aterpster, yes I agree with you. I put that bit in for some of the guys who would say that you need a long time to get down etc. I figure about 102 flying miles to get down, with slow down at 10k.
MCI would have been just fine, the choice of Denver was money related(plane would be on the ground for awhile getting checked over) in my view as a convenience to United. Granted, finding a plane to continue would be easier at Denver, though it could have been flown quickly to MCI to pick up people.
I think MCI is an under utilized airport these days.