Nick’s Picks | White, Shutdown, KCI and More …

Frank White’s Replacement

We may find out today who is replacing Frank White as Jackson County executive.

Two weeks after voters ousted him from office, county lawmakers are scheduled to meet this afternoon to consider their pick for the job. Nearly a dozen candidates have applied for the interim leader post, which will last only until next year’s election.

Former Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes is currently serving as a caretaker manager until a more permanent officeholder can be found.

No Mail Delivery Today

Here’s a reminder, if you needed one, that today is a federal holiday. All post offices are closed, and so are banks and government buildings.

It’s Columbus Day, though that name has increasingly fallen out of favor in some quarters. Seventeen states now officially designate the holiday as either Indigenous Peoples Day, American Indian Heritage Day, or Native Americans’ Day.

Shutdown Hits Home

The government shutdown is on track to extend into a third week. Congress remains deadlocked on a funding plan, and the Senate isn’t scheduled to hold any votes until Tuesday.

While the most visible local sign of the budget stalemate is the closing of the Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence, many of Kansas City’s nearly 30,000 federal workers are now feeling the pinch as they are furloughed without pay.

They could also now find themselves permanently out of a job. In a new push to downsize government, the Trump administration fired 4,000 federal workers on Friday, with more terminations scheduled this week.

From KCI to Truman Airport?

Are you flying out of Truman? You could be soon.

Months after the idea was first proposed, the Kansas City Council is moving forward with plans to rebrand Kansas City’s new airport terminal after President Harry S. Truman.

It’s on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting of the council’s Finance, Governance & Public Safety Committee. It starts at 10:30 a.m. at City Hall.

Last Week, Reviewed

Another Missouri Execution

The death penalty is back in the headlines, as the state of Missouri prepares to execute 48-year-old Lance Shockley for the killing of a Missouri Highway Patrol trooper 20 years ago.

Petitioners are asking for Governor Mike Kehoe to halt the execution to allow DNA testing on key evidence in the case. This would be the first execution under Kehoe’s watch.

Shockley is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Tuesday night.

Marathon Traffic Snarls

Prepare for plenty of disruption on the roads this weekend as the Kansas City Marathon shuts down a huge swath of downtown, the Plaza and Brookside.

Road closures will begin at 7:00 a.m. and last until 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.

To aid your travel plans, here are the roads that will be disrupted.

You should also be aware that in addition to the KC Marathon on Saturday, the Country Club Plaza will be the staging ground for “No Kings,” a National Day of Protest against the Trump administration. The rally is scheduled to take place just blocks from the KC Marathon’s finish line and after-party.

First Women’s Sports Bar Opens

Kansas City’s first women’s sports bar opens this week.

While men are welcome, the metro’s newest watering hole will show mostly women’s sports on its large bank of TV screens.

The Dub, located at Ninth and Baltimore, will officially open at 2 p.m. Thursday.

Last Game of the Season

This is your last chance to see Sporting KC in action this season.

The team’s final match is this Saturday against the Houston Dynamo.

Game time at Children’s Mercy Park is at 8 p.m.

And if you want to avoid the crowds at Costco this week … then you might want to go on Sunday at noon. That’s when the Chiefs take on the Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium.

Bloodsuckers and Comedians …

Some big names heading to Kansas City this week…

Comedian Fred Armisen, of Portlandia fame, is at the Midland Theater Friday night.

And a blood sucking vampire is on his way into town. Dracula takes the stage at the KC Rep this week. It’s the theater company’s latest splashy production.

Prepare to bring plenty of garlic and holy water with you if you plan to see the show, which starts Tuesday night at The Rep’s Copaken Stage.

Nick Haines tracks Kansas City’s most impactful, confusing and downright head-scratching stories on Week in Review, Friday nights at 7:30 p.m. on Kansas City PBS.