Lee's Summit Lowdown

Welcome to the Lowdown! I am so glad you’re here!

Hope your Fourth of July involved something off a grill, at least one good firework, and zero run-ins with mountain lions – because apparently that’s a thing we need to say now (more on that below).

This week wraps up on a bittersweet note: Futbol Fridays closes out its five-week run this Friday with a Route 66 theme, celebrating 100 years of America’s most iconic highway. And if you’ve got little ones, mark your calendar for Tuesday – our neighbors at Chick-fil-A Summit Fair are hosting a Cow Costume Crafting Party to get everyone ready for Cow Appreciation Day on the 14th.

Farmers market, a ladybug birthday bash, and a Freedom Fest all land this Saturday too. Let’s get into it. 👇

🚙⚽ Futbol Fridays Waves Goodbye – Week 5: Kickin’ It on Route 66

Futbol Fridays wraps its five-week run this Friday, July 10, 6–10 PM on Green Street. Free to attend.

This finale is themed around the 100th anniversary of Route 66, so expect vintage flair mixed in with the usual setup: live music, a big-screen World Cup watch party, food trucks, and kids’ games. Whether you caught all five weeks or you’re just now discovering Green Street on a Friday night, this is the one to close it out.

Five weeks ago this series showed up as Lee’s Summit’s answer to World Cup fever, and it’s turned into one of the better additions to the summer calendar.

🏅 LSR-7 Special Olympians Bring Home State Titles

Photos courtesy of LSR-7 Newsroom

Our LSR-7 Special Olympics athletes had themselves a meet. At the 2026 Missouri Special Olympics State Track and Field Meet, athletes from across the district earned 13 individual first-place finishes, multiple 4x100m relay wins, and a stack of additional medals, with all six LSR-7 schools bringing home hardware.

A few standouts: Zai McDaniel-Kinzler (BCMS) and Oren Thurber (LSW) each took first in three individual events, and Rhys Burke, Andres Chreiten, Julius Jones, and Owen Merritt weren’t far behind with two golds apiece.

That’s a state title haul from one end of the district to the other. Congratulations to every athlete, Unified partner, coach, volunteer, and family member who made this season happen – full results are linked above. This is exactly why I started this newsletter – so stories like this don’t get missed.

🐄 Get Ready to Moo: Cow Appreciation Day Is Coming

Our neighbors at Chick-fil-A Summit Fair reached out with a fun one: a Cow Costume Crafting Party this Tuesday, July 7, 6–7 PM. Come enjoy some Chick-fil-A and put together your own cow costume ahead of Cow Appreciation Day on July 14, when dressing like a cow gets you a free entree at both the Summit Fair and Oldham Village locations.

Mark your calendars for both. Your kids will thank you, and so will your wallet.

Also, if you’re at the Summit Fair location: look across the street. That new Costco has gone from a cleared field to an actual structure seemingly overnight. I had it in my head the whole time that it would land on the southwest corner of 50 and 291, and then one day I drove by and there it was, going up on the southeast corner instead. Those crews do not mess around!

🎉 A Few More Things Worth Knowing

🐾 First an alligator, now a mountain lion? A local resident shared a photo of what he says is a mountain lion near Longview Lake. The Missouri Department of Conservation hasn’t officially confirmed this particular sighting, though the state does have confirmed mountain lion reports in Jackson County and other parts of western Missouri over the years. Keep half an eye out on your evening walks. Reply and tell me what you think shows up next – I’m taking bets. 😜

❤️ Know CPR? Lee’s Summit’s Jim Riffe is glad someone did. Back in 2021, Jim Riffe’s heart stopped. Ventricular fibrillation, the dangerous kind most people don’t survive. His wife and daughter stepped in with CPR while waiting for paramedics, and he came through with no brain damage. “I guess to some extent you could say they saved my life,” Riffe said. He now has a defibrillator that’s shocked his heart back into rhythm more than once, and after a catheter ablation from Dr. Sanjaya Gupta at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute, he hasn’t needed a shock in over a year. Riffe has five grandchildren now. “Every day is a blessing,” he says. If you want to learn CPR yourself, the American Heart Association has free resources.

🍹 Need a happy hour plan? Lee’s Summit Tourism put together a roundup of six happy hour spots around town. Good one to bookmark for a slow weeknight.

⏪ The LS Loop

Meetings that happened while you were living your life last week.

🏛️ City Council
No city council meeting this week.

📚 LSR-7 School Board
No Board of Education meeting this week.

🎸 Live & Local

This week’s music lineup is genuinely stacked. Here’s where to be:

Thursday, July 9

• Thomas Pender | 5–8 PM | The Fillmore Café | Jazz and blues.

• Soul Fundamentals | 7–10 PM | The 1909 Club | Funk, R&B, and soul that earns its name.

• Nick Marshall | 7:30 PM | Iron Horse Bar & Grill | KC’s self-described “Vibe Generator” – solo loop artist and guitarist for The Cowardly Lions.

• Jam / Open Mic | 7–10 PM | Jack Ray Post 5789, VFW | A classic Thursday night tradition at the VFW.

Friday, July 10

• Haley, Matt, and Jon | 8–11 PM | Konrad’s Kitchen and Tap House

• The Jackie Myers Trio | 7–10 PM | The 1909 Club | Jazz, soul, and funk with powerhouse vocals and smooth grooves.

• Nick Marshall | 8 PM | Llywelyn’s Pub LS | Same Nick Marshall from Thursday, back for a solo set.

Saturday, July 11

• Freon Cool | 7–10 PM | The Goat Brewing Co | Classic rock, done right.

• Whiskey Business | 7–10 PM | VFW Post 5789 | Old and new country, classic rock, and blues.

• FreeLance Band | 8 PM–midnight | Konrad’s Kitchen and Tap House | Classic and newer rock with a little country mixed in.

• One-Two-Trio | 8–11 PM | The Pink Elephant | Acoustic cover band.

• Big Rick Soul Band | 8 PM | Iron Horse Bar & Grill | Motown, funk, soul, and R&B.

• Levee Town | 7–10 PM | The 1909 Club | Blues and Americana – a KC blues staple for decades, back for another round.

• The Cowardly Lions | 8 PM | Llywelyn’s Pub LS | Nick Marshall’s full band – classic rock energy to close out the weekend.

📅 THE WEEKLY LINEUP

Here’s what else is going on this week:

Sunday, July 5

• Llywelyn’s All Day Happy Hour | All day | Llywelyn’s Pub, Strother District

Monday, July 6

• Teen Hangout: Summer Social | 6:30 PM | East Lee’s Summit Community Room

• Third Street Social: Half Price Cheeseburger & Fries | All day | Third Street Social, Strother District

• Llywelyn’s Burger Night | All day | Llywelyn’s Pub, Strother District | 50% off classic burgers.

Tuesday, July 7

• Cow Costume Crafting Party | 6–7 PM | Chick-fil-A Summit Fair | Decorate your own cow costume ahead of Cow Appreciation Day (see above).

• Teens Create Art: Upcycled Art | 6:30 PM | Lee’s Summit Community Room 1 & 2

• Kids Games: D&D | 6:30 PM | Colbern Road Community Room 1 & 2

• Brick’s Music Bingo | 7 PM | Brick’s, Strother District

• The Pink Elephant Karaoke | 8 PM | The Pink Elephant

Wednesday, July 8

• Downtown Lee’s Summit Farmers Market | 8 AM–Noon | Green Street Market, 209 SE Green St

• Brick’s Karaoke | 8:30 PM | Brick’s, Strother District

Thursday, July 9

• Storytime for Families | 9:15 & 10:15 AM | Lee’s Summit Community Room 1 & 2

• 3rd Thursdays at Bailey Farms | 5 PM | Bailey Farms

• Trivia at Diametric Brewing Company | 7 PM | Diametric Brewing Company | Free to play, every 2nd and 4th Thursday.

• Brick’s Trivia | 8 PM | Brick’s, Strother District

• Third Street Social: Half Off Wine | All day | Third Street Social, Strother District | Bottles $99 and under.

Friday, July 10 — Futbol Fridays Finale

• Max Mix Spice Samples | 4:30–6:30 PM | Hy-Vee, 301 NE Rice Rd | Sample Max Crawford’s gourmet spice blends – you’ll remember Max from our feature back in March. I’m a fan!

• Super Smash Bros. Tournament | 6:30–9 PM | Harris Park Community Center | $15 entry, ages 6+, pizza and drinks included.

• Futbol Fridays Week 5: Kickin’ It on Route 66 | 6–10 PM | 209 SE Green St | Free. Series finale, celebrating 100 years of Route 66 (see above).

Saturday, July 11

• Downtown Lee’s Summit Farmers Market | 8 AM–Noon | Green Street Market, 209 SE Green St

• The Purple Bench Project | 9:30 AM–12:30 PM | Downtown LS Farmers Market

• 8th Annual Ladybug Day | 10 AM–4 PM | 2108 NE Concord St

• Freedom Fest | 11 AM–3 PM | Frontier Justice, 800 NE Jones Industrial Dr | Free. Firearm vendors, food trucks, free USCCA seminars, kids corner – celebrating 250 years of American freedom.

🐾 Pet of the Week: Meet Bentley

Bentley just had his ninth birthday, and he’d like the record to show he’s never once gotten on the Sleep Number Bed while his family’s away. Except his sleep number always says otherwise. It’s set to 10 by the time anyone gets home, and he’s waiting at the top of the stairs wagging his tail like he has no idea why.

Happy birthday, Bentley. Nine years of denying everything and getting caught every time. Some dogs never learn. We love him anyway.

Want your pet featured in a future issue? Reply to this email with a photo and a fun fact.

🤔 Lee’s Summit Trivia

Q: Lumber baron R.A. Long’s Longview Farm – built near what’s now Longview Lake and once called “The World’s Most Beautiful Farm” – had 25 miles of white fencing. What’s the most unusual thing about how it was originally built?

A: It was built without a single nail. Cypress rails were mitered at the ends and fit directly into mortised post holes across all 25 miles – construction took about 18 months, wrapping up in 1914.

One Last Thing

Five weeks ago, Futbol Fridays showed up as Lee’s Summit’s answer to World Cup fever, and now it’s closing out with a Route 66 theme on the same stretch of Green Street where it started. That’s a pretty good run for a series nobody knew they needed until it was here.

Whatever your Friday looks like, get downtown at least once before the series wraps. And if you’ve got a mountain lion sighting of your own or a pet who needs some fame, hit reply. I read every single one.

One more thing: LSR-7 news tends to dominate this newsletter simply because it’s what lands in my inbox most. I’d genuinely love to feature more from BSSD, Summit Christian, St. Michael the Archangel, and anywhere else in our neighborhood. Big wins, great teachers, cool kids, all of it. Send it my way.

Thanks for being part of the Lowdown crew!

– Jen

 Editor, Lee’s Summit Lowdown

P.S. Between the alligator, the mountain lion, and Futbol Fridays taking its final bow, this might be the most unpredictable week Lee’s Summit has had all summer. Have a great week, LS! 🐾

How did we do in this edition?

• 🏆 State Champ Worthy: Best issue yet.

• 🎶 Fourth Friday Energy: Really solid week.

• 🌳 Nice Walk in Legacy Park: Pleasant, no complaints.

• 🚗 Stuck on 291 at 5pm: Got here eventually.

• 🦌 Hit a Deer on Douglas: Let’s not repeat this.