What’s on tap for Wichita and Kansas in 2021? With luck, a do-over
Every year at this time, we gaze into our journalistic crystal ball and write about things to look forward to around Wichita and Kansas in the coming year.
I’ve written several of these look-ahead pieces myself, mentioning all the notable concerts, festivals, new businesses, restaurants and events on the community’s agenda.
This year, of course, is different.
For 2021, we’re hoping for two things: an end to the coronavirus pandemic — and a do-over.
Many of the items mentioned in our forecast for 2020 never happened because of COVID-19, which struck Sedgwick County in March and never relented.
The virus canceled March Madness, the Summer Olympics and the inaugural season for Wichita’s new downtown baseball stadium.
It called off sesquicentennial celebrations for Wichita and Sedgwick County, and other milestone anniversaries for Wichita State University, Mark Arts, the Wichita Art Museum, Exploration Place and the Kansas Cosmosphere.
It wrecked plans for the Wichita Riverfest, the Downtown Chili Cookoff, the Tallgrass Film Festival and the Kansas State Fair, all of which were canceled, postponed or forced to go virtual amid coronavirus protocols.
We spent most of 2020 battling the worst public health crisis of our lifetimes.
We ended the year with doctors and nurses receiving Wichita’s first shots of a newly approved coronavirus vaccine, but with Kansas having seven of the top 10 deadliest counties for COVID-19 deaths per capita.
So we’re starting the new year with both optimism and caution: The end of the pandemic, experts tell us, is still a long way off.
That hasn’t stopped all plans for 2021, though. Here are some of the things we can expect in the coming year:
▪ The Kansas Legislature will convene its 2021 session with a slew of new senators and representatives, including Stephanie Byers of Wichita, the first openly transgender legislator in the Midwest.
Lawmakers may be compelled to meet in person despite the pandemic, after Attorney General Derek Schmidt warned of potential constitutional challenges if they convene outside Topeka or take final votes without a quorum present in one room.
One of the Legislature’s top — and most controversial — agenda items will be redistricting. Gov. Laura Kelly has called for the creation of a nonpartisan commission to draw new congressional and state legislative districts, after outgoing Senate President Susan Wagle spoke explicitly about using the redistricting process to oust the state’s sole Democratic member of Congress.
▪ Wichita State University likely will get a new president this year, after Jay Golden resigned suddenly in September. Once again, the Kansas Board of Regents opted to conduct a closed search, citing a need to protect the identities of potential candidates. A 22-member search committee, led by Wichita attorney Dan Peare, will assist and advise Regents as they seek a new leader.
WSU also is shopping for a new men’s basketball coach, after Gregg Marshall resigned in November. Athletic director Darron Boatright hasn’t specified a timeline for the search, but signs point to the Shockers naming a new coach after this season.
▪ The coming year will be a big one for Amazon — and jobs — in the Wichita area, as the online retail giant prepares to open a one-million-square-foot fulfillment center in Park City, following another smaller one near Jabara Airport.
▪ Wichita’s $75 million Riverfront Stadium didn’t open to the public as planned in 2020, and our affiliation with a Triple-A minor-league baseball team ended before the Wind Surge even played a game.
But Wichita’s new partnership with the Minnesota Twins is expected to bring Double-A baseball to the park this year.
▪ An ambitious downtown project will continue to take shape in 2021, as developer Sudha Tokala moves forward with an education complex that will take over four downtown buildings. The project is expected to include a private school of osteopathic medicine, student apartments and a Marriott hotel.
Chester I. Lewis Reflection Square Park, a pocket park near Douglas and Main, will be expanded and recast as an entry plaza for the medical school. And WSU Tech plans to open a new culinary school — complete with a food hall and rooftop deck — in the old Henry’s department store building at 124 S. Broadway.
▪ Local elected bodies could change dramatically in 2021, as voters cast ballots in city council and school board elections.
The Wichita City Council will appoint a new District 3 representative to replace James Clendenin, who announced plans to resign at the end of 2020. Clendenin’s and two other council seats — Brandon Johnson’s and Cindy Claycomb’s — are up for election in November.
Four of Wichita’s seven school board positions also will be up for election — Ben Blankley, Julie Hedrick, Mike Rodee and Ron Rosales.
▪ Having a baby in 2021? If it happens after Feb. 12, your child will be born in the Year of the Ox and, according to the Chinese zodiac, will be strong, reliable, calm and methodical — if a bit opinionated. Ox people also are known to believe strongly in themselves and inspire confidence.
