On Friday night we had tickets to see comedian Ron White at Ameristar Casino. Great show. Hilarious. It has been a long time since I’ve laughed that consistently during a comedy set. Outstanding stuff. If you were there send me your thoughts and we’ll compare notes.
Ron White might best be known for formerly being part of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour group with fellow comedians Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy. White generally tours as a solo act these days.
Remember comedian Donnie Baker (his real name was Ron Sexton)? Donnie was one of my favorite funny people. He died unexpectedly in 2023. You may recall The Landmark did an interview with him when he was in town to perform at the comedy club at Zona Rosa several years ago.
Anyway, Donnie (Ron) was not a fan of Ron White. I don’t mean he was not a fan of Ron White’s comedy, I mean he was not a fan of Ron White the person. There were bad feelings there, that much I know. What I don’t know, and what Donnie wouldn’t specifically say, was exactly why Ron White was so far down his list of favorite humans.
It appears our Ponder the Thought columnist, Guy Speckman, and I both had notes to mention the proposed development near I-435 and Hwy. 152 in the Northland this week. Speck and I never exchange column thoughts prior to publication, we’re too busy sending smartass text messages to one another. So you’ll just have to deal with those rare occasions when our topics match up. Besides, even though the topic might be the same, the viewpoint will be given from a different angle, which isn’t a surprise based on the unique lens with which Speck views many things, if you know what I’m sayin’.
Anyway, a currently unused 400-acre section of land owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is planned to become what they describe as “a vibrant hub for retail, entertainment and housing in the heart of the Northland.” Some folks have even dubbed it the future “Plaza of the North” or “Plaza of the Northland.”
Not to be a doubting Thomas, but wasn’t Zona Rosa at one time dubbed the future “Plaza of the Northland?” It hasn’t really worked out that way.
The early plans near I-435 and Hwy. 152 (in Clay County) call for a $2.3 billion development project to be called Pioneer Crossing. The plan is for more than 1,000 residences and more than one million square feet of retail space, northeast of Gladstone and west of Liberty.
A Utah-based development company owned by the Church of Jesus Chris of Latter-day Saints, known as Land Reserve Inc., is the developer behind the project.
The goal is for high-end shopping, restaurants and entertainment. Expect a mix of residential units, retail and restaurant space, a hotel, conference facilities, office buildings, entertainment venues and sports facilities. Kevin O’Neill, a KC city councilman, told the Kansas City Star that he hopes the retail space will even attract a popular grocery store like Trader Joe’s. “We finally have an opportunity in the Northland to land some of the biggest projects and the biggest retailers. I think retail establishments are looking at us differently. We’re getting interest from companies that we never used to,” O’Neill told the Star.
This won’t happen overnight, or anytime soon, actually. The church has owned the land since the 1980s but the area has rough terrain. A lack of existing infrastructure on site has kept the area from developing. Infrastructure improvements such as water and sewer mains will need to be completed before construction ever begins. Land Reserve has indicated it is currently seeking public financing options to assist in paying for the needed infrastructure upgrades, so that will be fun to monitor. Stay tuned.
Since 1982, The Landmark has been proud to give a cash prize award to a high school senior at Platte County High School. We call it The Landmark English Award, and it was established as a vehicle for promoting an interest in the English language. When it began 44 years ago, the prize was $100, then we went to $250, and now for the past couple of years–thanks to a couple of readers who jumped in and wanted to make a contribution to the cause–the award is up to $750. Our contributors both have indicated they wish to remain anonymous.
We’ll be announcing this year’s winner soon. The winner, by the way, is chosen each year by a faculty panel at the high school, not by the newspaper.
Gas prices. Let’s talk about them. Again. Why? Well, because it affects everything and everyone.
Price of a gallon of gas at the QuikTrip in Platte City was $3.44 when I drove home from work Monday evening. Twelve hours later it had jumped by 35 cents to $3.79. Yikes. By now you may have noticed that outlets don’t hesitate to raise gas prices by 35 cents at a time but they never lower the price by 35 cents at a time.
On Monday, Gas Buddy had reported the average price of a gallon of gas in KC was $3.53.
Do you know what the average price of gas was in KC a year ago? It was $2.80, so after Monday’s jump it’s up almost exactly a buck per gallon from where it was a year ago at this time.
Hope you’re enjoying our newest every week advertisers in Menards and Dollar General. Take advantage of those sales you’re finding each week inside those flyers.
Trust me when I say The Landmark has the most engaged media audience you’ll ever find. Latest proof? The folks at Facebook tell us the Platte County Landmark Facebook page had 1.3 million views in the 28 day period covering March 28 to April 24.
Your engagement, comments, reactions and shares helped us set a personal record for monthly income from Meta. We thank you for your amazing level of interest in Landmark content.
(Find Foley watching old Donnie Baker videos while wondering why Donnie despised Ron White)
