So, is it political season? It sure is. It’s a big reason why you see so many letters to the editor in this edition, including several on this page with a couple spilled onto the bottom left of page 3. Oh, and one more arrived just past deadline and we couldn’t fit it in the print edition so it’s on our website at plattecountylandmark.com/opinion/.
Happy reading.
With all the talk of diarrhea-inducing lettuce, it’s the first time in a long time I do not envy the dietary discipline of frequent salad eaters.
You folks go ahead, have at it. I’m throwing another steak on the grill.
My favorite tweet of the week was this one by a guy named Greg with an easy to remember handle of @greg16676935420:
“How do I know if I have regular Taco Bell diarrhea or parasite Taco Bell diarrhea?”
I do not know Greg but he raises a legit medical question. There are doctors who read this column. Feel free to chime in. Let’s help Greg cure his Taco Bell enema. It takes a village.
There’s so much insider trading going on in the White House that Martha Stewart is jealous as hell. Martha was cooking up insider trading before insider trading was cool. Back in the days when people actually went to jail for that kind of thing. Truly a woman ahead of her time.
Most first responder and medical facility teams are saying they may have “over-prepared” for the impact of the World Cup. I don’t know about over-preparing, but there was some “over worrying,” if you will.
Law enforcement agencies did a great job, but it appears all the concern about needing another detention facility was overblown. Kansas City rushed to build a $25 million temporary modular jail heavily tied to the FIFA World Cup, but construction delays meant it missed the tournament entirely. While city leaders originally pitched and expedited the 100-bed facility at 7740 E. Front Street to handle potential public safety demands during the World Cup, it remained closed while the event came and went.
Meanwhile, the FBI this week tells me that only 19 people were arrested on various state and federal charges during Kansas City’s World Cup “surge.” Importantly, nine children were located and nine individuals were provided with victim services. In total, more than 15 law enforcement agencies at the local, state and federal level worked on the surge, which included operations to identify individuals looking to solicit for commercial sex work or looking to commit sexual acts with children.
We always hear the term “human trafficking” but don’t often get a clear definition of it. The FBI defines human trafficking as “the exploitation of a person for labor, services, or commercial sex acts through force, fraud or coercion.”
My buddy Speck took advantage of the World Cup to show off his sports wagering prowess, deep diving into the coffers of the bookmakers. Never has a man who knows so little about soccer done so well betting soccer. It’s the equivalent of a neighborhood toddler winning your March Madness pool.
It has been like Christmas in July for Speck, who with his recent winnings has reached oligarch status. Hopefully we can keep him interested in his almost paid columnist role at The Landmark.
Are tariffs involved when you bet on sports teams from another country? Asking for a friend. Guess it doesn’t matter, we all know tariffs are paid by the foreign countries and not consumers.
After about 20 years away from our newsroom, she’s back.
Stacy Wiedmaier–who worked with us as a Landmark reporter from May of 2006 to February of 2008 while she was attending Park University–is back on our staff. You’ll be seeing her byline and running into her around the county.
“The Landmark was my first REAL news reporting job. I don’t count being editor of the campus paper,” said Stacy, a St. Joseph native.
After graduating from Park, Stacy moved to California to work as a reporter for The Desert Sun, a daily Gannett-owned paper in Palm Springs. She and her husband recently moved back here to God’s country.
The thing I most remember Stacy covering with excellence for us back in the day was the formation of the Southern Platte County Ambulance District. In the early days after the voter-approved district was established, board meetings for that tax-supported entity got more than a little contentious, and Stacy was there for blow-by-blow coverage. A good time was had by all, including Landmark readers, who felt like they had ringside seats thanks to Stacy’s reports.
I asked her to recall some of the other highlights from her first stint at your favorite newspaper. One of my favorite former mayors of Parkville, a self-proclaimed journalist, gets a mention.
“Kathy Dusenbery was the Parkville mayor and City Hall was located next to the Park University soccer field. Bill Grigsby, the Prince of Parkville, hosted every event in town,” she recalls. “Nancy Jack was at every Parkville Board of Aldermen meeting sitting next to me at the press table while she was reporting for the now-defunct Parkville Luminary. Nancy often accused me of ‘playing footsie’ at the press table with Andy Hyland, a reporter for the Star. Jason Grill was an up-and-coming state rep for District 32,” Stacy remembers.
RIP to Nancy Jack. RIP to the Parkville Luminary. RIP to Jason Grill’s political career.
(Find Foley texting Speck, the Missouri Messi, to learn the finer points of soccer wagering)
