WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – Organized team activities, or OTA’s, are underway for the Kansas City Chiefs. One of the big topics addressed during Wednesday’s media briefing was the recent controversial comments made by kicker Harrison Butker during a commencement speech at Benedictine College in Atchinson, Kan.

Butker was criticized for promoting the idea of women devoting their lives to being mothers and homemakers. He also spoke out against Pride Month and President Biden.

When asked what he thought about the comments, head coach Andy Reid said his team is a microcosm of life – representing different areas, different religions and different races.

“We all respect each other’s opinions,” said Reid. “Not necessarily do we go by those, but we respect everybody to have a voice. That’s the great thing about America.”

Reid was questioned whether Butker’s remarks had an impact on the women on the Chiefs’ staff. He said it hadn’t. He also said his players respect one another and their differing opinions.

“They understand how things work,” said Reid. “Everybody has got their own opinion and that’s what’s so great about this country, you share those things and you work through it. And that’s what guys do.”

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was asked similar questions regarding teammate’s remarks. He said he’s known Butker for seven years and judges him by the character he shows every single day, “and that’s a good person.”

“When you’re in the locker room, there’s a lot of people from a lot of different areas of life and they have a lot of different views on everything and we’re not always going to agree,” said Mahomes. “And, there’s certain things he said that I don’t necessarily agree with, but I understand the person that he is and he’s going to do whatever he can to lead people in the right direction. And, it might not be the same values that I have, but at the same time, I’m going to judge him by the character that he has and that’s a great person.”

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was also asked about Butker’s speech on Wednesday at the NFL spring meeting in Nashville, Tenn. He didn’t stray away from the league’s recent statement on the issue.

“We have over 3,000 players,” he said. “We have executives around the league that have a diversity of opinions and thoughts, just like America does. I think that is something that we treasure, and that’s part of, I think, ultimately what makes us a better society.”

Copyright 2024 KWCH. All rights reserved. To report a correction or typo, please email news@kwch.com

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCTV) – Max Howell has pleaded guilty to federal charges of bank fraud and money laundering.

The contractor was the recent focus of numerous KCTV5 investigative reports where families questioned what happened to their money.

Numerous subcontractors also stepped forward claiming they were never paid for their work.

Those allegations have stacked up in civil courts in both Kansas and Missouri.

Criminal charges came in August of 2022 when federal prosecutors argued Howell misused funds from HUD and other grants.

Howell faces up to 40 years in prison. Sentencing takes place in September.

Public records show Howell has created a total of 10 businesses in Kansas and Missouri. New business names meant homeowners were often unaware of previous problems.

The civil lawsuits remain ongoing. Just earlier this month, a Clay County judge granted a summary judgment of $75,000 against Max Howell. Other civil lawsuits remain ongoing.

KCTV5 reached out to Max Howell and his attorney for comment but did not hear back.

Copyright 2024 KCTV. All rights reserved.

A loud, pervasive type of cicada that emerges only once every 17 years will appear this year in far western Missouri, but apparently not in Kansas.

Cicadas from what is known as “Brood XIII” are projected to come up from the ground in an area extending as far east as Benton County, Missouri — which is adjacent to Crawford County in southeast Kansas — says a 2024 cicada map compiled using data from various federal agencies and published May 7 by USA Today.

But Brood XIII cicadas aren’t expected to emerge in Kansas, which is anticipated to see “only the non-periodical cicadas we see every year,” said Rodrigo Mercader, an assistant professor of biology at Washburn University.

“We will have to wait until 2032 to see periodical cicadas in Kansas when Brood IV emerges,” Mercader told The Capital-Journal on Monday.

Brood IV cicadas also come up from their subterranean homes every 17 years, and last did so in Kansas in 2015, he said.

Why are people excited about periodical cicadas?

There are at least 15 cycles, or “broods,” of periodical cicadas, some of which emerge every 17 years while others emerge every 13 years.

The red-eyed bugs with black bodies and translucent, orange-tinted wings stay above ground for a few weeks, mating and laying eggs, before they die. Their eggs then produce the next generation of cicadas.

Mercader said people are becoming excited about periodical cicadas this year for two main reasons:

• Numerous periodical cicadas from two different groups — Brood XIII, which emerges from the ground every 17 years and Brood XIX, which comes up every 13 years — are appearing this year. Though the geographic areas where those broods appear are adjacent, there is little overlap and only small areas of central Illinois are expected to see both broods. The two broods last emerged at the same time in 1803.

• Broad XIX periodical cicadas will be present in a large geographic area, appearing in “quite a few” states.

Where are periodical cicadas expected to appear this year?

Different broods of cicadas emerge in different parts of roughly the eastern half of the United States in different years. Other species of cicada show up every summer.

Cicadas have not been seen in the far West.

Many of this year’s cicadas have already come up from the ground.

States anticipated to see periodical cicadas this year are Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Virginia.

Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.