Kansas

Explore Kansas Outdoors: Insect removal technicians

Published

12 months ago

July 13, 2025

Press Room

Explore Kansas Outdoors: Insect removal technicians

Female Great Plains Toad from Hamilton County, Kansas. Photo by Travis W. Taggart/FHSU

By STEVE GILLILAND
Explore Kansas Outdoors

As we walked up the sidewalk and across the patio at my grandson’s house the other night we had to watch our footing as the ground practically moved beneath our feet.

Dozens of tiny toads the size of quarters hopped in every direction with each step. An adult toad the size of a peach, probably dad or grandpa, perched at the top of the porch. We usually have multitudes of toads at the Gilliland ranch every summer, tumbling from beneath the tomato plants or leaping from under the lilacs. This year though, oddly enough our place seems to be “toad deficient.” I miss the little blighters as they are nature’s ground crew for insect control.

Toad… the name itself conjures up visions of witches adding eyes of newts and wings of bats to a bubbling caldron of potion, or a derogatory remark about a person’s physical appearance. They’re fat and pudgy, their blotchy skin is covered with lumps and warts, their spring mating call sounds like a poor lost calf calling for its mother and they pee on anyone attempting to pick them up. You gotta’ love ’em!

Their saving grace comes in the form of a voracious appetite for insects.

A few years back during a particularly wet spell like that of late, I spoke with Wildlife Diversity Coordinator for the state of Kansas, Ken Brunson, about the myriad of tiny toads that were literally everywhere that year.

Just when I thought life was as simple as a toad, was a toad, was a toad, Ken informed me that toads have names, too. Ken said that 95% of the toads seen in Kansas are either Woodhouse’s Toads, or Great Plains Toads. Eastern Kansas also has some American toads and Spadefoot toads.

Ken linked that year’s abundance of tiny toads to the abundance of standing water in places where there hadn’t been water for ages, and the flood waters forced many from their homes near the streams and swamps where they hatched, and sent them scrambling for higher ground.

Whatever their clan, all toads begin their life as jelly-covered strands of eggs laid in the shallows of swamps, streams and ponds. In about one week the eggs hatch into tadpoles. Next, hind legs begin to grow, then front legs, then lungs replace the gills, the tail is absorbed into the body, and finally, two to three weeks after hatching, the youngsters hop out onto dry land. Woodhouse and Great Plains toads both grow to be three to five inches long when fully mature.

Although not particularly athletic, toads are efficient predators and do have a ravenous appetite for insects. Research suggests that a toad is capable of eating two-thirds its body weight in insects daily.

Worms of all kinds seem to be favorites as they’re probably easier to catch (and I’m sure more filling!) A study done on Great Plains toads in Oklahoma found that because of their fondness for dining on over-wintering cutworms, these toads were estimated to be worth twenty-five dollars apiece per year to the agriculture industry there.

Their taste for bugs can easily be seen in their droppings. The black cigar shaped droppings found in driveways and on sidewalks this time of year are in fact, toad poo. When they have acres of yards, gardens and fields to potty in, I’ll never understand why they feel the need to go on the sidewalk or in the driveway (the least they could do is cart it away when they leave.) Next time you see some, take a stick and poke it apart; you’ll see it’s comprised entirely of undigested bug parts like legs and wings.

Contrary to the old-wives tale, handling a toad does not cause warts. The warts on their skin and the glands behind their eyes do, however, produce a toxin capable of making you sick if accidentally ingested. You’ve witnessed this toxin at work if you have ever seen your dog frothing and foaming at the mouth after playing with a toad in the yard.

With that in mind, I guess my advice to you concerning toads would be three-fold.

1) If you suddenly find your dog foaming and frothing at the mouth, don’t shoot it, it probably just licked a toad.

2) Don’t lick a toad yourself.

3) ALWAYS hold a toad way out in front of you with both hands or you’re liable to get your shoes wet.

So whenever a fat pudgy toad surprises you in the garden or flower bed, tip your hat to them and thank them for the insect removal service they provide.

Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors!

Steve can be contacted by email at [email protected].

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Kansas

Chicken chain expanding to Kansas and five other Midwest states

Published

9 hours ago

June 26, 2026

Press Room

Chicken chain expanding to Kansas and five other Midwest states

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Colorado-based chicken restaurant Birdcall is expanding into Kansas.

The company announced Friday its plans to expand into Kansas and five other Midwestern states over the next five years. Birdcall plans to add six to eight fast-casual restaurants in Wichita and Topeka.

“The Midwest represents a tremendous opportunity for Birdcall,” CEO Mark Lohmann said. “From our award-winning chicken sandwiches and other handcrafted menu offerings to our commitment to innovation and community, we believe Birdcall offers an experience that resonates with today’s guests and is a natural fit for the region.”

Other locations announced are:

Indiana – 10 to 15 restaurants across Indianapolis, Bloomington, Evansville and Fort Wayne
Missouri – Up to 18 restaurants across St. Louis, Columbia, and Kansas City
Nebraska – Seven to 10 restaurants across Omaha and Lincoln
Ohio – Up to 20 restaurants across Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo
Wisconsin – 10 to 15 restaurants across Milwaukee, Madison and Appleton

Birdcall’s menu features a variety of chicken sandwiches, chicken fingers and nuggets, salads, tater tots, fries, and more. The restaurant also makes its own in-house sauces and serves up draft beer and house-made margaritas, with happy hour specials.

The company said each restaurant will use self-service kiosks and occupy about 2,300 square feet, with indoor and outdoor seating that can serve up to 150 people.

Birdcall currently operates 17 restaurants across Colorado, Arizona and Texas.

For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news by downloading our mobile app and signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track 3 Weather app by clicking here. To watch our shows live on our website, click here.

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Kansas

Video shows disruption during Osawatomie City Council meeting with data center developer

Published

19 hours ago

June 26, 2026

Press Room

Video shows disruption during Osawatomie City Council meeting with data center developer

KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Share your story idea with Ryan.

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A video shared by a viewer, shows a resident speaking at the Osawatomie, Kansas City Council meeting being escorted out by police on Thursday evening.

The video shows a man holding a “Hell No Alcove” sign, while commenting about a blighted property, which according to public records is owned by Pacific Apartments, LLC, operating out of the same address as Alcove Development in Lawrence, Kansas.

KSHB 41

A video submitted by a viewers shows a resident being escorted out of a city of Osawatomie, Kansas council meeting that included an appearance from a data center developer.

Alcove Development is behind the effort to build a $1 billion, 283-acre data center development in Osawatomie’s northland property.

The video, shared by a viewer, goes on the show two law enforcement officers approaching the individual, who is Lee Brewer, at the podium, after he begins to yell, while the crowd joins in behind him. Lee Brewer reached out to KSHB 41 late Thursday night, identifying himself as the person who was escorted out.

Osawatomie, Kansas Police Chief Dave Stutteville is seen in the video also approaching the man.

KSHB 41 Miami County Reporter Ryan Gamboa reached out to the Police Chief, City Manager, and Mayor Nick Hampson for comment late on Thursday night and is waiting on a response.

Residents in contact with Gamboa attending the meeting shared the meeting was still in session after 9:30 p.m.

Thursday night’s meeting was the city and Alcove Development’s attempt at sharing potential benefits of a data center for the community.

Gamboa has long covered the data center project in Osawatomie, Kansas — and neighbors to the project have voiced their opposition to the proposed development.

This is the first time Alcove Development has approached the public, but not the first time it has worked with the city of Osawatomie.

In late 2025, Alcove Development approached the city with the project and weeks later, a pre-development agreement was signed giving Alcove exclusive rights to the development for three years.

But city council meeting records from 2023 show, the city of Osawatomie entered into a pre-development agreement with Alcove Development to redevelop a property known as Old Swenson School.

Alcove Development had six months to asses the condition of the property and determine a course of action for redevelopment, and the overall agreement would last 18 months, according to public records.

The pre-development agreements states, Alcove would consider asking for tax breaks on the project, including utilizing the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit.

At the time, the property had sat in disrepair since 2016, according to the records, and was frequently found in violation of city code.

If the re-development were to fall through, the city would be on the hook to purchase the property from the developer for $25,000, with unclear total costs for infrastructure improvements.

KSHB 41 will follow up on the status on this project at a later date.

Earlier this week, Miami County Reporter Ryan Gamboa, sat down with Donna Ingram who doesn’t live far from the data center site.

Ingram expressed her concerns about the amount of infrastructure that would be built to operate a data center, and how it might overtake the land around her home.

She expressed concerns because the City of Osawtomie changed the public comment guidelines of a promise town hall with the developer.

“Watching this process play out is disheartening,” Ingram said in an interview on Monday. “A town hall was promised that didn’t come to fruition… I don’t believe it’s the definition. This is a city council meeting. We’re the ones that are gonna live next to it. We’re the ones that live in the path of the infrastructure.”

The city told KSHB 41 on Monday in a statement, they changed the format to prioritize the voices of city taxpayers, as county taxpayers have dominated the public comment periods over the past couple of months.

Mayor Nick Hampson also told Gamboa in an earlier interview he was hoping to have a productive “town hall” — instead, the first meeting with the public and the developer of the project was during a formal and regularly scheduled city council meeting.

The city also required residents to submit questions ahead of time, and the city would filter questions to the developer, while limiting public comment to three minutes.

“We have been and will continue to hear from the residents that are in the county and closest to this project,” Hampson told KSHB 41 in an email on Monday.

Alcove Development owned Property — A former school house in Osawatomie, Kansas, owned by a company operating out of Alcove Development’s address.

Residents shared a record to KSHB 41, submitted to the city for a formal investigation into 1009 Pacific Avenue in Osawatomie, which is owned by a company operating out of Alcove Development’s address.

The dilapidated property is the a former school house, that sits with broken windows, and other parts of the building breaking down.

The Miami County Republic reporting on Thursday, the city launched an investigation into the building.

Residents cite the buildings deteriorating condition and potential danger to the public, and lack of property maintenance.

Lee Brewer issued a comment regarding the incident at Thursday night’s meeting, stating he was escorted out after the Mayor closed public comment, and he was not on the list.

Brewer told KSHB 41, he has a time -stamped email of pre-submitted questions ahead of the meeting. KSHB 41 asked Brewer to review the email, and is waiting for an answer.

I am severely disappointed in our Mayor and the city council. They told us we were required to send in an email with our questions and our address to prove we were citizens of the town by Wednesday the 24th at noon. I have my email which is timestamped at 10:26 a.m. Wednesday the 24th. They shut me down and first told me I didn’t put the email in and then once I was kicked out of there I was told by people coming out that they were told I turned in my email too late. I’m not a math teacher but last time I looked at my clock 10:26 a.m. falls just over an hour and a half before noon. I mean correct me if I’m wrong. I thought because the mayor and I were having decent conversations on Facebook Messenger, whereas I would ask him questions and he would answer to the best of his ability. And I would thank him I thought we were pretty cordial. So to basically call me a liar in front of the entire town on video recording, take away my freedom of speech My first amendment right, and have me removed from a public building was completely wrong I am very disappointed in our city council and mayor. When I approached the podium all I was trying to do was point out that resolution number 1169 in Osawatomie Kansas refers to Alcove development LLC being the owner of the old Swenson School at 1009 Pacific. As I pointed out in these earlier messages to you Alcove has left this building dilapidated in ruins and a danger to our community. Our great city council and mayor seem to have other plans for me being able to speak though.

Lee Brew, via Facebook to KSHB 41 News

KSHB 41 reached out to Alcove Development late on Thursday night, and is waiting on a response.

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