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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Union employees who work for the city of Kansas City, Missouri, are set to receive an average raise of 12.6% under terms of a new collective bargaining agreement announced Tuesday.

The new four-year agreement between KCMO and workers with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 500 creates a citywide minimum wage of $16 per hour for seasonal and part-time workers and $17 per hour for full-time employees.

Local 500 represents workers who resurface roads, maintain water treatment plants, work with the waste collection department and perform a variety of customer-facing jobs, including customer-service reps, taxpayer specialist and ambulance billing clerks, according to a release from KCMO.

In addition to the average 12.6% wage increase, the new CBA also establishes annual “step” increases for municipal workers’ salaries.

"Today, I hope you recognize that this is a small token of our appreciation with many, many, more to come," Mayor Quinton Lucas said in announcing the new labor deal. "And what I hope that what we see over the next several years isn't that we fall behind, once again, but that we become leaders in our region, in our country in terms of how we look out for our workforce with pay increases at high levels that make sure we represent all of you."

AFSCME, which is part of the AFL-CIO, is the largest union for public employees in the country.

The KCMO City Council approved the deal, which union members recently ratified. It runs through April 30, 2026.

“This is a step in the right direction," Local 500 President Reginald Silvers said. “The goal is recruitment, retention and training, and we have solved some of those problems with these negotiations. Local 500 is grateful and appreciative.”

Kevin O’Neill, a councilman who represents the 1st District At-Large, called the new CBA “a great start but nowhere near the finish line.”

Particulars of the new contract with unionized city workers includes “market-based salary adjustments,” which take effect Aug. 1, and 3 to 4% annual increases each of the next three years.

Each December, workers with at least five years of service also will receive a lump sum “longevity pay” bonus.

The deal also includes shift differentials and allowances for overtime meals and tools.

“We've been working closely with Local 500 leadership to find ways to better support and celebrate our hard-working front line essential city employees,” City Manager Brian Platt said in a statement. “These significant increases to salaries and benefits will improve our ability to attract and retain the best talent which will also ultimately improve service delivery.”

Non-union employees also are in line for revised, higher pay grades based on years of service effective Aug. 1 after a review of market data to ensure competitive salaries as a way to bolster employee retention.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Chiefs 2022 schedule was released along with the rest of the NFL slate Thursday.

The 2022 NFL season will kick off on Thursday, Sept. 8 with the Buffalo Bills against the defending champion Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. ESPN opens its schedule with Monday Night Football on Sept. 12 featuring the Denver Broncos at the Seattle Seahawks.

The final regular-season games for the 2022 season will be played Jan. 8, 2023. The playoffs begin Jan. 14 and continue through Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12 in Glendale, Arizona.

Here's what's in store for the Chiefs:

Schedule

Sept. 11: at Arizona

Sept. 15: vs. L.A. Chargers (TNF)

Sept. 25: at Indianapolis

Oct. 2: at Tampa Bay (SNF)

Oct. 10: vs. Las Vegas (MNF)

Oct. 16: vs. Buffalo

Oct. 23: at San Francisco

Oct. 30: Bye

Nov. 6: vs. Tennessee (SNF)

Nov. 13: Jacksonville

Nov. 20: at L.A. Chargers

Nov. 27: vs. L.A. Rams

Dec. 4: at Cincinnati

Dec. 11: at Denver (SNF)

Dec. 18: at Houston

Dec. 24: Seattle

Jan. 2: Denver

Jan. 7 or 8: at Las Vegas

Strength of schedule: T-5th, .533

Chiefs | Tickets

Biggest takeaway

This is a difficult schedule. Measuring by opponents' expected wins, the Chiefs have the toughest schedule in the league, by far. A slow start, as the Chiefs had last year when they began 3-4, won't cut it this time. The problem with getting out quickly is that the Chiefs open with three of four on the road, including a game at Tampa Bay, and then come home to play the Bills. The Chiefs need to be on point from the start to successfully navigate this stretch.

Revenge game

Beating Tom Brady and the Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football in Week 4 won't make up for Brady's 3-0 record against the Chiefs in the postseason, including a victory in Super Bowl LV. But it will provide the Chiefs a measure of satisfaction, particularly since Brady and the Bucs dominated the game in that Super Bowl following the 2020 season. A win would also allow Patrick Mahomes to even his career record against Brady at 3-3, with all of the victories coming in the regular season.

What the oddsmakers think

The oddsmakers have the Chiefs' win total at 10.5. The Chiefs have won at least 12 games in each of the past four seasons. But they haven't played a schedule quite as difficult as the one they will face this season, after each of their AFC West rivals loaded up through free agency and trades. The Chiefs can hit the over if they survive an opening six-game stretch that includes two division games plus matchups with the Bills and Bucs.

Bold prediction

The Chiefs will go 5-1 in AFC West games. They'll split with the Chargers -- each team winning on its home field -- but will sweep the Broncos -- making it 15 straight wins in the series -- and the Raiders.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Monarchs open their season against the Sioux City Explorers at 7 p.m. Friday at Legends Field.

This will be the second season for the revamped franchise that had some added pressure in its inaugural season of honoring the Monarchs, who won 10 Negro Leagues championships.

And the team did not disappoint, celebrating with champagne showers after bringing home a championship in 2021.

"What a dream come true for the first year. I mean the first year of our partnership, we're champions," said Dan Vaughn, Monarchs director of broadcasting.

Formerly known as the Kansas City T-Bones, the Monarchs are living up to their name.

The Monarchs were the longest-running and most decorated franchise in Negro Leagues history. Now, with a reign reborn, it's championship or bust.

"There's no reason to come to a season and not expect to win. When it's all said and done, that's what we came here to do, we came here to win, we came here to win a championship, and that's our goal and that's our plan," said outfielder Darnell Sweeney.

With 11 players returning from last year's championship squad, a deep playoff run is not out of the question this season.

"If we can do that same thing and play the game how we're supposed to play, there's no reason why we shouldn't be popping champagne at the end of this year," Sweeney said.

The 2021 season came to a close with a 10-game winning streak, and with the season opener finally here, the Monarchs are ready to continue that streak for another historic season.

"It was magical last year with the whole re-branding with the Monarchs and how well we played and how many players we had going to affiliates, so it was just a magic carpet ride, really," said manager Joe Calfapietra.

The first 1,000 fans into Legends Field on Friday will take home a special championship pennant. A ring ceremony honoring the championship team will also take place on the field before first pitch.

Click here for ticket information.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kat Collet, the owner of With Love Salon in Kansas City, Missouri, works to educate others when it comes to diverse hair.

“As an artist I’ve always loved to create, I’ve always loved chemistry,” Collet said.

Colleth's salon in the Kansas City Crossroad drips with bright colors and her designs.

“We have poured our hearts and souls into this place,” she said.

Collett has made a name for herself in the hair styling and fashion color world that reaches beyond Kansas City.

Born and raised in the Kansas City area, Collett will tell you she’s also first generation from the Philippines.

She now leads the way in diverse hair education.

“As someone who grew up in Johnson County, I didn’t grow up with a lot of people who had my hair type or ethnicity,” she said. “With having a really course hair type, I have a lot of clients who come to me specifically because they know I can work with course hair, curly hair.”

She travels across the country multiple times a month to teach others how to work with all hair textures and types.

“I want them to feel safe in my chair and know I can handle it,” she said.

Collett calls it "‘creating a crown," but knows some people may not see it that way if they’ve had damage or mistreatment from past hair experiences, so she works to educate others.

“There’s just an awareness of it now, we need to change, and we need to keep learning and keep growing to be able to help more people,” she said.

She also warns of hair stereotypes while driving her passion.

“I want people no matter what their upbringing was, no matter what society has told them, no matter to what they felt about themselves in the past, or maybe they aren't confident, I want them to feel beautiful,” she said.

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Copyright 2022 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. —

For those of us fighting the pain at the pump, there is a slight silver lining to living in the Midwest — Missouri and Kansas have some of the least expensive gas prices in the country, and the metro has some of the lowest prices in the region.

The bad news?

Our prices for regular, unleaded gas are nearing record highs on both sides of the state line. And diesel? We're setting new record highs as we speak.

AAA reports the current average price per gallon of regular gas in Kansas is $3.94, and in Missouri, it's slightly less, coming in at $3.89 per gallon.

If you're filling up with diesel, prices will average $5.29 per gallon in Kansas and $5.20 in Missouri.

In Kansas, the record price for regular unleaded gas was set on July 16, 2008, at $4.02 per gallon — just 8 cents above the current state average.

In Missouri, the record-high price was set the same day in 2008 at $3.94 per gallon -- only 5 cents away.

Nationally, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas will run $4.32, with the average price for diesel running at $5.54.

So where can you find the best prices in each state?

According to AAA, the metro area has some of the lowest gas prices on both sides of the state line, with a few exceptions.

In Kansas, the lowest average price per county can be found in Leavenworth County. In Missouri, it's Vernon County in southwest Missouri, with prices averaging around $3.74 per gallon.

In the core metro area, Cass County, Missouri and Leavenworth County, Kansas have the lowest averages.

The current average price for a gallon of unleaded runs around $3.81 on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metro, and $3.88 in Kansas.

Click here to see the AAA report on Kansas gas prices.

Click here to see the AAA report on Missouri gas prices.

Looking for the cheapest prices in the metro? As of 8 a.m., in the Missouri side of the state line, Gas Buddy says both the QuikTrip on East 39th Street in Independence and Costco on Valley View Parkway in Independence both have gas for $.364 per gallon, the Blue Springs Minit Mart on US-40 has gas for $3.65, and Casey's on East 23rd Street in Independence has gas for $3.67.

In Kansas, the BP or the Murphy Express, both on Parker Street in Olathe, have gas for $3.77. The Casey's in Gardner, Kansas has gas for $3.79 per gallon. And if you feel like venturing into Leavenworth, you'll find some of the cheapest prices in the state, with $3.68 at the Fav Trip on South 4th Street, and $3.71 at several other nearby stations.