Noelle Alviz-Gransee

About Me

I’m a first-generation, award-winning journalist based in the Midwest, passionate about holding those in power accountable and telling human-centered stories about arts, entrepreneurship, government, public safety, and emerging trends.

 I currently cover breaking news, arts, entertainment and business for The Kansas City Star. My previous experience includes reporting for the Des Moines Register, the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, the Columbia Missourian, and Startland News.

I graduated from the University of Missouri in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in print and digital journalism and a minor in political science.

Articles

Kansas City Star •

Fired KC youth symphony director ousted from second performance group, nonprofit

The former executive director for the Youth Symphony of Kansas City has been fired from a second music nonprofit for allegedly misappropriating charitable funds.

Keith Stanfield, a violinist and concertmaster, was terminated as executive director of the Friends of the Opus 76 Quartet Foundation for similar crimes, the foundation’s lawyer, Karen Donnelly, said Tuesday. Donnelly also said Stanfield will no longer be a part of the quartet.

“An internal investigation discovered that Mr. Stanfield...
Kansas City Star •

Kansas City DJ explains controversial name, fallout over club on Current Landing

Casio McCombs’ dream of opening a hifi lounge in Kansas City was so close. He had signed a lease and was aiming to open this coming fall.

But his future quickly crumbled after a social media uproar over the name of his business, Sundown HiFi, fueled by an Instagram post from KC Blue Crew, the KC Current’s official fan group called for KC Current Leadership and Palmer Square Real Estate Management to change the name of Sundown HiFi.

“The use of the name ‘Sundown’ for a dance club is not only ra...
Kansas City Star •

Kansas City artist’s jewelry inspired by Mexico turns into fast-growing business

Paulina Otero, a 28-year-old artist who founded her own jewelry and accessory brand, did not expect for her business to skyrocket as it has over the past five years.

“A lot of people like my work because it’s bright and colorful, but then they find out that these symbols have a story and a meaning, and then it’s almost like a fun surprise,” Otero said.

Otero, who works out of her studio in the West Bottoms, makes earrings, claw clips, charm necklaces and bracelets out of acrylics, metal, stone...
Kansas City Star •

Cult-favorite JoCo doughnut shop is back — this time with the original recipe

When Eric and Christina Benson opened the doors to Fluffy Fresh Donuts, 5729 Johnson Drive, in Mission at 5 Thursday morning, they were not expecting to sell out so quickly. By 7:30 a.m., their shelves were empty.

“Everyone’s looking for handmade stuff, and you don’t see that much anymore. Everything’s automated,” said Kyle Conroy, a friend of the Bensons and longtime customer of the original Fluffy Fresh Donuts.

The previous owner, Jim Hollinger, inherited the family business started by his f...
Kansas City Star •

The pitmaster of one of Kansas City’s most iconic BBQ joints has died

A pitmaster at one of Kansas City’s most famous barbecue joints recently died.

Wayne Garrett had worked at Arthur Bryant’s BBQ, 1727 Brooklyn Ave., for nearly 30 years, and was known for his wealth of knowledge and his dedication to his work, Arthur Bryant’s said in a Facebook post.

“We are forever grateful for his loyalty, his work ethic, his friendship and the legacy he leaves behind. Please keep his family and friends in your prayers. His spirit will live on in every pit we fire,” the post...
Kansas City Star •

Famous KCK diner changes hands after 50 years: ‘We just loved it’

For days, a line has snaked outside a beloved diner famous for their pork tenderloin sandwiches in Kansas City, Kansas, after the restaurant announced it was changing ownership.

Christy’s Tasty Queen owners Lowell Christy and Marla Christy, both 79, have worked out of the 1405 S. 55th St. location for 43 years. Before that, they had a drive-in in Windsor for eight years, just under two hours southeast of Kansas City.

The diner serves the famous pork tenderloin sandwiches, along with cheeseburg...
Kansas City Star •

Meet the Kansas City creator who sells her colorful ceramics all over the country

Priscilla Butler, 30, who goes by Lila with her family, never considered herself a creative person before she started her art business, LilasClayground.

“I do this all by myself. I don’t have any employees; the exception (is) my dad coming to help me pack orders,” she said.

Over the past six years, @LilasClayground has amassed over 18,000 followers on Instagram. Followers watch Butler’s whole process of making her ceramic products and hear first about when her new products drop at the beginnin...
Kansas City Star •

KC dad launched a trendy art subscription after his art went viral. It’s a hit

Theo Davis moved to Kansas City 10 years ago, and instantly felt at home.

The 40-year-old Washington D.C. native had always had an affinity for art, but it wasn’t until a few years later that he began dabbling in selling his work, letting his love for Kansas City inspire his artwork.

This year, sales of the father of three’s watercolor prints of Kansas City have gone through the roof, and with that, a new business venture has emerged.

“I love KC and I just wanted to share my art with as many...
Kansas City Star •

KC can’t get enough of her ceramic ornaments. Meet the 92-year-old artist

Near the northwest corner of Kansas City’s Jacob Loose Park sits a house peppered with colorful birdhouses and sculpted shrubbery. Beyond that lies a pottery studio where locals swarm each winter to get their hands on local artist Irma Starr’s holiday ornaments.

“I started making them and people liked them,” Starr said about her ornaments. “I’m so grateful to meet so many nice people, and it seems to make them happy, and it’s pretty wonderful when you see people happy.”

Starr, a longtime Kans...
Kansas City Star •

Layoffs rock nonprofit running Kansas City’s LGBTQ+ youth homeless shelter

SAVE Inc., the nonprofit that reopened Kansas City’s LGBTQ+ youth homeless shelter Teresa’s Place in August, has fired a number of staff members, citing funding issues that have also led to a lack of food at the shelter and other cashflow problems, according to staff.

Ten employees were let go across the organization on Nov. 15, according to Patrick McLaughlin, CEO of SAVE Inc. One of them was the manager of Teresa’s Place, the midtown Kansas City shelter focused on providing housing for LGBTQ+...
Kansas City Star •

‘Lit up every room’: Husband, friends mourn KC theater performer killed in crash

It was 2017, and Louise ImMasche was performing as Dr. Frank N Furter in “The Rocky Horror Show” at Theatre Lawrence. Their now-husband, Zak Grant, was in the crowd watching ImMasche for the first time, and remembered feeling instantly captivated by them.

“I don’t mean to insult Tim Curry or any of the people that tried to do Frank N Furter, but Lou did the character in a way that really made you sympathize with their cause and have a much deeper understanding than just frivolous joy,” Grant sa...
Kansas City Star •

Witness recalls south KC crash that killed 3rd grader biking to school: ‘Really hard’

Ruby Perkins is still having flashbacks and struggling to process what she witnessed Tuesday morning, when she and her family saw a third-grader biking to school get run over and killed by a van on a south Kansas City crosswalk.

“I don’t know which was worse. The actual situation, the whole event, or the aftermath of,” she said. “It’s just, it’s been a lot.”

Hazen Workman-Duffy, a third-grader at Ingels Elementary school, was biking to class on a marked crosswalk around 7:15 a.m., where police...
Kansas City Star •

New details in KC-area shooting that injured pregnant woman, killed unborn child: ‘Horrific’

Weeks after a Kansas City area shooting that injured his pregnant wife, Austin Marshall is still juggling two conflicting emotions: both relief that his wife, Ally Marshall, survived being shot in the thigh, and the sadness of mourning the loss of his unborn son.

“We’re grateful to have Ally because she did show up in critical condition, so this could have gone worse and I could have lost them both,” he told The Star.

Ally Marshall, a 27-year-old high school therapist, was driving down Kentuck...
Kansas City Star •

Witnesses, girlfriend of man killed in KC dollar store collapse describe horror

Laurie Whisler’s cigarette trembled between her fingers as she looked at the wreckage at the Family Dollar. Dressed in a gray shirt and beanie despite the sweltering Kansas City heat, she stood right outside the doors of the Valentine Apartments, bent over her walker and weeping.

Her long-term boyfriend, Larry Banks, had just died when the dollar store building off in midtown KC partially collapsed Sunday afternoon.

The Kansas City Fire Department responded to the reported building collapse in...
Kansas City Star •

Pride, pain and progress: The history behind Kansas City’s LGBTQ+ community

It was 1986 and Mark Manning’s 23rd birthday when he moved to Kansas City, away from his hometown in Nebraska. A necessary change, he said, to find an established queer community.

“Kansas City’s a little blue or purple island in the middle of a red state,” Manning said.

Manning, a recent theater major at the time, immediately moved in with friends and found a city with plenty of LGBTQ+ friendly nightlife and acting opportunities at the Unicorn Theater and Club Cabaret, among others. The area e...
Kansas City Star •

SWAT team couldn’t capture dogs that killed KC man, records show. So they left

Despite the presence of a SWAT team, K-9 officers and KC Pet Project officers, officials were unable to take control of five pit bulls that viciously attacked a Kansas City man one night last fall, killing him, according to recently released documents detailing the events of that night.

And although city ordinance allows officers to destroy dangerous dogs that pose a public threat, officers instead left the dogs in the fenced yard of their owner at the scene, those documents show.

However, whe...
Kansas City Star •

Pests. Mold. A child’s death. Here’s why Independence Towers still passes city inspections

Pest infestations. Chronic plumbing problems causing water damage and mold. No heating and air conditioning. Gaping holes in ceilings and walls, filled with exposed rusty pipes and other hazards. Fire damage. Broken appliances. Faulty window latches, in part to blame for a toddler falling to his death.

The problems at Independence Towers apartments have been well documented, and city officials in Independence have said they’re well aware of the living conditions residents have endured at the hi...
The Des Moines Register •

Grandfather says 9-year-old grandson who died in icy Waukee pond was his best friend

Shawn Pickett didn't immediately recognize the anguished woman he saw kneeling behind an ambulance near the new home of his son's family in Waukee.He'd gone to investigate the flashing lights as he and his son, Marcus Smith, looked for Smith's wife, who had suddenly gone missing.He called his son back at the house to report what he'd seen. But Smith by now had spotted the woman and realized the situation: It was his wife, Amber, and something had happened to their son."It's Aiden, it's Aiden, it...
Des Moines Register •

'Flames just rushed me': Neighbor drags out 2 survivors from fatal Nevada fire

As he pulled out his friends from the scorching flames, David Gibbs remembers the Venetian blinds above him melting, burning his hair.

Gibbs, who lives a few doors down from a townhome that was the scene of a fatal fire Saturday in Nevada, said he was in his backyard feeding the birds when he heard a big boom. Seeing white smoke, he originally thought it was exhaust coming out of a furnace, but then realized it was coming out a little too fast.

As he walked around to the front of the building,...
Columbia Missourian •

Mutual inspiration: Marlene Lee gains as much as she gives to trafficking survivors

There are many ways to help the Stop Human Trafficking Coalition of Central MissouriWhile drivers are needed, if you're not able to, you can  donate to the coalition and attend meetings. Letter writers to legislators are always welcomed.The community is welcome to attend meetings held on the first Thursday of every month at 6 p.m. For more details go to https://stophumantraffickingmo.com.Link to donate: https://stophumantraffickingmo.com/donate/Link to volunteer: https://stophumantraffickingmo.c...
Columbia Missourian •

No safe corridor: Family holding in Kyiv

Olha Kholod spent a lot of time in the summers growing up in the Sumy region of northeast Ukraine.“We have a garden, a house just like one floor … you can just run out of the yard, and there were a lot of kids too,” Kholod said. “It’s very quiet, nice, and very clean air, very green because it’s northern Ukraine, it’s like a forest.”
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Accolades

First Place: best news feature story from the Iowa Newspaper Foundation (2025)

Third Place: best story about marginalized or underrepresented communities from the Missouri Press Foundation (2025)

Second Place: best breaking news story from the Iowa Newspaper Association (2025)

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