In 2019, we’ll see a new governor installed in Topeka and new sculptures installed at Wichita State.
New K-46 tankers will fly into McConnell Air Force, and giant Lego birds will hover over the gardens at Botanica.
We’ll sing along with Carrie Underwood, re-open Naftgzer Park and cast votes in local elections.
As Kansas marks another turn of the calendar, here are some notable events to expect in 2019:
Democrat Laura Kelly will take control of the Kansas governor’s office in January, after defeating Republican Kris Kobach in November. Her presence is expected to shake up a Statehouse power structure that’s been in place for years.
Kelly won election in part on promises to strengthen public schools, reform the state’s child welfare system and rebuild state agencies.
The Kansas Legislature’s primary order of business in 2019 could be directing more money to education, after the Kansas Supreme Court ruled in June that a new school funding plan is still inadequate and gave lawmakers another year to fix it.
After nearly two years of delays, the first KC-46 air refueling tankers are expected to fly over Wichita in 2019.
McConnell Air Force Base was chosen as the first active duty base to receive the long-awaited next-generation tankers, which prompted $267 million worth of construction projects at the base. The tankers are expected to be faster, fly farther and be more fuel efficient than the KC-135s that dominate McConnell’s two air refueling wings.
Sometime in early 2019, The Kansas Supreme Court likely will rule on the question of whether residents of Kansas have a fundamental, constitutional right to abortion — a ruling that could affect abortion law far beyond Kansas.
The faces of local government could change, as voters cast ballots for mayor and three Wichita City Council spots. Three of seven positions on the Wichita school board also will be up for election in 2019, as will mayor and city council seats in several nearby communities.
The Sedgwick County Commission will search for a new county manager in 2019, after forcing out County Manager Michael Scholes.
The commissioners also have authorized an investigation of their own conduct. That’s in addition to a probe by the FBI into whether the effort to fire Scholes may have been motivated in part by his cooperation with FBI agents investigating Commissioner Michael O’Donnell.
O’Donnell is set to stand trial on federal charges of campaign wire fraud and money laundering in January.
A refurbished, open-concept Naftzger Park is expected to reopen in 2019 as a new place for concerts and other activities linked to the nearby Intrust Bank Arena.
The redesigned park, at the corner of Douglas and St. Francis in downtown Wichita, will feature an open-air pavilion and a dog run, as well as a skim fountain and water jets, native plant box gardens, parking space for food trucks, and tables and chairs for working or eating outside. Part of the open space will be artificial turf.
In March, Wichita State University students will vote on a proposal that would raise student fees to finance about $38 million worth of campus upgrades, including part of a new W. Frank Barton School of Business on its Innovation Campus.
A campaign dubbed “Shock the Future” is expected to get going early in the year. The plan calls for doubling the campus infrastructure fee for all students, from $6 to $12 per credit hour, for at least 20 years.
In the fall, WSU plans to open its newest residence hall, The Suites. The building will house up to 230 students in primarily two-bedroom units. Once the new dorm opens, Shocker Hall, which opened in 2014, will be designated for first-year students.
And WSU is set to get a new Otterness, among other large-scale public sculptures that will be unveiled this summer.
Wichita-born sculptor Tom Otterness plans a 16-foot-high weathered-steel installation called “Shockers,” which will be accented by real hay. It will be installed between Duerksen Fine Arts Center and McKinley Hall. Between Ahlberg Hall and the Engineering Building, sculptor Randy Regier is scheduled to install his 8-by-5-foot-long sculpture, “The Celestial Mechanic.” And near Shocker Hall, Elyn Zimmerman’s “Font” installation is scheduled to be installed.
In the fall, the Wichita school district plans to launch its Early College Academy at Northwest High — a partnership with Friends University that will allow students to earn two years worth of college credit for free by the time they graduate high school.
District leaders also are awaiting a report from RSP Associates, an Overland Park-based consulting firm, which is studying demographic trends, enrollment patterns and how efficiently the district is using its space. Officials said the contract with RSP “is not a boundary study at this point,” but could lead to changes in attendance boundaries depending on the findings.
2019 will be a “big leap forward” for Botanica, said executive director Marty Miller. In mid-September, the garden is planning a grand opening for its long-awaited Carousel Garden, which features the old carousel from Joyland, as well as a full garden of whimsical sculptures and interactive areas.
Botanica will open a new Bee House in its Children’s Garden next spring, and from May through September will host Sean Kenney’s “Nature Connects,” a national traveling exhibition of giant Lego sculptures.
The Starlite Drive-In, Wichita’s last remaining drive-in theater, got a second life in December and will show movies once more in 2019. An anonymous Wichitan purchased the theater, which closed in October and was expected to be torn down to build warehouses.
Blake Smith, co-owner of the Admiral Twin Drive-In in Tulsa, Okla., is the new operator of the Starlite, and he expects to open to the public in either late February or early March.
The Wichita Art Museum plans to open a major exhibition of Georgia O’Keeffe work on March 30, titled “Georgia O’Keeffe: Art, Image, Style.” O’Keeffe, a pioneering modern artist, was last on view at WAM in 2014 as part of an “American Moderns” show alongside Norman Rockwell.
Wichita’s entertainment agenda includes some big-name country acts for 2019, including Kenny Chesney and Carrie Underwood at Intrust Bank Arena.
Perhaps the arena wanted to recreate some of its March Madness magic from 2018, as it’s scheduled three big shows in four days in early March 2019 — Dierks Bentley on March 1, Kelly Clarkson on March 2, and Metallica on March 4.
Theater-goers will be treated to classic musicals and some fresh from Broadway.
Music Theatre Wichita’s 2019 summer season will feature “The Sound of Music,” “An American in Paris,” “A Chorus Line,” “Chicago” and “In the Heights.” The remainder of Theater League’s 2018-19 season will bring touring productions of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella,” “Jersey Boys,” “Evita” and “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.”
At movie theaters, hot tickets will include “Star Wars: Episode IX,” the conclusion of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, as well as “Toy Story 4” and remakes of Disney’s “The Lion King,” “Dumbo” and “Aladdin.” Moviegoers also can expect the usual slew of superhero flicks, including “Captain Marvel” and “Avengers: Endgame.”
Among 2019’s most anticipated book releases: “On the Come Up,” by Angie Thomas; “The Nickel Boys” by Colson Whitehead; “Machines Like Me” by Ian McEwan; and “The Testaments,” Margaret Atwood’s long-awaited sequel to “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
If you’re having a baby in 2019 and it happens after Feb. 5, your child will be born in the Year of the Pig and, according to the Chinese zodiac, will be happy, easygoing, honest, trusting, sincere and brave. Pig people can be a bit stubborn and easy to anger, however, and sometimes are regarded as lazy.
This story was originally published December 31, 2018 5:00 AM.