Welcome to the Lowdown! I am so glad you’re here!
Happy Sunday, Lee’s Summit! ☀️
You know how sometimes you hear a piece of news and you think, “Of course that happened here, and only here”?
That’s exactly how I felt when I heard that Chiefs All-Pro center Creed Humphrey proposed to his girlfriend Ana Demmer last week. And the spot he picked? Libations & Company. Right here in Lee’s Summit.
Demmer posted about it on Instagram, teammates flooded the comments with love, and I’m not going to pretend I’m a celebrity engagement reporter. But I AM going to point out that one of the biggest names in the NFL picked a Lee’s Summit cocktail bar for one of the biggest moments of his life. That’s our town doing what it does best: showing up small, feeling personal, and being exactly the kind of place people want to build their memories around.
If you’ve been to Libations, you already know the vibe. If you haven’t, you now have a great excuse. Let’s get into it. 👇
🌍 KC Is Hosting the World Cup. Lee’s Summit Is Helping.
Lee’s Summit has approved a mutual aid agreement to loan our police officers to Kansas City during World Cup matches, helping KCPD handle security across the summer. A few things to know: the agreement runs through the end of July, KCPD runs the show, and Lee’s Summit gets reimbursed directly by KC2026, the local organizing body. Mayor Beto Lopez says the impact on local coverage will be minimal… think a couple of specialty teams, a couple of days.
I read this and pictured one of our officers standing at an Arrowhead gate, welcoming fans from all over the world, knowing they came from the same town I do. That thought made me weirdly emotional. If you see an LSPD officer in KC this summer, you know why. We’re showing up for our city.
Your KC calendar to watch this week:
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Netherlands vs. Tunisia: Thursday, June 25 at 6:00 PM CT
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Austria vs. Algeria: Saturday, June 27 at 9:00 PM CT
The world is literally in our backyard.
⚽ World Cup Watch: Foreigners Are Discovering KC, and It’s Delightful
The internet is doing its thing with the World Cup crowds, and some of these posts are pure gold. My favorite of the week? A guy from Munich trying brisket at Joe’s KC for the first time, then posting something along the lines of “I think I finally understand America.” I read that and laughed out loud at my kitchen counter.
Tourists discovering Kansas City barbecue. Visitors losing it over our fountains. International fans trying to figure out what “brisket” means and coming out the other side as converts.
But here’s what I really want to know: what do YOU think a World Cup visitor would find the most uniquely us? The thing that makes you say, “If they don’t try this, they haven’t really been here.”
Hit reply and tell me. I’ll round up the best answers in a future issue. 👇
⏪ The LS Loop
Meetings that happened while you were living your life last week.
🏛️ City Council | Watch the full meeting recap
The headliner: a packed room and a tied vote over a proposed 172-unit senior living community at NE Lakewood Way and Bowlin Road. Neighbors showed up with concerns about traffic, drainage, and… in one of the more memorable public comment moments in recent memory… deer eating their newly planted pine trees. The developer tried a last-minute compromise, trimming their permit request from 40 to 30 years. It wasn’t enough. The council tied. The project is dead.
Public comments were equally charged. Residents demanded answers about the Downtown Days chaos, and Police Chief Forbes was direct: investigators are reviewing hours of video evidence and actively building criminal cases. Anyone who thinks they got away with it should think again.
A few more items worth knowing: “Creative Services” is getting a long-overdue rebrand into the Department of Communications and Public Information… a $6.99 million emergency bid passed to repair the Douglas Street intersection before winter… early talks about a potential youth curfew are underway… and the council closed with a reminder to wear cowboy boots or soccer cleats to Friday’s Futbol Fridays watch party. Both are appropriate. Neither is wrong.
📚 LSR-7 School Board
The June 18 Board of Education meeting was a heavy one, and if you pay property taxes in Lee’s Summit, this one is worth knowing about.
Facing a projected revenue decrease and a $9.7 million drop in the general fund balance, the Board approved a preliminary 2026-2027 budget and passed a controversial, non-binding resolution to officially rescind the 2023 property tax rollback. This was not yet a tax increase, but a procedural maneuver utilized so the Board retains the legal option to raise taxes by reversing the 65-cent rollback during the September tax rate hearing. A move that could generate approximately $20 million.
But the moment that’s created a lot of buzz happened during public comments. Two residents, Emely Seaton and Kristin Grubbs, were called to the podium to speak. Their comments were entirely omitted from the district’s official YouTube broadcast and transcript, abruptly cutting off the voices of taxpayers who were reportedly there to oppose the potential tax hikes.
That’s not a small thing. Taxpayers showed up, were given the floor, and then disappeared from the record. This one deserves follow-up, and we’ll be watching.
🎵 Live & Local
Where the music is this week.
Tuesday, June 23
Lee’s Summit Jazz Orchestra — The 1909 Club | 6–9 PM. Your hometown big band doing what they do. A Tuesday night well spent.
Thursday, June 25
Addy Gardner Music — The Fillmore Café | 5:30–8:30 PM. A great way to ease into the weekend a couple of days early.
Soul Fundamentals — The 1909 Club | 7–10 PM. Funk, R&B, and soul music that earns its name every single time.
Micah Burdick — Iron Horse Bar & Grill | 7:30–10:30 PM. Singer, songwriter, and guitar player with a loyal following for good reason.
Jam / Open Mic — Jack Ray Post 5789, VFW | 7 PM. A classic Thursday night tradition at the VFW.
Friday, June 26
Alex Sons — Howard Station Park | 6:30–8 PM | Free. Acoustic R&B in the park… part of the Music in the Park summer series. Bring a lawn chair.
Brody Buster & The Redemption — The 1909 Club | 7–10 PM. Blues, soul, and the kind of guitar playing that makes you stop mid-conversation. Don’t miss this one.
Noah Austin — Konrad’s Kitchen and Tap House | 8–11 PM. A Konrad’s Friday night staple.
Zach Lepper & Mills Music — Llywelyn’s Pub LS | 8 PM. Acoustic covers in the Strother District.
The Nobodies — Stuey McBrew’s | 8 PM. Blues, funk, jazz, R&B, rock… all natural, no filler.
Saturday, June 27
The MGDs — The 1909 Club | 7–10 PM. A passionate blend of funk and blues, every fourth Saturday. Reservations recommended — contact Libations & Company.
Freon Cool — Jack Ray Post 5789, VFW | 7 PM. Acoustic rock covers done with real craft. KC-based, longtime local favorites.
Evening Star Road — The Goat Brewing Co. | 7–10 PM | Free. Acoustic duo covering everything from country to folk to rock. Steve on guitar, Tim on fiddle… warm and easy and worth your Saturday night.
Last Night’s Band — Iron Horse Bar & Grill | 8–11 PM. Rock band with a full sound and a packed set list.
Mockingbird — Konrad’s Kitchen and Tap House | 8–11 PM. Cover band bringing a solid Saturday night to Main Street.
Dogzilla — Llywelyn’s Pub LS | 8 PM–midnight. High energy. Their debut at Llywelyn’s. If you’ve seen them before, you know this one’s worth staying out for.
The Cowardly Lions — Martin City | Station 7 Tavern | 7–10 PM. Classic rock energy and a great room to hear it in.
Grand Villanova — Stuey McBrew’s | 8 PM. KC’s premiere power trio bringing the heat on Main Street.
📅 The Weekly Lineup
Sunday, June 21
International Yoga Day — Legacy Park Amphitheater | 6–7 PM | $12 pre-reg, $15 at gate. All levels welcome. Bring your mat, your water, and your people.
Tuesday, June 23
Bricks with Dad at Chick-fil-A Summit Fair — 690 NW Blue Pkwy | 5:30–7:30 PM | Free. Build a LEGO cow with the kids while supplies last.
Karaoke — The Pink Elephant | Tuesday night recurring. Good singers welcome. Bad singers encouraged.
Music Bingo — Brick’s | 7 PM.
Live Trivia — Konrad’s Kitchen and Tap House | 7–9 PM.
Wednesday, June 24
Upcycle Workshop | Discovery Series — Green Street | 5–8 PM. Bring an old garment and learn how to crop, distress, and rework it into something new… hosted in partnership with Kansas City Fashion Week. No experience needed.
Radius Sessions: Bring Your Own Vinyl Night — Diametric Brewing Co., 949 NE Columbus St | 6–9 PM. Monthly vinyl night with DJ C-Hop. Dig through the crates or bring records that fit the night’s vibe and get them spun.
Pub Trivia — Llywelyn’s | 7 PM.
Thursday, June 25
Food Truck Thursday with Culinerdy — The Goat, 817 NE Rice Rd | 4–8 PM. Smash burgers, chicken sandwiches, loaded fries. Grab dinner, grab a beer inside.
Friday, June 26 — Big Night Downtown
Fourth Fridays Art Walk presented by Budget Blinds — Downtown Lee’s Summit | 5–8 PM | Free. Artist pop-ups, live music in and around shops and restaurants, free kids’ activities, and public art displays. The whole district comes alive.
Futbol Fridays Week 3: Goals, Galleries, and Great Vibes — 209 SE Green St | 6–10 PM | Free. Week 3 of the summer series lands on Art Walk night on purpose… art meets soccer, downtown LS at its best. Live music, kids’ games, food trucks, and big-screen watch parties all night.
World Rhythms Zumba Party — Legacy Park Amphitheater | 6–7 PM | $12 pre-reg, $15 at gate. An outdoor Zumba party mixing salsa, merengue, reggaeton, bachata, cumbia, and more. Part of the Legacy Park summer series.
Nerf Night — Harris Park Community Center | 6:30–9 PM | Ages 8+. 4v4 team-based Nerf battles, all gear provided. Every player gets at least 6 matches. Close-toed shoes required.
Saturday, June 27
2026 Freedom Festival — Joel Dean Hitt Park, Greenwood | 4 PM, fireworks ~9:30–9:45 PM | Free. Your early Fourth of July fix… food trucks, vendors, and fireworks over the park. Worth the short drive.
Celebrate! America at 250 — The Pavilion at John Knox Village | 7 PM. The Lee’s Summit Symphony performs a full patriotic concert honoring America’s 250th birthday… Sousa, “God Bless America,” military color guard, and more. Tickets at lssymphony.org.
🤔 Lee’s Summit Trivia
Q: With the World Cup bringing soccer fever to our backyard this summer, how many soccer fields does Lee’s Summit’s Legacy Park have?
A: 12! Legacy Park’s 692 acres are home to 12 soccer fields… plus 16 baseball fields, 8 softball fields, and 3 football fields. Not bad for a city that started as a train stop. While the world’s best players battle it out 20 miles away at Arrowhead, your neighborhood park has been quietly hosting its own version of the beautiful game for years.
🐾 Pet of the Week: Meet Roze
We’re kicking off something new with this issue… the LS Lowdown Pet of the Week.
First up: meet Roze. One of my dogs. The official mascot of this whole operation, whether she knows it or not.
Roze may be spotted escaping and wandering the streets of Lee’s Summit, chasing butterflies, and frolicking around while her mom runs down the street after her. She is absolutely convinced that the entire neighborhood is her personal park. She is not wrong.
She’s the reason I know every dog park within a 15-minute drive, the reason I do tick inspections after every walk, and the reason approximately 80% of my wardrobe has dog hair on it at any given moment. She’s also the reason I’m starting this section… because every time I post a picture of her, someone replies with a picture of theirs.
So here’s the deal: reply to this email with a photo of your pet and a fun fact about them, and you might just see them featured in a future issue. We are building the roster.
One Last Thing
Friday night this week might be the most Lee’s Summit night of the entire summer. Fourth Fridays Art Walk is happening at the same time as Futbol Fridays Week 3… which means you can wander through local galleries, grab food from a truck, watch international soccer on a big screen, and hear live music, all within about a three-block radius of downtown. For free.
I started this newsletter because I didn’t want people to miss the good stuff happening right outside their door. This Friday is exactly what I had in mind. Get out there.
And to all the dads in Lee’s Summit… Happy Father’s Day! I hope today involves good food, zero obligations, and someone else mowing the yard.
Hit reply and tell me what you’re looking forward to most this week. I genuinely want to know.
Thanks for being part of the Lowdown crew!
– Jen
Editor, Lee’s Summit Lowdown
P.S. Roze has been informed that she is now internet-famous. She responded by taking a nap. Some of us handle celebrity better than others. Have a wonderful week, LS! 🐾
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