Traditionally, public television has left crime reporting to our friends in commercial television news. But it’s hard to ignore the current spate of gun violence that is rattling Kansas City.
New developments in a series of high-profile crimes will dominate local news coverage this week. Here’s a quick status report:
High School Shooting: Some parents are worried about sending their kids to school this morning after a shooting outside of North Kansas City High School over the weekend.
It happened near the end of a Saturday night basketball game between North Kansas City and Staley high schools.
Two people, a student and an adult, have been hospitalized with bullet wounds.
Police are still searching for the shooter.
Eviction Killings: Funeral services are this week for an Independence police officer and a court worker killed while serving an eviction notice last week.
A 69-year-old homeowner has been charged in the shooting deaths of officer Cody Allen and Jackson County court employee Drexel Mack.
Parade Shooting: Two men charged in the fatal shooting at the Chiefs Super Bowl parade are scheduled to appear in court this week.
But those criminal proceedings may now have to be put on hold.
One of the shooters charged in the killing of Lisa Lopez-Galvan remains hospitalized.
The second shooter was readmitted to hospital over the weekend, with complications from his earlier injuries.
Reid Released: Former Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid is now back in his own bed this morning after Missouri Gov. Mike Parson commuted his three-year drunk driving sentence on Friday.
Reid, who’s the son of Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, seriously injured a 5-year-old-girl while intoxicated back in 2021.
The governor’s decision to shorten his sentence has drawn widespread criticism, even among leading Republicans. It’s also now becoming an issue in the Missouri governor’s race. Parson is expected to face increasing pressure to explain his decision this week.
A spokesperson for the governor issued a statement saying Reid had completed his alcohol abuse treatment program and “served more prison time than most individuals convicted of similar offenses.”
Reid will remain under house arrest through Oct. 31, 2025.
Stadium Tax Voting
Television and radio ads are now running for the upcoming stadium tax election.
If you want a say in what happens, there’s an important deadline you should know about this week.
This Wednesday is the last day to register to vote in the April 2 election.
If you’re still confused about what you’re voting on, join me at the Kansas City Plaza Library on Tuesday, March 19, at 6 p.m. as we record a televised debate on the tax. The debate will premiere as a special edition of “Kansas City Week in Review” on Friday, March 22.
The measure would fund a new downtown ballpark for the Royals and improvements at Arrowhead Stadium.
Super Tuesday
This Tuesday is a huge day in the presidential election calendar.
It’s Super Tuesday.
Voters in 15 states, from Maine to California, will cast their ballots.
About one-third of the nation’s presidential delegates are up for grabs on Super Tuesday, more than any other day.
State of the Union
President Joe Biden will deliver what could be his final State of the Union address on Thursday night.
The speech, before a joint session of congress, usually takes place much earlier in the year.
This will be the latest the address has been given since 1934.
Biden is expected to use the nationally televised event to kick-start his re-election campaign and offer up a vision for a second term in office.
You can see the speech live, starting Thursday at 8 p.m. on Kansas City PBS.
Ramadan Begins
This week marks the beginning of the holiest month in the Muslim calendar.
Ramadan starts on Sunday.
Ahead of the Islamic observance, international mediators are scrambling to broker a deal to pause the fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
The Biden administration says Sunday “looms as an informal but urgent deadline” for negotiators.
Oscar Night
After a barrage of award shows, the granddaddy of them all is this weekend.
The 96th Academy Awards is on Sunday.
Jimmy Kimmel, who hosted last year’s ceremony, will emcee for the fourth time.
This year’s Oscars may be a coronation for the film “Oppenheimer,” which comes in with a leading 13 nominations, though other movies, including “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Poor Things” and “Barbie” are in the mix.
Don’t be embarrassed if you haven’t seen any of them. Neither have I.
By the way, the Oscars are starting an hour earlier this year, so the notoriously long ceremony will hopefully wrap up by the time you get up for breakfast Monday morning.
Follow the Bouncing Ball
Downtown Kansas City becomes one big basketball court this week as two large tournaments get underway.
The Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship begins Thursday at T-Mobile Center.
Just a few blocks away, Municipal Auditorium plays host to the MIAA Tournament, which features some of the region’s top Division 2 teams. Now you’ll know why downtown is packed with so many people wearing Tiger, Gorilla and Bearcat sweatshirts.
Planet Comicon
Whether you know him as “The Fonz” from “Happy Days” or for his later work on “Barry,” you might be interested to know that Henry Winkler is in town this week.
He leads the guest line-up at Planet Comicon, starting Friday at Bartle Hall.
Also in attendance will be Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars, a.k.a. Scottish actor Ian McDiarmid.
This is the 25th anniversary of the event in Kansas City. It’s billed as the region’s largest and longest-running pop culture and comic book convention.
Planet Comicon runs through Sunday.
Daylight Saving Time
Love it or hate it, daylight saving time begins this week.
Before heading to bed on Saturday night, we’ll turn our clocks forward an hour.
It means one less hour of sleep and darker mornings. But on the bright side, it’ll stay lighter for longer in the evenings.
Nick Haines tracks the week’s most impactful local news stories on “Kansas City Week in Review,” Friday at 7:30 p.m. on Kansas City PBS.
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