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Kansas City considers banning flavored nicotine, tobacco products

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Kansas City considers banning flavored nicotine, tobacco products


KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City, Missouri, could ban businesses selling all flavored nicotine and tobacco products. That includes vapes and menthol cigarettes, but not marijuana.

Opponents say the ban will hurt economic revenue and businesses.

Supporters say something needs to be done to address the high chronic illness rates in low income neighborhoods.

“It puts business owners at a hard spot,” Windstar gas station owner Shaheer Qayyum said.

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Brian Luton

Flavored nicotine and tobacco products make up about 30% of overall sales at Windstar, according to store management.

Qayyum explained he’s worried customers will just go to the next town over if flavored tobacco can’t be sold in Kansas City limits.

“We’re not just losing our cigarette sales, customers will come and buy $10 on pump three of gas, a candy bar, a bottle of soda, and all of those things have sales tax on them,” Qayyum said. “It’s a really big difference for us.”

The Kansas City, Missouri, City Council cites disparities of chronic health issues in low income and minority communities as the main driver behind a potential ban.

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Councilmember Eric Bunch

KSHB 41 News

“Health equity is so critically important when we are making policy decisions,” KCMO Councilman Eric Bunch said at Tuesday’s subcommittee meeting.

The Concerned Clergy Coalition in Kansas City has a task force working to address the health issues and concerns in neighborhoods.

President Stephanie Moss, who also works as a nurse practitioner, sees the high rates of ongoing illnesses from nicotine use.

“It’s one particular reason we’re advocating for this change,” Moss said.

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Stephanie Moss

Brian Luton

Moss explained flavors make the products more addictive and more dangerous.

“The retailers are centered around in those places or spaces where they are predominantly African-American,” Moss said. “[Vaping and tobacco use] really decreases the quality of life for everybody.”

The KCMO City Council originally heard the proposal on the flavored ban two weeks ago, but it was sent back to subcommittee for a re-read.

After a presentation on the health impacts and the city’s potential tax revenue loss, the committee recommended the ban ordinance move forward.

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The city’s finance committee estimates a sales & stamp tax loss between $1 and $6 million.

Kansas City’s Mayor Pro Tem Ryana Parks-Shaw explained the city could make up for that loss in other ways.

Mayor Pro Tem Parks-Shaw

KSHB 41 News

“The $50 million that we spend annual on health levy dollars, we may be able to utilize those funds, because we are expecting health outcomes to improve,” Parks-Shaw said.

Parks-Shaw also told KSHB 41 News data from other cities with similar bans shows customers will still shop at stores that no longer carry the flavored products.

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The KCMO City Council will be hearing the proposed ordinance and discussing it at Thursday afternoon’s meeting.

KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne reports on stories about government accountability. Share your story idea with Isabella.





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KHP says 135 spill was human waste

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KHP says 135 spill was human waste


WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) -Matthew Ho likes to keep a clean car.

“I basically use my car a lot for work, with my multiple day jobs and weekend jobs,” Ho said.

However, on Tuesday, it was anything but.

“I was on 135 going northbound towards Bel Aire,” Ho said, “Right about the exit of 21st st I kind of saw this big mess of pile up that just happened right as I was blinking.”

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Ho had no choice but to drive through it. Then the smell came.

“I think it took a little bit just because at first it didn’t seem like it was anything,” Ho said.

The smell continued to get worse and there was nothing he could do about it. It was a 90 degree day, and even with that intense weather he could not use the air conditioning because the air that it used was smelly itself.

“It sticks, and now that we’re downdraft winds you can just smell it all the time,” Ho said.

The company responsible for the spill, No Limit Logistics LLC, said, ‘There was no human waste’. The Kansas Highway Patrol says otherwise.

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Ho has tried to wash the smell out of his car multiple times.

“It didn’t work,” Ho said, “Washed the car again, still didn’t go away.”

Now, he is looking for someone to take responsibility.

“I would really like compensations for all the car wash, especially when it was something I didn’t do personally,” Ho said, “A mechanical failure on a truck isn’t necessarily someone’s fault, but someone’s liable for it.”

Copyright 2026 KWCH. All rights reserved. To report a correction or typo, please email news@kwch.com

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Kansas City fire heavily damages house, demolition possible: firefighters say

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Kansas City fire heavily damages house, demolition possible: firefighters say


KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Fire damaged a Kansas City house so extensively it may need to be demolished.

Firefighters responded to a house fire near W. 81st and Summit Street around 1:45 p.m. on May 12.

Firefighters said they noticed smoke coming from the attic when they arrived at the house. They were able to extinguish the fire minutes after they arrived.

No one was in the house at the time of the fire, according to the fire department. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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Inspectors are examining the house to see if it is stable and safe enough to remain standing or if it will need to be demolished.

Copyright 2026 KCTV. All rights reserved.



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Boeing makes $1 billion investment in Wichita facility

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Boeing makes  billion investment in Wichita facility


WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Boeing is making a billion-dollar investment in its Wichita location over the next three years, the company announced Monday.

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said the investment will be used to upgrade facilities, expand employee training and strengthen the production system.

He said this will prepare the facility for a higher production rate, especially as Boeing tries to keep up with a record-high demand. The company is currently sitting on a backlog of 6,100 commercial planes, valued at $695 billion.

“It’s going to take the skills and capabilities of all of you to help us deliver on our record backlogs and meet the growing demand in aerospace,” Ortberg said. “And I know the 13,000 Wichita teammates are ready to deliver on that promise.”

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There could be even more work coming to the facility. Reuters reported that Ortberg will be going to China with President Donald Trump and a few other leaders in the tech industry to talk about trade and investment opportunities.

Lt. Gov. David Toland said that more work at the company will help the Wichita economy and that it is up to the city to build up the workforce.

“We’ve got a company that’s put its money where its mouth is,” Toland said. “And as Kansans, as Wichitans, it’s on us now that we’re continuing to skill up our workforce, that we’re creating the talent pipeline that’s essential to allowing companies like Boeing to continue growing.”

Over the past several years, Wichita has invested in the aviation workforce. This includes expanding aviation education at WSU Tech and tapping students in WSU’s National Institute for Aviation Research to help with federal projects like the “Golden Dome” missile defense shield.

Last week, Boeing and WSU Tech announced a new partnership to build a workforce training center that will be a hub for Boeing’s Wichita workforce.

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Sen. Jerry Moran hopes Boeing’s investments will ease concerns or caution surrounding the company’s return to Wichita and build on the city’s reputation in the aviation industry.

“You’ve heard me say that people come here and we convince them that this is the Air Capital of the World,” Moran said. “I don’t think we need any more convincing. This is now known. We are the Air Capital of the World.”


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