Jackson County orders Bass Pro Shops to close Kansas City area store during pandemic
Jackson County health officials have ordered Bass Pro Shops to close its Independence store because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Kayla Parker, spokeswoman for the Jackson County Health Department, said on Monday that the office contacted the store to let it know it is not considered an essential business.
“Bass Pro has been called and instructed to close. Their letter of non-compliance is going out today,” Parker said in an email. “If they remain open this week, law enforcement will be contacted.”
The sporting goods outfitter last week argued it could keep three stores in the Kansas City metro open during the pandemic, despite metro-wide orders mandating the closure of all nonessential businesses.
Calls to the Independence store were not answered Monday afternoon. In a statement to The Star, corporate officials said they had not been contacted by the county.
Bass Pro also operates a store in Olathe. Johnson County officials said that store was deemed essential because it fell under an exemption for grocery stores in the county’s stay-at-home order. Several metro counties implemented such orders last week in an effort to slow the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.
Residents were ordered to remain at home except for activities “essential to the health and safety” of themselves, family members or friends. Violations are considered misdemeanor offenses, punishable by fines or imprisonment.
The company also operates a Cabela’s store at Village West in Kansas City, Kansas. Wyandotte County officials wouldn’t say whether that store was exempted from the stay home order, but said they were urging businesses to “exercise extreme caution in choosing to keep public retail locations open so that more stringent enforcement is not required.”
To help limit the spread of the new coronavirus, Bass Pro and Cabela’s have implemented customer limits in stores and urged employees to practice social distancing.
Last week, the company pointed to a Missouri law that says neither the state nor cities can prohibit or restrict the possession, sale or display of firearms or ammunition during an emergency.
Bass Pro also said it was exempt from Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s executive order that bans all gatherings of more than 10 people because her order “permits retailers like us that sell food products to operate during this crisis.”
On Monday, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said the city had issued citations to about 200 businesses not following the local stay-at-home order.
