KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The first natural gas station open to the public is now operating in Kansas City.
The $2.1 million station that opened Monday is a public/private partnership with Clean Energy, which owns about 500 natural gas stations in the U.S.

The Kansas City Star reports the station will be used to fuel the city’s natural-gas vehicles. But it will also offer three pumps every day for the public. A fourth pump will be added later.

The city already had four stations for its fleet of 300 vehicles.

Peter Grace, senior vice president at Clean Energy, says the company plans to open other stations near Worlds of Fun and downtown Kansas City. They will not be a partnership with the city.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – People younger than 21 will not be able to buy tobacco or electronic cigarettes in Columbia.

The Columbia City Council approved the ordinances Monday, as well as prohibiting e-cigarette smoking in public buildings.

The Columbia Missourian reports supporters said the ordinances would improve public health.

Opponents said the ordinances would reduce sales tax revenue in Columbia and be hard to enforce because they regulate only sales of the products but not possession or use of tobacco or e-cigarettes.

Ronald Leone, executive director at Missouri Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, presented a petition he said had signatures from 2,600 residents who opposed restricting tobacco use.

DENVER (AP) — Saying Southwest Airlines is neglecting workers and its customers, baggage handlers are bringing attention to the company’s slide in on-time performance as they seek a new contract.

Workers are picketing and handing out leaflets to passengers at 16 airports across the country Tuesday, including Denver, Seattle, Los Angeles/Ontario and possibly Kansas City..

For years, Southwest was the most punctual of big U.S. airlines but it stumbled after trying to squeeze in more flights. It has backed off and says it is seeing improvement.

Union president Charles Cerf (SURF) says there’s often only one worker pulling bags out of Southwest’s new larger planes, which he says has contributed to delays. Besides increasing staffing, the union also opposes creating part-time jobs.

Southwest says the number of bags handled by its workers has declined.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A Columbia man serving a three-year federal prison sentence for sending money to his relatives in Iraq in defiance of U.S. sanctions has been released to a local halfway house.

The Columbia Missourian reports that Shakir Hamoodi will be eligible to complete his sentence under home detention if he can show proof of employment and a permanent residence.

The Bureau of Prisons says Hamoodi won’t be allowed to return to the family business, a Columbia international grocery store.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today released the following statement after Senate leadership announced that she has been named to the top Democratic position on the Senate Special Committee on Aging in the next Congress:

“I’m looking forward to working closely with my friend Senator Susan Collins, and I’m eager to continue our work to protect consumers and seniors, to make sure Congress is living up to the promises we’ve made to them, and to help ensure their government is working for them.”

The Aging Committee’s purview over all issues related to older Americans gives McCaskill a powerful new perch from which to combat scam artists targeting seniors—and all consumers—as well as a broader position with which to protect Social Security and Medicare.

KANSAS CITY (AP) – Police say a 23-year-old woman has been thrown from the bed of a pickup truck after leaving a Kansas City Chiefs football game at Arrowhead Stadium.

Sgt. Bill Mahoney tells KCTV-TV Alexa Brosseit was hospitalized with serious injuries to her head and neck after the Sunday crash. He says a 22-year-old man was driving the truck with a woman in the passenger seat when he hit a guardrail on Interstate 435.

The impact ejected Brosseit from the vehicle. Her condition was unclear early Tuesday.

Mahoney says it’s unclear what caused the crash. The driver was arrested and released. Lab results from his blood alcohol content test are pending.

ASH GROVE (AP) – A former southwest Missouri high school teacher has been charged in a child sex case involving a 16-year-old female student.

The Springfield News-Leader reports 34-year-old William Herrington of Republic was charged Monday with felony sodomy, child molestation and sexual contact with a student.

Ash Grove police say Herrington sent inappropriate messages to the girl’s Twitter account, and had sexual contact with her in the school’s library storage closet and at his home in October.

Superintendent Kyle Collins suspended the Ash Grove High School social studies teacher after the girl’s mother contacted him in October. Herrington is no longer employed by the district.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Herrington has an attorney.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is urging dismissal of a lawsuit that would dismantle the president’s immigration program, an initiative designed to spare nearly 5 million people in the U.S. illegally from deportation.

The case was brought by an Arizona sheriff, Joe Arpaio who contends that President Barack Obama’s program serves as a magnet for more illegal entries into the U.S. Arpaio says the new arrivals will commit crimes and thus burden his law enforcement resources.

In a court filing late Monday, the Justice Department told U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell that the sheriff’s theory is speculative and unsubstantiated and that Arpaio has failed to show he will suffer any injury at all from the federal government’s program.

JEFFERSON CITY – A proposed Missouri bill would give legal amnesty to those seeking emergency medical help for drug overdoses.

Republican state Rep. Bryan Spencer of Wentzville recently proposed a bill protecting those who call for help from being charged with some drug crimes.

Some who call an ambulance for themselves or others would be immune from charges of drug possession, but there are stipulations. The amnesty only kicks in if the individual has less than a certain amount of an illegal substance.

For example, someone with more than three grams of heroin, cocaine or morphine would not be protected. Police still could arrest those if they already had suspicion that they were committing illegal activity before calling for help with an overdose.