12/21/2020
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…comes right back to Wichita, non-stop, twice weekly starting in March. (see story below)
Good morning Wichita!
I hope everyone had a Happy Hanukkah! 4 days left until Christmas! and 5 days left until Kwanzaa begins!
The earthquakes last week were starting to make me nervous, but Saturday really had me nervous with at least SIX earthquakes in one day.
What Happens in Vegas…
Starting on March 12th, you’ll have another option for a trip to get you blackjack fix. Frontier airlines will offer direct routes on Mondays and Fridays aka a long weekend in Sin City. Tickets are available now for as low as $49 one-way or $98 roundtrip.
Allegiant currently offers similar direct flights twice a week, just on different days.
Earthquakes CONTINUE TO SHAKE Wichita
So if you live in Wichita, especially the east side, you noticed a few earthquakes on Saturday. At least six earthquakes were recorded ranging from 2.5 to 3.7 in magnitude on the Richter scale and all six were located on the east side of town. As a biased east-sider, it feels a little unfair and you west siders are probably snickering to yourself. The 3.7 is suggested to be the largest on record since 1948.
The specific cause isn’t known, but Wichita does lie right along the Humboldt fault zone. Here is a little graphic we sent out last week.
The Good Will MacKenzie Scott donates to Goodwill of Kansas
You may not recognize her name, but MacKenzie Scott, formerly married to current richest man in the world Jeff Bezos – CEO of Amazon (you might have heard of it) has been on a donating spree. She has donated over $4 Billion (yes, that is Billion with a capital B) over the past four months to 385 organizations all over the US. One of these organizations was Goodwill Industries of Kansas who received $5 million.
Entrepreneur.com name drops KingFit and Grit Virtual
Many people in the midwest are trying to push this part of the country to the forefront as a great place for innovation. This is partly due to the talent and ideas, as well as the low cost of living.
This innovation is being recognized by Entrepreneur.com who name dropped Wichita and Kansas City as being the 7th best heartland city that is “essential to the Future of American Innovation”. In the article, two specific companies were called out for their innovative and disruptive start ups, KingFit (which fights diabetes through education that is accessible on an app) and Grit Virtual (which is changing the way construction companies manage projects to cut waste and improve efficiency). Good work Miguel! (CEO of KingFit)
COVID-19 Vaccines are Here
Ascension Via Christi’s St. Francis hospital began administering their vaccines on Monday. Medical Center received their first shipment of vaccines on Tuesday when they began to administer them. The employees are prioritized around who interacts with COVID patients more than others.
Event venues struggle
What’s the last concert you went to? Did you realize it would be the last one you went to in a long time?
Two popular Wichita venues have been some of the hardest hit small businesses during the pandemic. Wave and The Cotillion are both struggling mightily. Luckily the “Save Our Stages” Act has kept Wave afloat during this time, but they will need more help at some point. They closed their doors in March and in April they started hosting virtual concerts for tips for musicians. They hope to reopen in Summer of 2021 (with hopes things are better by then, they will not open if it is not safe for the public).
Dunbar Theatre Renovations
The Dunbar Theatre was the only theatre that allowed Black Wichita residents to see movies unti 1963 when it closed. There have been big plans to renovate the theatre and the city continues to back this project. It has been moving relatively slow over the last view years but Wichita City Councilman Brandon Johnson says it is moving along. For more detais, check out the article linked.
Police Chief Ramsay’s Highway Heroism
(shoutout @BlackisTheNewAu on twitter for the headline)
Chief Ramsay ruined his favorite khakis on Thursday when he tackled a man on Kellogg. The man was trying to get into people’s cars and then tried to take off. Little did he know that Chief Ramsay was right on his tail. Luckily, a local bystander caught it on video.
Wichita approaches record number of Homicides in 2020
The current homicide high count was in 1993 at 57. As of last Monday, we are one shy. This has been typical across many cities in America, but is still true in Wichita. Some of this can be attributed to COVID-19 stress, unemployment or a number of other things. This is up from 44 in 2018 and in 2019.
Food Deserts in Wichita
Your first question might be, what is a food desert?
According to wikipedia, a food desert is “an area that has limited access to affordable and nutritious food, in contrast with an area with higher access to supermarkets or vegetable shops with fresh foods, which is called a food oasis.”
This is something that Wichita has been criticized for in many areas, including areas downtown. And the problem seems to be getting worse at the moment, rather than better. One Wichita food desert is losing it’s primary grocery story. Save A Lot at Pawnee and George Washington Blvd just closed in the Planeview neighborhood.
Feel free to send in any events you’d like to share!
Tuesday, December 22
Santa Wonderland – Free Photo with Santa
Cabela’s
10AM
Chicken N Pickle
3PM
College Hill Park
6PM
Chicken N Pickle
7:30PM
Wednesday, December 23
Hopping Gnome Brewing Company
3PM
Thursday, December 24
Christmas Eve Beers & Brunch
River City Brewery
10AM
Friday, December 25
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Saturday, December 26
PourHouse ICT
11AM
Wichita Art Museum
11AM
Headshots Harry Potter House Night
Headshots Bar & Grill
11AM
Sunday, December 27
Chicken N Pickle
3:25PM
Century II
12PM
Chicken N Pickle
? 12/22 Patz | 5:45 PM
? 12/23 Ben Fulch | 5:45 PM
? 12/29 Patz | 5:45 PM
Barleycorn’s
? 12/23 Open Mic Music | 8 PM
Wichita Thunder
Our hometown Wichita Thunder will host their home opener on January 1, 2021! The arena capacity will be 11.5%
Breece Hall
Congrats to Wichita Northwest Alum Breece Hall on making the all-conference team as a running back in the Big 12 after amassing 1357 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns.
What fast food restaurant was founded first in Wichita, Kansas?
A. Pizza Hut
B. Papa John’s
C. White Castle
D. Freddy’s
See the answer below.
Wichita Life Recommendations:
Restaurant
Our recommendation this week is River City Brewery. It has some of our favorite beer and incredible food. Try their burgers or pizza!
https://rivercitybrewingco.com/
This week’s instagram recommendation is Drone_Tography316. If you want the best drone shots of Wichita, check out this account!
Blog
Here are some user submitted places to shop local this holiday season:
https://wichitalifeict.com/christmas-gifts-wichita/
Monday
36 ?62 | ☀️| ?️ 0% | ? NW 9 mph
Tuesday
39 ?63 | ?| ?️ 5% | ? S 23 mph
Wednesday
24 ? 41 | ?| ?️ 5% | ? NNW 24 mph
Thursday
25 ? 45 | ️☀️ | ?️ 0% | ? NW 16 mph
Friday
31 ? 48 | ☀️| ?️ 0% | ? WSW 10 mph
Saturday
32 ? 53 | ?️ | ?️ 5% | ? S 11 mph
Sunday
28 ? 50 | ?️ | ?️ 5% | ? NW 11 mph
Monday
30 ? 45 | ?️ | ?️ 0% | ? NE 9 mph
Wichita Life Podcast:
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Find it on Youtube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts!
Trivia Answer: The answer is C. White Castle (1921), Pizza Hut (1958), Papa John’s (1984 and not in Wichita), Freddy’s (2002)
If there is something else you’d like to be updated on weekly, please let me know!
That’s all! I hope you have a great week and stay safe.
Big thanks
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Wichita, KS | USA
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