Oct. 5, 2019

By Fred Liggett
FredL@lstribune.net

For most of 2019 FOX4 News has taken their popular morning show on the road to visit many cities in the Kansas City metro area and meet many of their viewers. There have been 23 trips in all and 12 of them have been done live. The last Zip Trip, as these series of visits have been called, will be in Lee’s Summit on Friday October 11.

The three-hour morning show which airs from 7 to 10 a.m. will air live from a TV set in Downtown Lee’s Summit. The show hosts, Mark Alford and Abby Eden, will be broadcasting from Green Street in front of City Hall plaza. The program will air both pre-taped segments and live cut-ins between 7 and 9 a.m. followed by an hour live from 9 to 10 a.m. Viewers can expect to see many Downtown attractions showcased during this time. Whistle Stop, Neighborhood Cafe, Lee’s Summit History Museum, Cameron’s and a preview of the weekend’s Art Fair is just a few spots that will see some TV time.

FOX4 general assignment reporters Matt Stewart and Kathy Quinn will be moving around the Downtown area on Friday morning visiting with business owners and local residents. Stewart is looking forward to the Zip Trip in Lee’s Summit because it allows the program to show “cool things that many may not realize is there.” Stewart adds these trips “are so unique, showcase cool history to viewers.” For Stewart these trips have allowed him to “hear about the history of the civil war, been fun learning about that history.”

Lee’s Summit may be the end of the Zip Trips for the year but there have been plenty of fun stops along the way. For Matt Stewart who has been a part of almost every one, “It makes you appreciate where you live.” Stewart, who is a Omaha, Nebraska native, listed some of the top trips this year like the “seeing the Elms in Excelsior Springs, learning the rules of basketball while in Lawrence, KS and now learning how Dr. Lea found the town” where he will be on morning of October 11th. The FOX4 morning crew has enjoyed taking their show on the road as they found “it’s a great opportunity to get outside the studio to come out and connect with the community.”

The stop in Lee’s Summit has added value for one FOX4 morning show producer, Kelsey Williamson, who is a Lee’s Summit West High graduate. Williamson has been looking forward to this edition of the morning show. Williamson has been working hard on each week’s Zip Trip which has taken the show from Liberty, Mo. to Louisburg, Ks. and many places in between.

Lee’s Summit residents are encouraged to do more than just watch the program but be a part of the morning show. FOX4 enjoys having a live audience behind the set so this is a chance for many to be on live television. In addition to the live audience, St. Michael’s drumline will be performing from 9 to 10 a.m. An onsite crowd cheering competition will be hosted by Lee’s Summit native Steve Serrano. Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street will have a poster making station available for event attendees to create a poster that later could very well be seen on television.

For early risers local residents can welcome the FOX4 RV as it arrives at City Hall at about 6:30 a.m. Then cheer as they see all the anchors come out. Before then one can watch the show set be put up by a FOX4 crew starting at 5 a.m. at the site of the Zip Trip which is at Lee’s Summit City Hall at 220 Green Street. October 11th this year will be remembered as the day the city of Lee’s Summit, thanks to FOX4, showed why it’s worth more than just a morning Zip Trip.