Welcome to the week of Thanksgiving. I’ve written this in previous years and I’ll repeat it for newcomers. Even though we really have to hustle to get the Thanksgiving week edition on the streets early–on Monday, two days earlier than normal–this remains one of my favorite weeks of the year in the weekly newspaper business, which is an endless cycle of deadlines. Once this week’s paper hits the streets two days early, I get a bit of a chance to step off the roller coaster for a few days. We get a chance to slow down and smell the turkey slow-cooking for a bit this week.
Hope you get the chance to do the same and enjoy your time with family and friends.
You won’t hear me complaining about the plan to put a roundabout on the southbound I-29 exit ramp at HH (Main Street). It will slow down the vehicles that come flying off the interstate, some of whom maintain a fast pace all the way through the 3-way stop sign at the end of the ramp. In other words, they blow through the stop sign. I’ve personally driven through the Prairie View/HH intersection nearly every business day since 1982. Some of the things I’ve seen would make your head spin.
It’s not a new problem. Way back in 1985, I had a conversation with then-Platte City Police Chief Charles Masoner (RIP, Chuck) on the topic. “It’s crazy. Some people fly down that ramp thinking they’re still on the interstate,” Masoner noted at the time.
In other words, you better have your head on a swivel when you approach that intersection. The roundabout is one of the safety improvements that should make that area safer for everyone.
At the recent open house for the planned I-29/HH interchange improvements, MoDOT officials acknowledge receiving some complaints about the condition of the pavement on Route HH from I-29 all the way east to Interurban Road several miles east of Platte City. “The current scope of our project includes the roundabout at the southbound offramp and Vine Street, slide repair near the northbound offramp, deceleration lane and right turn lane improvements to the northbound offramp, and miscellaneous drainage improvements,” Brooke Rohlfing, communications manager for the Kansas City district of MoDOT, told me.
But don’t give up hope. Rohlfing said the complaints about the condition of HH pavement east of Platte City have been passed along to appropriate ears. “We have shared the Route HH pavement concerns with our maintenance crews,” she said.
We may have to be patient until the safety improvements are done, but what’s also needed at the I-29 and HH interchange is some beautification effort. And some signage along the interstate guiding travelers to Downtown Platte City and its offerings would be extremely helpful as well.
Sports betting gets legal and live in Missouri on Monday, Dec. 1. You can be online beginning Monday, but are you looking for a brick and mortar sportsbook in Missouri? Argosy Casino at Riverside will have one, and some pics and renderings I’ve seen online look cool. Will it be ready to go by Dec. 1? “That’s the goal,” an Argosy worker told me over the weekend, though as of Saturday it looked as if plenty of work still needed to be done before opening. Also, we’re told there will be a restaurant option inside the sportsbook, which if so will give it a feature the sportsbook at Hollywood Casino at KCK does not have.
I did read that Argosy will only have about a dozen sports betting kiosks. Those are machines where you can place your bets without going to the counter, and are the most popular option for bettors these days. Argosy’s 12 is only about half the number of sports betting kiosks available at Hollywood Casino. At some point after Dec. 1 we’ll head to the sportsbook at Argosy and give you a review.
Ameristar Casino and Harrah’s Casino will also have brick and mortar sportsbooks in the Kansas City area. From a Facebook video I viewed, the one at Ameristar looks like it is still under construction, not likely to be ready by Dec. 1 unless some contractors are going to work 24/7 on that bad boy.
Are we still in the “foreign countries pay the tariffs, not the consumer” portion of messaging from Washington or have we moved on from that? Gonna need some clarification.
Our Ponder the Thought man Guy Speckman on page 3 had a great tongue-in-cheek piece last week about matching up some political figures in UFC fights for Trump’s plan to have UFC fights at the White House next June.
I suggest a battle between Marjorie Taylor Greene and Trump. Think about it. You’ve likely seen the weight room workout videos MTG would post of herself getting after it. Pretty badass, gotta admit. MTG has the gym strength, Trump has old man on the golf course strength.
Who wins? It’s anybody’s guess but imagine the ratings that bout would pull. Even if it’s rigged.
Word is on the street that a business has its eyes on eventually opening in our former Landmark location at 252 Main Street in Downtown Platte City. You’ll recall we sold the historic 1869 building to Blake Barth, son of developer David Barth, in 2023.
The business with plans to open in what the public refers to as The Landmark Building is Lottie and Lou, which is described online as a “a Kansas City-based boutique founded by two sisters.” You can see some of their inventory at lottieandloukc.com.
(Find Foley approaching the I-29 and HH interchange with caution. Email ivan@plattecountylandmark.com)
