Sporting Kansas City striker Diego Rubio has been named to the Chile Men’s National Team for two upcoming friendly matches in Asia, according to the Football Federation of Chile.
Rubio is one of three Sporting KC forwards who will join their national teams during the FIFA international window in September. Scotland’s Johnny Russell and Hungary’s Daniel Salloi will venture to Europe next week for the inaugural UEFA Nations League.
All three players will be available for Saturday’s pivotal away match at Seattle Sounders FC – slated for 3 p.m. on FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest Plus, UniMas and streaming live on Twitter at @UnivisionSports – before going abroad for international duty.
Rubio and Chile are set to face Japan on Sept. 7 at the Sapporo Dome in Sapporo, Japan, and South Korea on Sept. 11 at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, South Korea. Chile is No. 12 in the latest FIFA rankings and two-time defending Copa America champions, having won the continental title in 2015 and 2016.
Rubio is part of a 24-man squad assembled by head coach Reinaldo Rueda, which also includes FC Barcelona midfielder Arturo Vidal and Besiktas defender Gary Medel.
The 25-year-old Rubio has earned his first selection to Chile’s senior national team in seven years. He collected his previous three caps for La Roja in 2011 at age 18, featuring in friendlies against Paraguay, France and Mexico. He then went on to play eight matches at the U-20 level from 2012-2013.
Now in his third season with Sporting KC, Rubio has tallied seven goals and five assists in 520 minutes of MLS action this year, including four goals and two assists during August. He leads MLS with 1.21 goals per 90 minutes played, and his 58.3 scoring percentage (seven goals on 12 shots) is currently the third-best single-season mark in MLS history.
Storm chances after 6 p.m. Friday appear to be north of the Kansas City area. (National Weather Service graphic)A Friday evening severe weather outlook showed Wyandotte County in an area of marginal risk for lightning, hail, high wind gusts, a very low potential for a tornado, and localized and river flooding, according to the National Weather Service. (National Weather Service graphic)
Several rounds of showers and thunderstorms with heavy rains are possible today and overnight into Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
Morning storms have already moved through the Kansas City area. Showers will decrease through the early afternoon hours today, the weather service said. Additional activity is expected later tonight and into Saturday morning.
The rounds of storms will be capable of producing widespread rains, with higher amounts in northern areas of the region. Some areas may have flash floods or river flooding, according to the weather service.
Today, there is a 20 percent chance of showers and storms before 11 a.m., the weather service said. It will be partly sunny, with a high near 91, and a heat index as high as 101. A south wind of 13 to 17 mph will gust as high as 26 mph.
Tonight, there is a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after midnight, with a low of 75, according to the weather service. A south wind of 13 to 16 mph will gust as high as 24 mph.
Saturday, it will be mostly sunny with a high near 91 and heat index as high as 98, the weather service said. A south wind of 10 to 13mph will gust as high as 18 mph.
Saturday night, there is a 20 percent chance of showers and storms, with a low of 73 and a south southeast wind of 6 to 9 mph, according to the weather service.
Sunday, there is a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a high near 87 and a south wind of 6 to 9 mph, the weather service said.
Sunday night, there is a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a low of 72, according to the weather service.
Monday, Labor Day, there is a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a high near 86, the weather service said.
Monday night, it will be mostly cloudy with a low of 71, according to the weather service.
Tuesday, there is a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a high near 86, the weather service said.
Tuesday night, there is a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1 a.m., with a low of 71, according to the weather service.
Wednesday, there is a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a high near 86, the weather service said.
Wednesday night, it will be mostly cloudy with a low of 70, according to the weather service.
Thursday, there is a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a high near 86, the weather service said.
Wyandotte County might receive a half-inch of rain through Sunday night. The flood potential is higher to the north. (National Weather Service graphic)
A crowd attended the Unified Government Commission meeting Thursday night at City Hall, where the management agreement for a downtown grocery store was approved. Also approved was the district attorney’s funding for the conviction integrity unit. (Staff photo)
by Mary Rupert
The Unified Government Commission tonight approved a management agreement for a downtown grocery store at 5th and Minnesota Avenue, and also approved the funding for the district attorney’s conviction integrity unit.
There was no commission opposition to either of the votes. A large crowd turned out for the meeting, including some persons in favor of the two projects.
The approval of the grocery store was applauded by many of those in attendance. The downtown area has been without a grocery store for a number of years.
“This is a key location in our community,” Mayor David Alvey said. “I’m confident that that location, its accessibility to downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and to other parts of the metro area, is going to bring in not just our residents, but folks from outside.
“In my estimation, this is going to be a financially sustainable project,” Mayor Alvey said. “It is already engendering great interest in the downtown area, as did the announcement by KU to locate there. A lot of really good things happening there, and this is really going to take off.”
The $6 million downtown grocery store will be a 12,000 to 14,000-square-foot building in a current parking lot to the south of the Reardon Convention Center, and to the west of the former EPA building that will become a University of Kansas Health Systems facility, said Jon Stephens, UG economic development director. There may be additional small retail spaces at the site.
The Merc, a cooperative grocery store in Lawrence, Kansas, will manage the new store, at 5th and Minnesota, according to UG officials.
Under the management agreement, the UG would own the building and would manage the construction of it, UG officials said. There was a stabilization fund of $540,000 established that would provide funding in the first three years if the store fell below minimum levels. The stabilization fund would not be used if the store is operating at minimum levels that were set in the management agreement.
Jon Stephens, UG economic development director, made a presentation about the downtown grocery store while the audience listened Thursday at City Hall. (Staff photo)
Stephens said there would be a $4.2 million UG cash contribution from the hotel revenue fund; and sales tax and property tax increment financing at $1.6 million. The funding from the hotel revenue fund was from the sale of the Hilton Garden Inn that is next to the Reardon Convention Center at 5th and Minnesota.
Estimated construction costs of the grocery store building are $2.76 million, with furniture, fixtures and equipment at $1.5 million, professional services at $500,000 and project contingency funds at $500,000.
He also said the building could be sold to a private entity in the future, or to The Merc, with the revenue used again for future UG developments.
Stephens said it might take 12 to 16 months to build the grocery store. He estimated the store could be under construction by spring of 2019, and possibly open by fall of 2019, depending on the weather.
He also said there would be an additional 110 angled parking spaces along the streets in the area, which would add to available parking.
In addition, Stephens said the Board of Public Utilities will provide 100 percent renewable energy sources for the new store.
Stephens said the new store will have a classroom in which cooking classes and health-related cooking classes can be offered.
Jon Stephens, Unified Government economic development director, made a presentation Thursday on a new grocery store for downtown Kansas City, Kansas. (Staff photo)
“We’re super excited to be a part of this project, and super excited to join the community,” said Jason Lovell, finance manager of The Merc Co-op, after the meeting. Currently The Merc has one store in Lawrence.
The Merc’s board of directors a few years ago revised its end statement to provide healthy foods throughout the region, not just Lawrence, he said. They met with some members of the UG who were interested in finding a downtown grocery store operator.
The stabilization fund has made a difference in this project. Lovell said The Merc is not necessarily concerned with the financial end of the project now that the UG is offering a stabilization fund with it.
Lovell said The Merc is a cooperative that is owned by the community, and if it is bringing wealth to the community, that is what determines its success. He said they will welcome anyone here interested in being part of the cooperative as an owner.
Stephens said the grocery store will be open to everyone, people did not have to be members to shop there, and the prices at the store would be the same for members and nonmembers.
Commissioner Gayle Townsend expressed her appreciation to The Merc to come into the community and provide a much-needed grocery store here.
“Once the store comes here, we want it to be our store,” she said.
“This is something we’ve sought a long time, and it is going to be a much-needed, much-desired improvement, and people in KCK are going to prove that to you,” Commissioner Townsend said.
Commissioner Jane Philbrook said it was fun to shop at The Merc in Lawrence because she got to look at all the pictures in the store of the people who produce the food. The store carries a lot of locally grown produce and products.
Commissioner Brian McKiernan also thanked everyone for the hard work they put in on the project, and made the motion to pass the agreement.
There was no public hearing at the Thursday night meeting. A public hearing was set for 7 p.m. Oct. 11 on a downtown grocery redevelopment tax increment-financing (TIF) district.
Beverly Darby, who was in the audience, said she was glad the grocery store was approved.
Another person attending the meeting, Shirley Ikerd, had a different opinion about the location of the grocery store. She said the people in the food desert had been short-changed.
“Instead of putting it at 10th and Minnesota, they put it at 5th and Minnesota,” she said. The area near 10th and State was the former location of a Healthy Campus project for a grocery and recreation center. Ikerd said she was concerned that people who live in apartments, for example, near 9th and Washington, would not have transportation to get to the grocery store on 5th.
Conviction integrity unit funding approved
The conviction integrity unit funding was approved Thursday night with no discussion by the commission.
A community meeting was held Wednesday night at the Beatrice Lee Community Center, 10th and State Avenue, supporting the district attorney’s conviction integrity unit. At the meeting, the district attorney explained how the program worked, and there were also comments by Lamonte McIntyre, who was wrongfully incarcerated, from a University of Missouri at Kansas City law professor, by state Sen. David Haley, D-4th Dist., and others. At that meeting, residents were asked to attend the Thursday night meeting in support of the CIU funding.
At the end of July, the police chief, sheriff and members of the Fraternal Order of Police had sent a letter to the attorney general asking for his opinion on the legality of the CIU program and asking his office to oversee cases that go through it. The attorney general wrote a letter that said from his viewpoint, the CIU program appeared to be within the laws.
After the Thursday night meeting, Darby said, “I’m just thankful it’s going through.” She also came to the meeting to support the funding for the conviction integrity unit.
