Summer Trips: Kansas City beckons
Maumelle Planning Commission to meet tonight; Back to School Bash is Friday; Forecast is for hot and hotter plus headlines and sports
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MEETINGS: The Maumelle Planning Commission will meet tonight and for more on that, keep scrolling. The North Little Rock City Council will meet next Monday night at City Hall. That meeting will be livestreamed on the city’s YouTube page and the public is also invited.
EVENTS: The Little Rock Zoo will be closed starting Sunday, through Saturday, Aug. 1 due to the forecast of extreme heat. The Zoo hopes to reopen on Sunday, Aug. 2. For a look at the forecast, keep scrolling.
COOL OFF: The Travs are back in town this week and there’s good news for those looking to keep cool as the Splash Pad at Dickey-Stephens Park will be free every home game in July thanks to a sponsorship by First Security Bank.
ICYMI: Norris sets reelection bid
Running for office? Let us know by replying to this email or sending a note to jeremyarkansasnews@gmail.com.
Eye on the Sky
Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 90 and a low around 72.
Friday: A 20 percent chance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms, with a high near 92. Heat index values as high as 102. The low will be around 76.
Saturday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 95 and a low around 78.
Sunday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 100 and a low around 79.
Monday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 101, with a low around 79.
Tuesday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 102 and a low around 79.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 101 and a low around 79.
For those paying attention to the red, that’s four days at 100 or above.
PUBLIC NOTICE
A public meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 23 before the start of this month’s Maumelle Planning Commission meeting. The hearing will be to discuss a preliminary development plan for lot 700A, Little Caesars at Gateway Plaza. This property is located at the east end of Maumelle Boulevard and south of Orleans Drive, Maumelle. The public is invited to attend.. For more information, call City Clerk Tina Timmons at 501-851-2500. This is the second public meeting as one was held last week at City Hall.
Maumelle Planning Commission to meet tonight
The Maumelle Planning Commission will have its regular monthly meeting tonight at City Hall.
The meeting is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. and is open to the public. The meeting will also be livestreamed on the city’s YouTube page.
The agenda, click here, is a short one with just one item of business.
The agenda item relates to the proposed Little Caesars that has been proposed for the Gateway Plaza and is part of the Country Club of Arkansas Phase 15 development.
The item will cover the preliminary development plan, landscape plan and the commercial building design.
A rendering of the design was included in the Planning Commission packet and can be seen below.
Back to School Bash is Friday
The City of Maumelle invites Maumelle area students, teachers, and families to kick off the new school year at the Back to School Bash on Friday, July 24, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Lake Willastein Park.
Details
What: Back to School Bash
When: Friday, 5:30–8 p.m.
Where: Lake Willastein Park
Cost: Free
This free community event is designed to help families prepare for the upcoming school year while enjoying an evening of fun and community spirit.
Students can receive a free backpack and school supplies while supplies last(student must be present). Families are encouraged to bring their school supply lists to help volunteers match students with the items they need. Teachers, please bring your school ID’s and shop our free teacher section.
In addition to school supplies, the event will feature:
Free activities for kids(horse rides, rock wall, water inflatables, face painting, foam pit & more)
Free haircuts thanks to local barbers and hair stylists.
Local nonprofits and community organizations
Resources for students, teachers, and families
Food trucks offering a variety of dinner and snack options
The Back to School Bash is made possible through the generous partnership of the Maumelle Area Chamber of Commerce, the City of Maumelle, local churches, nonprofits, businesses, and community volunteers who are committed to supporting Maumelle students and educators.
“This event is about bringing our community together and helping every student begin the school year with confidence,” said Mayor Caleb Norris. “We’re grateful to the organizations and volunteers who make this event possible and invite everyone to come out for a fun evening at the park.”
The City encourages Maumelle area families to attend, connect with local resources, and celebrate the beginning of another successful school year.
Summer Trips: Kansas City beckons
The challenge was simple: Drive to Kansas City. Eat my bodyweight in barbecue.
OK, that wasn’t my wife’s challenge, as she just wanted to get out of town and enjoy some good food.
The first part was successful, as indeed, we drove to Kansas City, along with some other points of interest, and BBQ – specifically brisket and burnt ends – was consumed, just not in sufficient quantities to match the scale.
Alas, there’s always next time, as Kansas City is a reasonable drive and the best medium-sized city in the U.S.
There, I said it. No “perhaps.” No qualifiers.
No city of comparable size in America has such a compelling range of things to do. Plus, while we were there, the World Cup was going on, and the energy, the enthusiasm, of the international visitors just couldn’t be beat.
Except when thunderstorms rolled in. Then the energy went down a notch.
Getting there
Our drive from here was a little bit different, since we overnighted in Eureka Springs, then took a meandering, through-the-backwoods route that eventually got us into the vicinity of Joplin before heading north.
Why? Why not? Plus, we got to cross the one-lane Little Golden Gate Bridge, pictured below, over the White River near Beaver on the Arkansas side of the state line
The drive was pretty enough, and once in Missouri, we also saw the Roaring River State Park, one of the Midwest’s top destinations for fly fishing and covered up with people despite our midweek visit.
We were on freeway from Joplin onward, and a note about that stretch of Interstate: Have you ever driven from Memphis to Nashville?
You leave Memphis and things are going smoothly enough as you get to Jackson, a city full of illicit charms, and you decide that Nashville is not that much farther. Then two brain-dead hours later, you hit the outskirts of Nashville, but you’re still at least 30 minutes away from anything you want to see or do or eat.
In this scenario, Joplin is Jackson, and getting from there to Kansas City will challenge your soul. But with no direct flights from Little Rock, if you want to go, you’re going to have to drive.
Once you reach KC, it is remarkably easy to get around, as whomever laid out the city’s grid 150 years ago knew what they were doing.
BBQ stop 1: Jack Stack at Country Club Plaza, dinner
On a 1 to 5 scale
Meat – 3.5/5
Sides - 4/5
Sauce - N/A as we didn’t get any, even after asking
Jack Stack is one of the fancier entries in the Kansas City BBQ world. A more upscale experience with table service and dim lighting – and given its pricey neighborhood location, the tab reflected that – but the beer was cold and the food was good.
For a time, Jack Stack sides were sold at Sam’s Club. They haven’t been spotted there in a while, though. Anyway, the cheesy corn is a winner.
Around the original Jack Stack location in the Plaza, there’s some really good shopping to be had and a Cheesecake Factory two doors down, which made for an excellent nightcap back at the hotel.
As for the hotel, the Hampton Inn & Suites, also at Country Club Plaza, was full of energetic World Cup fans from around the globe. As for breakfast, it was fine, but the international mind was not prepared for the hotel breakfast spread. The looks and confusion were, like the food, free.
BBQ stop 2: Arthur Bryant’s, lunch
Meat – 2.5/5
Sides - 3/5 (Note: the fries are really good here)
Sauce - 4/5
Arthur Bryant’s is the OG of Kansas City BBQ and about the furthest you can get from upscale.
You stand in a long line that forms in the dining area, then order cafeteria-style as they make your tray right in front of you before paying. At least that’s what’s supposed to happen.
We had ordered burnt ends, because Arthur Bryant’s literally invented them, and more were coming out of the smoker but weren’t quite ready. So we paid and were told that our order would be brought out to us.
Except that didn’t happen, prompting another visit to the cash register. Then our eat-in order was packaged to go and handed to an appreciative utility worker who was chased down by the clerk and handed another sack, while the first sack was handed to me.
As for the food, I choose to remember previous trips to Arthur Bryant’s and the magnificence of the burnt ends, since what we got wasn’t those burnt ends but what looked and tasted like ordinary chopped brisket. But the fries were hot and delicious, and the sauce was exceedingly good. Not the best of the trip, but a close second.
The manager noted our troubles and made it right by giving us a $25 gift card for a later visit and also a really cool “BBQ is Messy” T-shirt that was very obviously a play on World Cup star Lionel Messi’s name and made for a nice keepsake.
As for the surroundings, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is in the neighborhood and so freaking cool. I could have spent all day there.
BBQ stop 3: Q39, Lawrence, Kansas, dinner
Meat - 4/5
Sides - 3/5
Sauce - 3/5
Yes, this story is about going to Kansas City and yes, we did leave to visit Lawrence and spent the night there as well, because why the hell not?
Tour de Kansas!
Q39 has several locations in the Kansas City area, and the Lawrence spot is the newest in the burgeoning chain.
It had a little bit more upscale vibe, and we needed reservations, because Lawrence was hopping. Maybe because the city was hosting the Algerian national team. Or it might have been because of a local festival, or perhaps the townies there just come out to play when the KU students are gone for the summer.
As for the food, it was fine if not especially memorable. Everything tasted right, although the very firm beans needed about 20 more minutes in the oven or Crockpot or whatever.
The real highlight was Lawrence, a place we hadn’t been but enjoyed.
We tooled around the University of Kansas campus adjacent to our hotel and walked through the Booth Family Hall of Athletics attached to Phog Allen Fieldhouse. A fieldhouse door was ajar, so we just wandered around the stands and also stole all their chalk.
Also of note, Lawrence had gone all in in support of Algeria. That country’s flag flew from people’s homes and their cars as they drove around town. I even tried to find an Algeria T-shirt, but everything was sold out.
Rock. Chalk. Algeria.
BBQ stop 4: Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que, Kansas City, Kansas, lunch
Meat - 5/5
Sides - 4/5
Sauce - 5/5
We saved the best for last. Joe’s is an unassuming place tucked into a working gas station with pumps out front and antifreeze for sale inside. They also have draft beer for sale next to the antifreeze, so there’s that.
There’s also a line. A really long line. Like drop wifey off to stand in the line, spend 15 minutes looking for a place to park and when you make it back, she’s moved up three spaces.
Is the food worth the wait?
[Redacted] yeah. Or just yeah.
It took about an hour to get inside on a Saturday, then another few minutes to snake our way to the cash register to order and pay. Then, like the best Subway in the world, they assemble your order while you watch.
For consistency’s sake, plus our own preferences, we ordered burnt ends and brisket at every stop. Sometimes they came accompanied by ribs, pulled pork, or turkey. We tried to stick to the same sides as well, even though that wasn’t always possible.
The burnt ends at Joe’s are perfect. The brisket is perfect. Fries, perfect. The other sides weren’t quite on that level but pretty close. The sauce was also perfect.
If you engineered, for me, the perfect place for BBQ, it would be Joe’s. Swine is fine, but beef is where it is at. At least for me.
The customer service at Joe’s was also a 5/5 and easily the tops in that category, as well.
Some tips, if you go.
Order the meat in a quart to-go container, and get the sides on the tray. You’re going to leave with leftovers anyway, and it makes it much easier to handle.
That sauce can be had in fairly large, single-serving cups, and they’ll give you a handful if you ask. They also sell bottles at the cash register upfront, just don’t confuse it with the antifreeze and you’ll be fine. You’ll also be a proud owner of a gallon of the best BBQ sauce on the planet. Smaller bottles also available.
You can park at Joe’s Next Door, across the street from the gas station and owned by the same people who have the BBQ joint.
They sell much of the same food, with some limitations, but also some additions like tacos and such. The Next Door spot has a pretty cool place to play games and sit while you eat plus plenty of TVs for the sports viewing. If we make it back in the fall, it will be a stop.
Other things to do
Do you like greeting cards? Do you like Hallmark, specifically? Then you may already know Hallmark is headquartered in Kansas City at the eponymous Crown Center.
The sprawling complex houses the Hallmark visitors center with a nifty free tour, plus a gift shop and a very well done – and short – movie documenting the history behind Hallmark and its founding.
Do you like art? Do you like museums? Then the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City is another good stop.
While we were there, they had a Timeless Mucha exhibition, which if you’re familiar with the style, you might associate with the Grateful Dead and the groovy album covers of other bands from the 1960s and 70s. You’d then be surprised to learn it was the work of a Czech artist, Alphonse Mucha, some 50 years earlier. Art!
The museum is free, but they charge for parking as well as any special exhibitions. But you could buy a membership, which makes the parking free, and the exhibits free with a guest, and it was only $10 more.
Plus you get a really cool Shuttlecock member pin, and I won’t explain the significance of the shuttlecock, but the picture below should suffice.
Do you like museums, like just in general? Well, then Kansas City is for you, with the previously mentioned places and also, reportedly, a really cool museum on World War I.
As the grandson of a WWI veteran, Ernest, who is pictured below, I really wanted to go. But the museum lawn was where the World Cup FIFA Fan Zone was set up, and that made it sort of impossible.
The Federal Reserve is also in KC, and they have a museum on money, and maybe some of Jay Powell’s guitars*, but the Fed building is next to the WWI Museum and also that Fan Zone, so, again, sort of impossible.
But maybe in the fall.
*If you get this joke, then you’re either Powell, or another Fed governor and let’s chat. Call me as I love getting the 111-111-1111 numbers on my caller ID.
Sports
Upcoming Travs games
The Splash Pad at Dickey-Stephens Park will be free every home game in July thanks to a sponsorship by First Security Bank.
Six-game homestand against the Tulsa Drillers
Today, 6:35 p.m.
Otey Bobblehead Giveaway: Presented By Dr Pepper | First 1,000 Fans (one item per person)
Ticket Offer: $3 Thursday: Enjoy an amazing value for the whole family and the best patio in Central Arkansas! Get $3 General Admission or Beer Garden tickets at a WinChoice Box Office Window. Plus, feed the whole crew for less with select concession items for $3 each!
Friday, 7:05 p.m.
Christmas in July: Celebrate the holidays a few months early! Enjoy festive music and activities all game long.
Post-Game Drone Show: Join us as we light up the sky over CHI St. Vincent Field at DSP after the game! | Presented By CHI St. Vincent
Saturday, 6:05 p.m.
Christmas in July: Celebrate the holidays a few months early! Enjoy festive music and activities all game long.
Post-Game Drone Show: Join us as we light up the sky over CHI St. Vincent Field at DSP after the game! | Presented By CHI St. Vincent
Singles Night: Let the Travs help turn a single into a double! Join us at the ballpark for a pre-game “Singles Mingle” event. More info coming soon!
Sunday, 1:35 p.m.
Sizzle Sunday: It’s the 100 Degree Guarantee! When you buy a ticket to this game, you’ll get a free ticket to another Travs game if the official temperature is over 100 degrees Fahrenheit at first pitch. Must be present to receive your free ticket.
Ticket Offer: Operation: Military Appreciation: Service Members get $3 off tickets by presenting a Military ID (only available at a WinChoice Box Office Window) | Presented By Mid-South Ford Dealers
Family Sunday Deal:: Get $3 General Admission tickets by presenting a physical or digital church bulletin (only available at a WinChoice Box Office Window)
Kids Run the Bases: Kids 13 and under are invited to run the same basepaths the Travs run after the game! | Presented By First Community Bank
Baseball BINGO: Presented By Arkansas Brighter Future 529.
At Midland, July 28 through Aug. 2.
Health
Pandemic deaths unknown
The state Department of Health didn’t update the state’s dashboard this week, again, and deaths still total 532 for the past year. There’s no tab created for 2025 either and the virus has now killed 14,162 Arkansans since the pandemic began then. That would mean the pandemic death toll has now passed Marion’s 13,635 people, the state’s 29th largest city.
Covid toolkit
There’s now a one-stop shop to learn about vaccination sites and other Covid related information. Click here to learn more.
If you don’t want to get sick and die, there’s some things you can do:
Get vaccinated
Get boosted
Wear a mask
Avoid crowds