TGIF, Shawnee Mission!
🥵 Today’s forecast: Sunny and very hot. High: 101. Low: 77. Heat index: 108. An excessive heat warning is in effect until 9 p.m.
🚨 One thing to know today
Overland Park will host a professional pickleball tournament next month.
The Carvana Professional Pickleball Association will bring dozens of players to compete in the Vulcan Kansas City Open on Aug. 24-27 at Elite Tennis and Wellness, 14481 Metcalf Ave.
The Overland Park tournament is a qualifying event, meaning the winners in their division will have confirmed spots in the 2023 USA Pickleball National Championships later this year in Dallas, Texas.
“The passion for pickleball in Overland Park is truly special,” said Connor Pardoe, CEO of the PPA Tour, “and we’re thrilled to share the unique energy and excitement of our events with another incredible fan base.”
Overland Park was recently dubbed the “most pickleball obsessed” city in the U.S. by an online betting site, and an Overland Park-based company is one of the main online streamers of the rapidly growing sport.
Still, the sport has detractors who decry the distinctive and repetitive sound of the paddles hitting the hard plastic balls.
Pickleball courts have been the subject of numerous lawsuits nationwide, including a recently settled one in Mission Hills.
The Overland Park event will be streamed live on Amazon Prime.
Find out more about the PPA Tour here.
🚀 Post’s top Thursday stories
- Shawnee teen dies following chain reaction crash in Overland Park involving 9 vehicles
- AR’s in Overland Park offers Mexican breakfast and mimosas
- Need to get rid of old electronics? Your next chance is Saturday in Leawood
- SM Northwest student identified as person killed in Overland Park wreck
- Conservative groups see Kansas school boards as key electoral battleground
📰 Other local news
- Two officers, two bystanders injured in Merriam police chase. A suspect now faces six felony charges related to the chase Sunday afternoon that began with an alleged burglary at a business near 75th and Frontage Road. [Fox 4]
- Prairie Village salon celebrates 35 years in business. Bijin Salon and Spa started off in Westport when three friends pooled their money and credit cards. Now, it employs 90 people and serves upwards of 250 customers each day. [Kansas City Star]
- Yellow to file for bankruptcy, report says. The Nashville-based freight company, which still has a large corporate presence in Overland Park, is preparing to file for bankruptcy amid an ongoing exodus of customers. [Wall Street Journal]
📸 A thousand words
Following a renovation project at the Walmart Supercenter near K-7 and Johnson Drive in western Shawnee, the company debuted a new mural over the cart return area, depicting Shawnee’s roots as a truck farming community. Photo credit Kaylie McLaughlin.
