press that they should.

Chris It's been talked about for months, but it's a growing homeless problem in, of all places, Johnson County, Kansas.

And the problem has gotten so bad that the county is looking at perhaps buying a hotel with COVID money, millions of dollars in COVID money to turn it into what would be the county's first homeless shelter Despite all of the affluence in Johnson County, Kansas.

It's a problem.

And in like a lot of other cities, it's going to get worse.

The most underreported.

Story.

Well, I wrote the stadiums, Nick, because, wow, everyone talked.

About for a different reason.

Everybody talked about it.

But we have no solid information whatsoever.

And that, you know, reporters, they've done a better job.

Jonathan Katz, by the way, at Channel four has done well.

Mike Hendricks and others at the Star have started to pick up the pace.

But we spent this entire year talking about the stadiums for the Chiefs and Royals.

We still don't know more now than we knew 12 months ago.

That means the reporters need to do a better job.

Dana.

Incredible and underreported and important to the ransomware against hospitals.

Look this up around the country.

Saint Francis in Topeka had to shut down several weeks ago, divert all of their patients here.

Liberty Hospital is looking at the same thing this week.

This is not about patient privacy.

This is about patient health.

All of the hospital systems, machines are computers.

And when very bad people have control of hospital computers, very bad patient outcomes can happen.

All right, Dave, you get to go first on our next question, which we're going to call Pick a gift.

It sounds simple enough.

You are responsible for giving a gift to one metro area public figure this holiday season.

But who would receive the gift and when he or she hastily breaks open that shiny wrapping paper, what would that give me?

The gift is a bottle of whiskey for our good friend Jeff Roe, who was a well-known political consultant in the Kansas City area for many years, rose to the top of the presidential ranks with Ron DeSantis and then just resigned from that position because of all the infighting.

Jeff Roe needs a belt of whiskey, and I'm happy to provide for Dana.

I would like to get a gift gift to all of the naysayers who do not understand, appreciate or love the brand new airport that has done so much for this town.

My gift to them is a trip to the Saint Louis airport.

Go there, spend 30 minutes there, and then come back and say, thank you for the new KC.

Eric.

My gift is to Stacie Graves.

I like Stacie Graves.

She's the new.

Chief.

She's the new police chief.

But my gift to her would be some moving boxes, because I believe and I believed all along that that job is just too overwhelming for her.

We're at 176 homicides.

No plan on what to do.

Her comeback is always what we all got to work together.

It's a lot of.

Business solving crime more than just one person.

It is.

But as a leader, you set the tone of the direction that it goes.

When your morale is in, your department is as low as it is and people are excellent in the door.

You got to kind of look at what.

You have a gift to you, Chris And who are you giving it to and what is it.

A parking space at city Hall with the sign that says, I'm never giving up for Clay Chastain, who once again ran for Oscar in Kansas City, Missouri, and once again got beat big.

He's the guy who just won't go away.

All right.

Well, coming up next, we break out the crystal ball to get our panelists predictions, what we can expect together in this new year called 2024.

But before we do, let's take a quick look back at how well our panelists stayed in forecasting the future last year.

Quinn Lucas has a great 2023 gets reelected.

I don't have a crystal ball, but I do think that airport is going to open.

I think we should name it after a dead person.

I'm going to defer with Dana, but agree naming the airport.

But my choice would be survive, Jane, true or false?

In 2023, Kansas City voters proven in downtown poll.

Call me false.

True or false.

In 2023, Kansas lawmakers finally approved medical marijuana.

Through the.

Kansas City Star Citizens print edition and becomes a strictly online newspaper.

Keep bringing that up.

I was asking.

No, no, Pete, what did you put down?

No comment.

All righty.

Let's be fair.

Our panelists warned us wildly wrong in their predictions, as they usually are.

So I'm going to give them a B-minus grade.

Let's see if you can get that eight this year.

So here goes.

Chris Katz, complete the sentence.

I don't own a crystal ball, but if I did, this is what I see happening in our metro in 2020.

Four, the Royals will end up where they've always wanted to be in the East Village of downtown for a new ballpark and entertainment district.

And I think the Chiefs will leave the sports complex.

They will make that decision because they're tired of waiting for the royals to do something.

And we'll end up in the wide open spaces by the Kansas Speedway and the legends.

Why?

Because the deal will be better and because people, I think, will come to the realization, as has been talked about here, it's just very unfair to expect Jackson County to bear the cost of either part or all of two new stadiums at the same time.

Eric.

I said that the Jackson County legislature will get something done, either the stadiums or something.

It's a lot of in-fighting.

It's a lot of going back and forth.

But I looked at my calendar this past year and I haven't seen anything that they really accomplished.

Dana, I.

Too chose the Chiefs moving over to Kansas.

I think.

You see that happening.

Year.

I really, really do.

And not just for for all of the reasons that that you stated.

I think I think the main reason is financial and you cannot ask Jackson County taxpayers to to shoulder the burden of both.

Dave, I think there's.

Clear the air for us on.

That.

Well, first of all, I don't think it will happen because I think Missouri will fight tooth and nail to keep the chiefs.

The royals are a different different issue.

Going to Clay County, for example, it remains an option.

And I think the state would let that happen.

But the state of Missouri will want to keep pro football in Missouri.

I think we'll see my prediction.

I've got a ton of predictions, but I think Calvin Hayden, the sheriff in Johnson County, if he decides to run again, will get crushed.

You know, he's a conspiracy theory, bad elections, right wing weirdness, Sheriff, And that just doesn't fly in Johnson County anymore.

And I think he'll lose.

All righty.

Before we end our show, it's a fast paced to a false round until the buzzer blows.

We've talked a little bit about this to a fault in 2020 for voters approved the new downtown ballpark.

True.

True, but not necessarily in April.

I still think the vote may come later in the year.

So true or false?

Chiefs announce move to Kansas trails False.

You don't believe that?

All right.

That's going to be.

True or false.

As part of a new stadium deal, the chiefs announce a name change false.

That they'll never do that.

True or false?

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce get engaged.

True love that ring.

Ready by the ring.

True or false?

Kansas lawmakers approved Medicaid expansion.

Falls.

Even though the governor has just make huge concessions.

They've tried it 100 times.

But quickly, both states will pass tax cuts in 2024.

True or false?

Kansas Congresswoman Sharice Davids loses bid for reelection amid GOP wave of spoils.

I think she's in.

True or false?

Josh Hawley loses these United States Senate seat in Missouri.

False.

But it's going to be closer than people think already.

True or false?

Quinton Lucas resigns as mayor to take new job in Washington.

False.

True.

You remember in Germany he had on a Department of Justice jacket.

I think he will leave for a national office, but I think he will finish his term before that happens.

Never covered a mayor in 40 years in the city.

It wasn't rumored that they were going to leave for some job in Washington and it is never happened.

All righty.

All right.

We are out of time.

Boy, have you been great sports and all for zero pay and a lousy cup of coffee.

Now she is 50% of Dana and Parks weekdays from 2 to 6 on KMBC Radio.

And he is top Channel nine news anchor Chris Ketz.

Eric Wesson is entering his first Christmas as head of the metro's newest newspaper.

Next page, KC and Dave Helling is the former TV investigative journalist, news anchor style reporter and editorial writer.

Now turned omnipresent sage.

On this program, we are so grateful to all of you, and I am simply your host, Nick Haines, from all of us here at Kansas City, PBS, we wish you a Yuletide season filled with wonderment, mirth and merriment.

And not a lot of TV hosts here will offer you that greeting.

And of course, be well, keep calm and carry on.

We'll see you in the New year.