The Kansas City Chiefs Move to Kansas City Kansas with Erik Murray

It's time. Time to be informed. Time to be entertained. Time to be captivated. And it's time to listen. Top name guests, great analysis and the hottest topics in the DMB and from coast to coast. It's listen in with K&N, the sports sound of the district. Now on AM 1340 and 96.9 FM Fox Sports Radio. Here's your host Kelsey Nicole Nelson. Hey sports bands, welcome into a brand new edition of listening with K&N right here. On our home station, Fox Sports Radio 96.9 FM at 1340 AM with me, your host Kelsey Nicole Nelson. We're in for yet another exciting sports week. We've got the NFL scum combined taking place. A shout out to all the good folks in Indian Indianapolis enjoying the time. Of course, lots happening now with the basketball world and basketball arena. We just wrapped a winter Olympics, the USA of gold. What a winter Olympics it was for the country. We saw our athletes on the highest of highs actually the men's hockey team getting the shot out during say the union address. So much to get into. I can't wait to get in the show. We have a very special guest joining us. Today we're going to blend sports and politics. We're going to see where they come together and how they impact us in our everyday lives. If you don't know the name Eric Murray, you are going to know it by the end of the show. Hey, someone who lives in Braves, Kansas and all things Kansas. He's going to take us inside. What's happening in Kansas, especially Kansas City. We know all things about the chief smooth. NASCAR race track out there. You're like, there's a lot of stuff happening, y'all in Kansas. We can take us inside that and lots more and kind of give light into his platform and what he's hoping to do again. That's why I love this show because we get to bring a sports from so many different unique lenses. So let's not waste any more time and get into the show with that. It means this time is a back relax and get ready to listen in and be sure to follow along with so on social media using our official show hashtag. Listen in with KNN our hashtag L I W K N N. It's time to give credit where credit is due. Who's doing the most and doing their best we find out right now with Kelsey's do good award. Each and every week, y'all, we are honoring individuals and organizations making a positive difference in lives of others through the use of sports and we're keeping this do good award in the DMV area. I believe it's this organization's first time getting on here. I'll listen in with KNN. But I want to shout out DC scores. If you are unfamiliar with them, they're an award winning nonprofit. It's been around for over 30 years folks. That's my life span. Essentially, they combine soccer, poetry and service learning to influence and action generation of poet athletes. This is near and near to my heart. I think most people know this but I started journalism actually as a poet and still to this day. Stilted state poetry is what moves and drives me. I gotta get back to speaking. Easy, by the way. I get back to the Southern word clubs. So much of my poetry angle is also how I follow mobile sports. So I love that they're doing this. I think the arts is important and needs to be invested in and we know soccer. Elf football is global. So absolutely love all the work that they're doing. They have a great event coming up called Our Words with the City and it's an all-star youth poetry showcase. I'm always going to warn an honor people who are shining a light on our young people. Y'all. And it's going to highlight the talented poet athletes and we have all around the city. They're going to share their hopes, dreams, failures and most importantly, in their life. Truth. So once again, I'm so excited for this. I want to shout this is for the great work that they're doing. They partner with organizations like DC United and the Washington Spirit which by the way, DC United just picked off a brand new season here in DC and audio field. But I want to shout out the whole staff and crew. Keep up the amazing work and congratulations on earning your Kelsey's Do The The Word right here on Listen in with Kate and Anne. Welcome back to Listen in with Kannon. The sports sound of the district and beyond where we are back with a very special guest joining the show making his debut here on Listen in with Kannon. None other than Eric Murray, candidate for United States Senate in the great state of Kansas. Eric, welcome to the show. How are you today? I'm great, Kelsey. Thank you so much for having me. It's exciting to be on with you. I'm excited, Eric. So I know we met. I guess last year, right during Congressional Black Caucus Week in DC, always one of the perennial fun events that we have in the district during a DC Chamber of Commerce event. And I was so excited to hear about you and your background as a businessman, but even more excited to hear about your just political aspirations. I'm excited to dig into that, but just to kick it off and to let the good people know more about you. Tell us what inspired you to run for this US Senate seat. As you know, you were the fifth Democrat to enter the campaign and it's a seat currently being held by Senator Roger Marshall, who currently is a Republican in Kansas. Yeah, so I think that's an easy place to start. Sadly, we've seen our so-called leaders. We think we elect them to go to Washington and work for the people, work for the community and for whatever reason they get to Washington. And let's just say they stray far from the values and the things that our community needs and wants. And so that's no different. My opponent in November was sent to the US Senate by Kansas, promptly got there and started doing an agenda that harms our economy, that harms our communities. Hell, at this point, there are even harming democracy and common decency. And so that's, I think, the first reason. It's understanding the impact that this administration is having in my opinion negatively. I think this administration has proven they're bad for business, they're bad for community, they're bad for democracy. And as a problem-solving businessman and as somebody who really loves community and loves people as a father who's got four children and wants there to be a better future, just all of those reasons really coalesced around we've got to do something in this moment. And about a year ago, I felt called or compelled to really start thinking about this four or five months ago, we had some really important strategic meetings. Because I'm not a career politician and gladly truth be told, I've always hated politics and felt like it was, I'll call it a necessary evil if you will. But yeah, as a businessman and as a community impact focus leader, I've recognized the need for communities like ours to have political advocacy and to have political empowerment. And so I want to go be that champion for all canzans, but particular for the communities like mine and the communities across the state and really across the country, they just feel forgotten and left behind, you know, as very few folks are getting richer and richer based on the pain that 99% of Americans are feeling in almost every sector, you know, of our communities and economy. And that just doesn't sit right with me. So I'm excited to talk about it with you. And yeah, I'm excited to kind of be the front runner in this race to unseat a very unpopular incumbent here in my home state of Kansas. Yeah, you know, I hear your passion for your hometown, Eric, and that's exciting, right? And I think it's great that you don't come from the necessarily like political background and got thrust into that, you know, living in Washington, Eric, you know, I hear a lot, as it relates to politics, there's a lot of strong thoughts and feelings, you know, so much that's going on in the world, you know, everything from the ice rates, which we've seen here, you know, heavy to, you know, even now, you know, travel becoming more of a hassle for folks. And I think that's a great thing about the economy, Eric, when it comes to that, like more of us want more money in our pockets because we see an inflation and rising costs. And I always say people just want to live. I always say people want to do things in life, access and opportunity. And they want political leaders that can help them, you know, get there. So essentially, everyone can achieve their version of the American dream. But also, I think this is where I love sports, sports such as everything Eric, we've had a chance to have folks like Mayor Gwunjekubson in this show. We've had representative Burgess Owens. And many others, you know, necessarily people might not think about when it comes to sports and entertainment. But some of what you'll do when we'll talk about this later in the show will touch the sports and entertainment arena and field, but just diving a little bit more into you and your background. You know, one thing I think that we have in common is, you know, you come from a family with educators and public servants. And I think at the end of the day, like I've had so many politicians tell me, don't call me a politician, call me a public servant because I am hired and for the people. And I hear that with you as well. But, you know, Eric, I come from all my aunts for school teachers. And you know, now it's funny because I never expected to be in the education world primarily. But you know, now when are the worlds I hold as a professor and teaching young people and just left to hear from you, you know, how does it, how did it impact you coming from a family, you know, of educators seeing advocacy firsthand from your parents? How does that still inspire and drive you in your role today? Yeah, I love that question. And it's so cool that all your aunts were school teachers because I'm in the same place. I'm like, what's the grade, Eric? It was my mom. So my mom was a school teacher. All of my aunts, I even have an uncle that even at 80 years old is still a substitute teacher. It is. My aunts daughters. So several of my cousins are school teachers. My oldest niece, not my oldest. My oldest niece is actually a chief's cheerleader, former chief's cheerleader, which is cool. But my middle niece went to Wichita State University, got a teaching degree and then came back to our hometown of Kansas City, Kansas to teach at the local elementary school. So why do I tell you all of that? Education, in particular, public education is so embedded in my life. Growing up, you know, as the child of teachers, my mom was focused on it. But by the time I was a kid, she was an assistant principal. And so my aunt was still in the classroom, taught me all of my cousins, you know, my children, who have been to this day went to my aunt to learn how to read, like literally every kid in our family. And it feels like probably half the kids in Kansas, you know, were taught how to read by my aunt, Paulette, or one of my aunties. And so just the value, you know, when you talk about communities want and all Americans agree on access and opportunity, the value of education, the necessity of public education, and what access to that means for your future is just incredible. So I'm fortunate. I went to the number one public high school in the state of Kansas. It was called Sumner Academy. It's got an interesting history because sadly, our community, like a lot of communities, you know, was in the 60s still racially segregated. We were, people don't know this. Obviously, most people are familiar with Brown versus the Board of Education, which occurred here in Kansas. But even in Kansas City, Kansas, our public schools were still segregated into the late 60s and early 70s. So even where a lot of communities did it in the early to mid 60s, we were one of the last communities to desegregate our schools. But the history of greatness, and especially since we're in Black History Month, kind of the tide of excellence that goes still to this day, is that Sumner was up until 1969 in all Black high school. And my mother graduated from there in 1967 and talks about the fact that the world renowned teachers and scholars and doctors from all over the country came to teach it Sumner when the school integrated in the early 70s. And all the way through this day, that culture of excellence persisted. And I think that that foundation is why it is still the number one public high school in the state of Kansas today. So public education is a pillar of mine for sure. I think the education is where we tie in because you've always heard that education is what can be, I think, have done right, a unifier. And one of the orgs that I run, books breaking borders, books to an educational bankruptcy, it's all about ending a literacy. But then too, well, Eric, I am all my emails with one of my favorite quotes. I'm a quotes person. I'm driven by quotes and I just love reading. I'm just from Oprah Winfrey and that's, you know, education is the key to unlocking the world of passport to freedom. And that's kind of how I honestly ended up where I am. A Maryland girl, you know, a crab cake, some football air. My parents specifically moved from Jackson, Mississippi to Maryland to ensure that I could grow up in Montgomery County, Maryland and have a good education. But I think it's just realizing that you shouldn't have to move zip codes, right, to be entitled to a good education. And we all know that not everybody's able to do that. And so much like you, your passion for education rings true because I think every child deserves that high quality education to be whatever they want to be in life. But I think we know that's like the basic right that every child born in this country, you know, should have. So I love that we have that together. And I know for you, especially bringing that to the Eastside communities in Kansas is really important. So for folks that are unfamiliar with the Eastside community, it's also a bit more background about that and why you want to make sure again that they have just that access and opportunity to quality of life will say for children and families. >> Yeah, so I want to give credit where credit is due because we did not create this thesis or really understand it until one of my mentors by the name of Stephen DeBerry in East Palo Alto, California really educated me on this and mentored me in the space. So we always knew that there was a wrong side of the tracks for lack of a better term. We knew that some communities had less access to resources than others and commonly that's associated with redlining, which is completely true. But what we had not made the tie until Stephen really educated us on it is why quote unquote Eastside communities exist, whether that's East Oakland, the East Side of Detroit with the Gross Point Gate, East St. Louis, East Kansas City here in my hometown. We knew that redlining existed. What we had it put together was two other factors, one of them natural, one unnatural, in an era of industrialization. A lot of our cities were built around an industrial economy. So industrialization created these factories because those factories ran on carbon fuels. They put smoke into the air many times or trains. As trains were moving goods, the train tracks would come through, split a community, put smoke in the air. So that's the built environment, the design creation, the natural part of that is the wind. And due to the way that the earth spins, the prevailing winds generally blow to the East. So the proverbial, you've heard people say the wrong side of the tracks, the wrong side of the tracks is generally the East Side. So when the train is going by or the factory is built in your town and all of the smoke and all of the pollution blows to the East Side. And then you combine that with the fact that most communities, most cities in America were built during an era of legal segregation. You realize that the communities that were stuck with the smoke blowing in their face were those that had less political power, less money, less resources. So East Side communities, the wrong side of the tracks kind of became a self-fulfilling prophecy, think of it like sitting around a campfire in the smoke blowing in your face. And so we, once Stephen helped us understand that, we are very intentional about going back into those communities that are on the social, economic and environmental margin and utilizing federal policy, state policy, innovation, economy, workforce development, utilizing the built environment, the combination of policy, capital and place making to solve for those historical ails. So again, growing up in the East Side of Kansas City, Kansas and seeing that that's a tale of two cities. The West Side is booming. The East Side is not spending some time during my formative years in East Oakland and seeing you know, what's occurred there and just understanding how all of these East Side communities have borne the brunt of industrialization. We feel like as our economy transitions, they need to be at the front of the game for clean energy, for innovation, for workforce development and upskilling. And so we're doing some cool things around that, even some cool things in sport. We're going to start talking about sports and sports stadiums and things like that. And there's a nexus to sport that's vitally important as we work to revitalize East Side communities. But yeah, it was eye opening. I had never made the tie in like, wow, it really is the wind. The wrong side of the tracks is the way the wind blows the smoke off the train. So yeah, something that we could all like literally visualize, right? And that's something like that. And you said it every community, every town has that East Side, right? That everyone kind of talks about, but we know the resources aren't there. You know, for the community to really thrive. And so I love that you are making that a full focal point. And I wanted in the sports, but Eric, hearing you talk, you know, something I'm hearing a lot about, and it's kind of controversial, but I'm hearing a lot as we talk about, you know, investing in communities is data centers, data centers, right? I say that our data, depending on where folks are from, you know, different accents, different ways of saying it. Eric, I'm just curious, you know, for you, is this something that you do see could be a potential equalizer to invest more money into communities or do you think people are really just hearing this as just another way for kind of the rich to get richer and communities not to be able to really, you know, benefit off data centers, which we see around the country, being talked about as something that could help or either hinder communities. Yeah, that part. Listen, I've got strong feelings on it. At my core, I am pro economic development. I think that we can grow our way out of many of our problems. We need to grow wages. We need to grow jobs. We need to grow education. We need to grow healthcare. So I am generally pro growth. And also, you know, I want our communities, many of which also suffer from a digital divide to have access to computers and internet and broadband and the tools of the 21st century. So at my core, I love economic development. I love growth. I understand the digital era. But what concerns me about data centers is the amount of resource strain. And so I think there is some risk that it is too much too soon. As we are working and the technologies are growing to make the data centers more efficient, to make the chips use less energy, because we know that utility costs are going up and a lot of communities are struggling with utility costs. We've got to make sure that data centers don't shift that burden on the communities that can't afford it. Water. So as we see climate change, whether this administration wants to recognize it or not, we understand that our climate is changing, whether patterns are getting weird. We also know that communities on the environmental margin bear the brunt. It is the poorest communities all over the world that are the first impacted and have the most impacts from climate change. And so as data centers use water and use other resources in our community, I want to make sure that in the rush to grow the AI economy and the data economy that we are not forced into false choices where communities are being taken advantage of, whether that's environmentally. We've seen data centers in Memphis that are trying to get out ahead of the power grid and start burning a bunch of generators. That exacerbates that Eastside phenomenon. You put the data center in the Eastside because the land is cheaper there. And then you go below smoking people's face with generators. That is unacceptable to me. In communities that are already struggling with access to water, you cannot go in and prioritize water for computers over water for people. So I think there are some real concerns around the rapid growth of data centers. I do think that there is a win-win where better deals can be negotiated. I don't want to completely hamper the growth of that industry. I don't want to seed that growth to China. We know that in a global economy, China is going to keep going whether we do or not. So I'm cognizant of that and I don't want to completely put the brakes on it. But I definitely want to put parameters around it. You are not going to go in and build a data center and run generators that blow smoke in the face of Memphis or East Kansas City. You are not going to come in and use up all the water. And I think you've got to pay your fair share. A big issue that I have, frankly, in sports, in data centers. And a lot of development is that it becomes a choice between, I hate to say it, but billionaires and corporations versus communities and taxpayers. And I think that there is a win-win where everybody can win. We all love our sports teams. We all love our data. We love our devices. But I don't think that taxpayers and communities in the environment should bear the brunt. I think that we can negotiate better deals where communities are protected, communities and taxpayers win. We have access to the information economy. We have access to all the good things that come with economic development, but that everybody's paying their fair share and that there are parameters around those deals to make sure that communities like mine, particularly Eastside communities, are not constantly being taken advantage of. So there's a lot to unpack on data centers. Generally, like I said, on pro development and pro growth. I want our communities to have those tools, but we just got to be cautious and thoughtful around making sure that we don't do any more harm to these communities that have already been so harmed for the last 100 years. Great. No, there's so much there, Eric. You know, here in Utah, I'm reminding me. And I'm so excited to remind folks that later this year, I'll be launching a new show beyond sports with K&N. And Eric, you alluded to exactly why I'm launching that show. I want to go beyond, you know, just the sports relic things and doing and dive deep into things that really do impact everyday citizens, honestly, around the country. So again, more to come on that, folks, but once again, we are listening to Eric Murray, candidate for United States, Senate in Kansas, talking all things Kansas. Now, Eric, I want to get into sports. And, you know, speaking of sports, I hear your love for Kansas. I feel like the world doesn't get to hear enough about the state of Kansas, but how in the world, Eric, did you end up leaving Kansas? And how did the University of Kansas not nab you and you go on to University of Southern California? And we're sunny skies. I guess in palm trees. What made you make that decision? Yeah. You know, both of my parents are Jay Hawks. So I've got Mad Love for KU and Lawrence is a cool college town. But for a kid growing up in Wyandotte County, to be offered an academic scholarship to the University of Southern California, I could not sign them. I mean, that deal fast enough. Recruited Jackson came to my high school back in the late 90s, 99. And actually a number of my classmates, four kids, you know, really talented kids from our high school all went to SC together because because Mr. Jackson came in. Cool as the other side of the pillow from LA and offered us a chance to go out. It was called Preview. And they fly you out. They flew me in a bunch of my classmates out. It was 75 in sunny. You know, I mean, I think I can count on two hands the number of times it rained, you know, the whole four years I was in college. And so yeah, just the opportunity for a kid from Wyandotte County to go live in LA. And so that's actually the first Nexus to sports. I know you want to take it there. Let's go there because going to the USD and people assume that because my USC career ended well with a bunch of national championships that I went there because we were a world class football program. Not true because when I first got to USC in 2000, Paul Hackett was still our coach. Carson Palmer was kind of deemed, you know, a bum or hadn't yet met his full potential. But my freshman year, Paul Hackett gets fired a guy by the name of Pete Carroll, who was at that time probably like our fifth or sixth choice and our athletic director was Mike Garrett, who was at Highsville, SC. And so I actually got to work in the athletic department as a student worker while I was at SC, which was super cool. I worked under an assistant athletic director who's still there to this day shout out to Craig Kelly. You got to bring Craig on the show. Craig has some great stories. Yeah. And so anyways, Pete Carroll became our coach. That actually is informed a lot of areas of my life, including my Senate campaign because we are going to compete everywhere and we are going to win forever. And that was kind of the Pete Carroll mantra. But yeah, the B.M.S.C. when Reggie Bush, Matt Liner, Lendale White, Thunder and Lightning, winning championships. Even to this day, I mean, obviously, you know, the success that Caleb Williams has. And I know you're a DMV. Yeah. Caleb's DMV. Yeah. But yeah, man, I mean, I just love the opportunity to be at SC during that time was amazing. And so as much as I love KU and Lawrence, both my parents are Jay Hawks, it was a no-brainer to take that opportunity to go live in LA for a bit. And I met my wife in LA. And so now 25 years and kids later, it all worked out. But yeah, I had a phenomenal experience at SC. What, Kelly, for the win, look, you're talking to someone who it was hard to leave Super Bowl Eric. 80 degree weather, no coat coming back to cold and snowy DC. I almost didn't step back on the plane. So easy to see how you made that decision. And honestly, one of the most fun interviews I've had on the show, the late great Sam Cunningham Eric. Of course, USC football great. So I have all good things about Kelly. And speaking of USC, big basketball game on Tuesday, Eric, UCLA and USC, both 18 and 9 in college basketball, I already know you're going to say who's going to win. But do you think there's any chance you see a like an upsetter, USC Chojans going to get the win? Yeah, I mean, obviously, I'm rooting for the Chojans. We've been on a bit of a skid. We were pretty strong out of the gates. We got ranked. Then we dropped a few games. We've had some injuries. So I thought we were a lock for the NCAA tournament a month ago. I really think both of us might be on the bubble now at 18 and 9. I think we've got to win the game. But you know, it's at Polly. I would feel better if it was at Gail and Center, but it's being at Polly Pavilion and both teams kind of fighting for their lives. Yeah, I mean, there's absolutely a chance that we lose to UCLA. I think they're favored by seven, eight points. So we'll see. No, I want my Chojans to pull it off. We've got some injuries though. So the young guys are going to have to step up. Yeah. It's exciting times. We're right around the corner from March, Eric and March, Matt. Do you feel the bracket each year? I do. Oh, for sure. And I'm that guy who even if USC is on, you know, on an 11 or 12 line, I'm putting us into the into at least the elite eight every time. I don't know why I still do my bracket by doing that, but I do. You have to stay true. That's my bracket. You know, every year I have the Terps winning. They came close last season. And this season, we want to talk about it because, you know, I do have emotions and feelings and thoughts. But not necessarily. You should always do that for your college or university. I love it. And you know, switching from basketball to college, you know, Kansas City, Kansas, I think made national headlines. Take people back to the end of 2025. Take you all back to cold December. When we hear that the Kansas City Chase will be moving to Kansas by the 2031 season. I think that's something we have eyes on. For us, Eric here in DC, we have our eyes on the 2030 season when RFK should be finished and the commanders coming back to Washington DC. But again, we hear about this Kansas City. Chips, you know, obviously everybody knows about Arrowhead and that legacy. But we're hearing about this $3 billion dome stadium. Always important to talk about that when we're talking about cold weather cities. But just tell us your thoughts as someone who is a native of Kansas, running for office in Kansas when you heard this news. Let's talk about first, you know, the roses and opportunities potentially with this move. And everything, there's also always going to be some thorns that I would love for you to highlight and touch on as well. Yeah, I appreciate that. I have strong feelings on it. As a long time chief season ticket holder, my mom and aunt, those two teachers I told you about, they're now retired. And they literally go to every single game with one exception. We had a game a season or two ago where it got down to like 20 below. Sadly, there were people losing fingers and toes because of the frostbite. Right. And I'm going to sit that game out. But otherwise, you'll find these two old ladies, you know, bundled up at the chiefs game. So I know that they'll appreciate the dome stadium. Obviously the dome stadium gives us an opportunity to host a Super Bowl, which is a huge economic driver. Of course, you know, I can't say that we fell on hard times this season. But over the last two years, you got, you know, that's for Kansas City, cheese fed that was like eye opening here because the dynasty had been there. And cheese fans were just used to going to the Super Bowls. Yeah, we thought we, again, that Pete Carroll, we thought we were going to win forever. You know, but for a period of time, we were the reigning defending, you know, Super Bowl champs. It was exciting actually to see us go toe to toe with the Eagles for a few years. Truth be told, I'm a big Jalen Hertz fan. I love this wagger that he brings and kind of the chip on his shoulder that he brings, even from when he came into the league. But yeah, obviously with Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelsey. And, you know, the squad, I really think Eric Bianne me was a big key. I think we missed coach Bianne me when he left. So it's good to see the chiefs bring him back. Obviously, Pat got hurt at the end of the year. But, you know, I think Pat will come back. I think we'll be fine. It'll be interesting to see what Kelsey does this off season. I don't know. My turn or not is the big question, right? That we're all looking at. You know, you think about his legacy and Kansas City and just his connection. You know, there's an NBC sports article that came out saying Travis Kelsey is an icon. Hopefully he comes back. So definitely something while I'll be watching Eric. Well, and shameless plug for their restaurant. When you come to Kansas City, Kelsey, we will be out to 1587 prime. But pretty darn good stakes. Pat and Travis worked together to open up. Open up a steakhouse here in Kansas City. And we did have a Taylor Swift siding. Me and some buddies were sitting in 1587 prime. And we had a lot of bodyguards and everything and came walking by. So anyways, definitely exciting times to be in Kansas City. Exciting times for this new stadium. Exciting times to think about a Super Bowl coming. But let me be clear. The deal sucks. And I think Joe Pompliano, who's a sports economist that a lot of folks follow. And I really love the content that he does. He called it the most lopsided stadium deal in history. And so we're all folks who here in Kansas City. We love the chiefs. We love supporting the team. But we're also a little bit frustrated that in the deal for the stadium, the brunt of that deal is going on the back of the taxpayers. Taxpayers in one of the poorer communities. We talked about the East Side phenomenon. And the reality is that where they chose to locate the stadium is one of the poorer communities in Kansas. It does sit right next to the wealthiest community in Kansas. And one of the 10 wealthiest communities in the country. And even that nuance is important to think about because Johnson County, the wealthy county, got the headquarters. And so the headquarters brings the jobs, the corporate jobs, the high paying jobs. Where the staff is likely to live, where the players may choose to live. But Wyandotte County, the poorer county and my hometown got the stadium. Don't get me wrong. I think the stadium can be a great job generator. It's going to produce a ton of construction jobs. It'll certainly produce some game day jobs. But one of the things that I'm talking about even as I run for the US Senate is that the federal minimum wage is still $7.25 an hour. And in Missouri, where the chiefs were located, their minimum wage is $15. Kansas is still relying on the federal minimum wage of $7.25. There is a bill on the table in the Kansas State House now sponsored by our governor, candidate, Cindy Holcher, who is proposing to increase that to $16 an hour. But one of the things that scares me is that $7.25 an hour, are they really taking advantage of our community with these jobs? Nobody can live on $7.25 an hour. So we've got to raise our federal minimum wage. We've got to make sure that the poorer community, which is going to get the brunt of all of the game day, the infrastructure costs, the security and policing costs, fire, life safety, all of those cost burdens are going to fall on the much poorer side of the county line. The wealthier side is getting a lot more benefit. And to think about the fact that taxpayers are being asked to fund that in what people are calling the most lopsided deal, I love the chiefs, but I hate the deal. I ask our leaders to negotiate with the taxpayers in mind, no disrespect to Clark Hunt. He's owned that franchise. His family, his father Lamar Hunt is an icon in the league, has done a lot of great stuff all over the country. But the reality is, I mean, that family's worth $25 to $30 billion and just ask the poorest community, one of the poorest communities in the state to fund a stadium. And when you dive into the details of the deal, because the details matter, it's more than just the upfront funding, the rent, they're $7 million in rent, but the rent does not go to the community or even the state. The rent goes back into a repair and maintenance fund that the chiefs get to use to repair the stadium. So there's no rent flowing. The revenue, obviously you got game day and non-game day revenue, 100% of the chiefs and the football revenue flows back. But the crazy part, Kelsey, is 100% of the non football revenue. So when this stadium is used for concerts, when Taylor Swift and Beyonce and others are performing in this stadium, might as a single dollar of that revenue flows back to the community either. There's a community benefits agreement that provides $3 million a year that is supposed to flow through community organizations. Even that, as it's currently constructed, gets routed back through the Hunt Family Foundation. So make no mistake, I am frustrated that I don't think our leaders negotiated the terms of that deal very well. It's one thing to give $1.8 billion for a publicly funded stadium, but then to see no rent, no revenue and a questionable CBA and you layer on top of all that. Oh, but Eric, there's 20,000 jobs. Yeah, it's 7.25 an hour. You're not doing anybody a favor. You're arguably taking advantage of us. So we're working to our local government is great. We did something really cool. Kansas City, Kansas, elected the first black woman mayor in our city's history by the name of Crystal Watson. She is fantastic. She ran largely talking about how do we battle east side disparity? How do we invest in these historic areas of our town that have been underfunded? So I know she's fighting and our commission are fighting to make sure that the final details of that deal benefit everyone. I'm happy for the chiefs. I'm happy for the Hunt Family, but I want to be happy for my community and my taxpayers too. And we've got our work cut out to level set that deal. So it'll be interesting to see, but it's mixed feelings, mixed emotions, love the chiefs, love economic development, but I hate when communities that lack political advocacy are being taken advantage of, you know, by billionaires. And that's an essential part of our campaign. I want to bring that political advocacy so that we can do smarter deals. We're not going to block stadiums. We're not going to block economic development. Here is a universe where everybody wins and I think that we can find that universe. It should not be 0.1% wins at the expense of 99 or 99 win at the expense of one. I think we can craft an economy where all, you know, stakeholders have a seat at the table and have an opportunity to your point. It's all about access and opportunity. At the end of the day, everybody just wants a roof over their head, food and fridge, a good education and access to healthcare. And I think that we can do those things, you know, America is the greatest country in the world. And I certainly think the great state of Kansas, my hometown, is one of the greatest states or has the greatest potential. We're right in the heart of America. We're Midwest nice. We're phenomenal healthcare, you know, with the University of Kansas. We've got phenomenal automotive manufacturing with general motors. We've got a great aviation sector. You know, I mean, Kansas is so cool and if we could get leaders who would negotiate for Kansas and not for their cronies or their buddies or their own bottom line, I think we'd be in a better spot. So that's what we talk about. Yeah, you know, I think you had on so many things, right? But the main thing is people just want a fair deal, you know, and DC Bradley Bill used to say, you know, everybody eats. And that's what it's shook them now too, right? Everybody getting a fair piece, I think, of the pie. And at the end of the day, again, it's about most people want their bills paid and keep them money in our pockets. So I can appreciate you shedding light. I think it's a great for us to hear from somebody who lives there. And again, I love your passion from Kansas folks. It's not just, it's not a flyover stain, all right? And I think that, you know, you shedding light is good. And again, I want people to realize that there's so much more to Kansas City Kansas. And I love that you emphasize that because so many of us know about Kansas City, Missouri. So again, I appreciate you shedding so much light on it because football right now in stadiums are the talk of the town, you know, not too far. We're all talking about, you know, Chicago Bears feature and Chicago and potentially going to Indiana. So all that to say, Eric, you know, what timely and relevant conversation as it pertains to stadium deals. And of course, the economic decisions that come from them and loom from them because at the end of the day, folks, sports is a business where money is made. But all I just say, yeah, go ahead. >> I'm going to go to Kelsey. The reason this sport is so valuable, and I want to give a shout out to a really dope company that I invested in and partnered with for the last few years called Black Arrow. If you're not familiar with Black Arrow, look them up. We're talking about American football, but in the global game of football or what we call soccer. And yeah, we're a world cup town. So maybe we'll have time to talk about that as well. But Black Arrow is really the voice of the African diaspora all over the world, but bringing the beautiful game to the beautiful people. And it's really the voice of Black soccer. They've done partnerships with Nike. They've done partnerships with a number of clubs and leagues. And so I really love what I learned through investing in Black Arrow. And it's founder Aaron Dolores in Oakland, California. One of the reasons it's sports is so valuable whether that soccer, football, basketball, you name it is in this era of digital devices, AI, social media online. You can't get people to pay attention to anything, but sports are the only thing that you can get people's attention live in real time. And so that is why sports are becoming so valuable to advertisers, to companies, to ticket sales. In this increasingly digital age, sports are the only thing that will make us put the damn phone down. And so we are so happy. You can't just grow for the value of franchises, growth of the value of TV deals because that live element just can't be replicated anywhere else in this digital economy. I think that's so well said. And Eric, that's why I've been honored and blessed to make a career in sports. And I've said it's a unifier, right? Like it's the one universal thing. I don't care where I am in this country. I've been everywhere from Ben Oregon, you know, to here in DC. There's never been a way I haven't been able to connect with people through sports. You know, we just hosted the Michigan Duke game here in DC and just like to see the atmosphere, right? Two teams that from this area, but just seeing people rally around it. Absolutely love everything about that. So I love that you highlighted that and again brought us back to why so many of us Eric love sports. And you talked about soccer or football for some, but let's get to that because you know, one of the cool things I had a chance to cover last year was the FIFA club World Cup. But now we've got the FIFA World Cup. And though I know we'll miss us here in DC. I know Kansas City hosted nine games, folks, at the FIFA World Cup, which we're counting down to 2026 Kansas City becoming one of only two FIFA World Cup host cities with four base camps. The base camps will be both in Missouri and Kansas. They will host two base camps. Tell me all about this and why this is so big for Kansas against being FIFA World Cup games for the global game of soccer. Yeah. You called it. I mean, we certainly think here in Kansas City that we're the soccer capital of the world. I know there's a few other cities that might try to lay claim to that. But I think we proved it because four squads selected Kansas City for their base camps, including, you know, the big one. Everybody loves Leon L. Messi and Al Quintina selected Kansas City, Kansas. So my hometown, Kansas side of the state line at the home of sporting Kansas City and sporting KC built out world class, medical and health training facilities. And so Argentina clearly knew what they were doing when they picked that spot because of Kansas City Central location, the other variable, if you stayed on one of the coasts and you advanced in the tournament, you ran the possibility of having to pick up and move. But because of Kansas City Central location, teams were assured that you could stay in one base camp for the entire tournament, which is valuable to a team like Argentina that expect to be there at the end. So yeah, to get Argentina in KCK, England at the Swelp Soccer Village in Kansas City, Missouri, the Netherlands, which is going to be really cool. Kansas City has a claim to fame for the Kansas City current. We were the first city to build a purpose built women's only soccer stadium at CPKC Stadium. The training facility for the KC current is going to be the home of the Netherlands. And then Algeria, we were talking about KU and Lawrence earlier. Algerian teams going to be out in Lawrence, about 30 minutes west of Kansas City. So four teams is pretty special. That's exciting. And you know, like my credentials and so who knows, I might just end up in Kansas City, but again, so excited for this, excited for Kansas. And honestly, just excited for the U.S. to be hosting a part of the World Cup games. It's so been so fun to sing how soccer continues to evolve in this country. And again, we talk about a sport that really brings diverse cultures together. And I think that is soccer and the World Cup. So so much to follow there. Be sure to check out Algeria, Argentina, as we talked about, England and the Netherlands, who will be playing across that two-state region. So again, so much more to come from that. And saying what the global sports, U.S.A. folks scooped up 12 gold medals in the winter Olympics, best highly ever in a winter Olympic Games with 33 medals overall. Eric, did you have a chance to catch the winter Olympics? And so what were some of the favorite sports you had a chance to watch? I did. You know, it's interesting. You mentioned Bend, Oregon, ice ski. Another thing that's, you know, a kid from the dot, you know, in a flatland, a canton. Yeah. I had used to drive our family out to Colorado to go skiing. So I'm always a big fan of the downhill skiing sports. Obviously it was tough watching Lindsey Vaughn's injury. I was glad to see Michaela Schifrin rebound and she had had a tough games and then at the end got her gold medal. And now I think Lindsey's backstates side and she's doing okay. But yeah, I'm big into the skiing. I got to watch a little bit of the figure skating. You know, curling is always on. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around why everybody's still in the curling. Yeah, curling is so interesting to watch. And I think all of us try to figure out like, yes, like, how did this work? And like, why do we love it? But we love it and we're watching. And we're like, so, but no, it was great to see the Olympics and, and yeah, Kudos to Team USA. I mean, exciting hockey. I mean, oh my gosh, both teams in hockey. Very exciting times. So it was a great deal. I'm from high in hockey. You know, Canada, love you as our neighbor, but USA for Vellig through. So I think it's so fun and exciting and excited to see the teams come back and celebrate. And by the way, shout out to Snoop Dogg and Flavor Flav as well, who did, I think, such a fantastic job of helping to root on the teams and just make it fun, right? Which is so, so exciting. So again, they're excited to see the US prevail. Trelling only super power in Norway when it comes to the winter sports. We'll catch up one day, but you know, not, I think the US are still catching up to all the cold weather sports, but switching over to the Olympics with Wilkis to host in 2028. Of course, the summer lost Angeles Olympics. So, big news coming out the basketball world. We're hearing a DMV native and superstar Kevin Durant plans on returning to the 2028, 2028 Olympics. As soon as he knows he has to earn a spot. He's a four time Olympic gold medalist. So if he does return, this could be potentially his fifth gold medal. He leads the US and scoring and the Olympic competitions. But by the time 2028 approaches folks, yes, if you do the math, 40 years old by the time the next game's come around. So lots of folks talk about him. So, Brian James, I know, had said that he would not be doing the 2028 Olympics, he'll be 43 at that time. But Curry is also another name that we're keeping an eye on. He'll also have just turned 40. So just love to get your thoughts on just the US basketball. We just have to be all-star game Eric. Do you think if we have, once we have Katie, we have Curry or if not, do you still think we could bring home the gold medal as you look at the future of basketball talent in the league here in the US? Yes. Bottom line. We should win the gold. We've still got the best basketball talent here in the US. I mean, all the names you mentioned, I'm even excited for the young guys coming up. And so the USA should still be in position. Look, I'm glad that there's some countries that are really, you know, starting to give us a run for our money in basketball. Obviously, we've now got a handful of French superstars in the league. Of course, Luca, you know, I mean, again, I'm excited for international, the growth of international basketball. It should make those games much more compelling and exciting. But no, there is no excuse, you know, from Ant to, you know, just all of our young stars. And of course. We would not win a gold, you know, that's another Pete Carroll. We got to win forever in a basketball. Yeah, we're competitive with basketball. We don't want to really push that gold. Everybody else can compete for, you know, silver and bronze, but gold belongs, I think, here in the US again, I think it's going to be so exciting and how exciting is it going to be for a whole new generation of folks to experience the Olympics this time around here in the US. I hope a lot of folks get to go out and have a part of that. And before I let you go, I can't leave you. I used to work for NASCAR. So, you know, I can't leave you without talking about Kansas Speedway. Eric, any favorite memories have you been on to a race yet at the Kansas Speedway? And if so, you know, what do you most look forward to when NASCAR races come into town? Yeah, no. So NASCAR, we've actually had that NASCAR track for quite a while now. I've been to several of the NASCAR races, you know, obviously always exciting, just the roar of the engines, you know, big crowd. We've been very fortunate too. We have always had great weather for those events. So just being out there in that NASCAR environment has been pretty cool. You know, again, I love seeing Michael Jordan. We just went from basketball to NASCAR and to go from winning in basketball to winning in NASCAR. 100 wins, man. So also pretty exciting, you know, to kind of see that, you know, taking place. But yeah, I mean, so much cool things, so many cool things happening in sports that I love the fact that you were wise. I'm over here developing real estate doing all this stuff. But for you to have a career in sports and get to do this for a living Kelsey, that's pretty darn cool. The places you get to go, the things you get to talk about. And don't think I didn't hear you. I did hear you say that you have a World Cup credential. So I will see you in Kansas City. We will go to 1587 Prime and see Trab and Patrick. We will go to get some Casey barbecue. I'm gonna take you on a Casey barbecue. You want to talk to my inner side. You know, my family's from the deep south, so I grew up on barbecue and the meat. So look, that's easy. Yes, because I want it all. Kansas City says they have the best. So I will tell you, Eric, people from Memphis keep telling me that they're better. So I will get to finally compare the two because I have yet to even have a chance to go to Kansas City. Yeah, Memphis is stirred really. And I, listen, I love eating all of it. So I'm really splitting hairs to start comparing. But Texas brisket. I mean, this is gonna be a hot take. But some of the barbecue that I've had and I say this with love is a kid from Kansas. I mean, this fall, this just super, almost buttery Texas brisket melt in your mouth that I had in Tyler, Texas, in some hole in the wall, gas station is incredible. Kansas City, we're really known for our burn ins. And so you're gonna have to try some burn ins, whether that's gates or slaps or my favorite. We've got a spot in KCK called Holy Smoke shout out to Geron Slater. But I'm gonna take you to get some Holy Smoke barbecue. We're gonna take you on that barbecue tour. But Memphis is stirred. I hate to say it. But Memphis is stirred in that way. I'm gonna go Texas brisket, KC burn ins. And then whatever Memphis kind of mustard sauce barbecue they're talking about. Eric, you're gonna have to be safe. I'm gonna go to Memphis. You know, they're gonna take that personally. But now I'm so excited. Like I'm excited to try the Kansas City and everything. So all of them excited. I don't think enough of us get to get and learn and hear about Kansas City. And speaking of which, before I let you go, Eric, just what do you think of something that? It's a misconception about Kansas City Kansas that you hope to end if you are elected as the next candidate for United States Senate in Kansas. Yeah. Kansas City Kansas suffers from the same thing that a lot of my state suffers with. We have such great people. We have such great potential. We are so well located with resources. We just lack intentionality around investment. So KCK, we have a chip on our shoulder. Again, Yandak County sits in this phenomenal location globally. In North America, we literally sit not only at the heart of the United States of America, but we sit at the heart of North America where I 70 and I 635, I 29, all of the major highways intersect in our town. Five of the class one railroads intersect in our town. We just have such great potential, but for decades, our infrastructure has been under invested. Our bridges are crumbling. Our sewers are crumbling. A lot of our school facilities need to be updated. And a lot of that is falling on the back of taxpayers, local taxpayers. So everybody hates their property taxes. What they really hate is paying those taxes and not seeing a return on investment. Taxes are a deal with government. We pay you our money. We expect you to pay our streets and fix our sewers and fix our bridges and invest in our community infrastructure. So whether that's Kansas City, Kansas and Yandak County, or I go down to Parsons, Kansas and meet with folks in Southeast Kansas, I'm out in Garden City, love what's going on in Western Kansas and Dodge City. A lot of these towns that I go to across Kansas, it's the same thing. For too long, our leaders have set back and watched our communities be disinvested, watched our infrastructure be disinvested. I love our mayor of KCK, but her budget is too small to fix generational infrastructure problem. So I'm excited to go to Washington and bring the intentionality around investing in every corner of my great state and yes, in my hometown, a Yandak County. But in all of the 105 counties across Kansas that have great people and great potential, we've had leaders in Washington that are doing the Washington thing and not really thinking about their community and their constituents. And that's the leader that I am and that's the energy that we're bringing to Washington. That's the energy we bring to Topeka when we go to the state and advocate for our communities again, like I said about that chief's deal. So man, I'm a fighter. I'm a fighter. I'm a fighter when it comes to getting resources from my community and I'm a lover of human beings of humanity, of kindness and decency. And I think a lot of folks in Washington have they've either forgotten those things or they haven't brought those to government. And I just want our government to be back to working for the people and doing it in a kind and decent and democratic way. You know, all this fighting. Again, you haven't heard me say a party once. This is nonpartisan kindness and decency and democracy and investment in resources and community. Those are nonpartisan topics. And so we've got to get out of this partisan political fighting and elect some people who want to solve problems. So that's the energy I bring. I love it. I love it. We'll keep the energy again. We wish you the best. All eyes on Kansas, not just for your potential. See, but also I know a lot of eyes on Darren Peterson and Kansas, the projected number one NBA draft pick for many. So again, that's that's happening in your state. Eric and Mary, once again, we're excited to have you on. Before I let you go, working people find out more and learn more about you, your platform, and just follow all the great work we know you'll continue to lead. Yes, I love that. Thank you so much for having me, Kelsey. This is such a dope, combo. So check me out on the political side, Eric for Kansas.com. That's ERIK. And it's easy. It's easy. I say the K is for Kansas. So ERIK for Kansas.com. You can learn more about my campaign. Sign up to volunteer. It's cost money and I'm not taking money from corporate packs and special interests. So if you're so inspired by this chat, please sign up to donate to learn more about the work that we're doing in Eastside communities, which is so vital. Check out EastsideInnovation.com. And we've got a really cool site for Eastsideopportunity.org. That'll tell you about kind of the community advocacy work that we do, you know, kind of fighting for Eastside communities. Just understanding those historical ties we talked about earlier. You can find me on Instagram @notempossible. So not impossible, but EM for Eric Murray. We have some cool chats there. Yeah. I mean, you know, I'm on all the spots. But yeah, I'm giving me an opportunity to plug. Plugged out. I hope that some people can come and follow us. And we really try to do a good job of engaging and activating young people, new voters. Folks who used to vote a long time ago, but feel like politics wasn't working for them. We really want to get everybody reengaged in this, whether that's through sport, through business and investment, through community place making. We want to meet people where they're at. And so we love this opportunity, Kelsey. You can tell I love sports and I'm fortunate to have the Kansas City Chiefs, the USC Trojans, you know, the Kansas J-Hawks, all of these great sports entities in my life to be able to have this cool conversation with you. Now, so exciting. And again, I'm just, I'm so excited for the future. And I love seeing sports booming and growing. You know, we call ourselves the districts of champions here in DC. But look, we're keeping an eye on Kansas and all the great things happening, Eric. So again, for the great people of Kansas and for everyone listening to this show, thank you all. So much. We're excited to be back with another special guest which will be announcing on social media to stay tuned. But once again, you had a chance to hear from none other than Eric Murray, candidate for United States Senate in Kansas. Eric, thank you so much for your time. We truly do appreciate it. Thank you so much, Kelsey. We'll talk soon. Eric, thank you for your Kansas City barbecue tour. I'm looking forward to it, folks. Look out for my social media guys. You know, I'm a foodie at heart. So you're going to be seeing it again. Eric Murray, thank you again so much for tuning in. Until next time. All right, everyone. That's a wrap for this edition of "Listen in with K&N Sports Talk Podcasts" in radio show. As always, I hope you had fun. Learn something. And by now, jump in on the K&N bandwagon. Be sure to listen in each and every week for new shows that drop online on our home site boxports1340am.com, as well as our show's official website. Listen in with K&N.com. You can also check out new episodes on my personal website, Kelsey Nicole Nelsen.com. If that's not enough, the show is also available for download on Spotify and iTunes. Look, we show love to all phone users. That's right. Android, iPhone, just make sure you download the show. And of course, please be sure to hit that subscribe button, rate, and review. Your feedback and support truly do matter to me and the entire. Listen in with K&N team and staff until later this week enjoy the sports world smile. And please don't take your fans' sports too seriously because there's always another play. Bye guys. Follow Kelsey on social media at the real K Nelsen. Connect with the show also on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and online at KelseyNeconeNelsen.com. 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