Author: CNN Newsource

By Kenny Graves

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    BRAZOS COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — Lawyers, business leaders and residents gathered at the Brazos County Administration Building for the 16th annual Atticus Finch Day, an event focused on promoting civility and ethics in the legal profession.

Shane Phelps, a local attorney who founded the event, said the day carries a simple but meaningful purpose.

“This idea that we get together once a year and promise each other we’ll try and do better,” Phelps said.

Phelps started Atticus Finch Day 16 years ago after a tense confrontation with a fellow lawyer nearly turned physical inside a courtroom.

“His face was red. I looked down and his hands were clenched. I had never seen that part of Phil before. He was a wonderful man. Um, and he looked at me and he just stared me in the eye and said, make my day, Phelps. I mean, he was ready to throw down in the courtroom,” Phelps said.

The two lawyers reconciled, and the experience inspired Phelps to create the annual event. He said it has had a real impact on the local legal community.

“When Atticus Finch Day, um, the inspiration occurred, the courthouse was a pretty unpleasant place to work. And today that’s not true,” Phelps said.

Eva Guzman, a former Texas Supreme Court Justice, attended the event and spoke to its broader significance for the legal profession.

“What a wonderful occasion to remind lawyers that we are stewards of the rule of law,” Guzman said.

Local attorney Josh Davis said the event stands out for the sense of community it builds among legal professionals.

“One of the reasons why I like this event so much, it, it celebrates the collegiality amongst attorneys,” Davis said.

Local resident Eusha Azmain said the lessons from the event extend beyond the courtroom.

“When you fight with opposing counsel, you see the amount of fervor they fight with, and just remember, you know what, they’re human beings as well, you know, and yeah, we are fighting in the courtroom. It’s nothing personal,” Azmain said.

Guzman said those lessons apply to everyday life as well.

“Treat your friends, your neighbors. Your people at the PTA like you’d like to be treated. You can disagree without being disagreeable,” Guzman said.

Phelps said he hopes the law students who attended will make ethics and civility a hallmark of their careers.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. KXXV verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Olivia Acree

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    KANSAS CITY (KSHB) — The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride will bring together thousands of people around the world Sunday to raise awareness and money for men’s mental health and prostate cancer research.

Between 100 and 150 riders are expected in Kansas City alone.

Leather jackets are traded for ties and suits as riders roll through downtown Kansas City.

Host Anthony Brower said the event is about more than the unexpected style — it’s about changing the conversation around men’s health.

“One of the stylistic images behind it was a photo or a scene of Don Draper from Mad Men sitting in a suit astride a motorcycle. And it was really just that incongruity of the idea… and their intention was to change the face of men’s health,” Brower said.

The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride takes place in more than 1,000 cities worldwide to raise money for Movember’s prostate cancer and mental health programs. The event also challenges stereotypes about both motorcyclists and men’s mental health.

According to the CDC, men account for nearly 80% of all suicide deaths in the U.S.

For Brower, the event has taken on a new and deeply personal meaning this year after his own brother died by suicide.

“I’ve been advocating for it for the last 12 years, and as much experience as I have talking about it, I never saw it coming. So you just don’t know what somebody’s hiding,” Brower said.

Every donation raised during the ride supports prostate cancer research, suicide prevention, and mental health resources.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. KSHB verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Lily O’Shea Becker

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    LAWRENCE, Missouri (KSHB) — University of Kansas architecture students celebrated Friday the completion of their design and build of the Kaw House in North Lawrence, which will help community members transition out of homelessness.

Nonprofit Tenants to Homeowners purchased the land and worked with KU’s Dirt Works Studio class to build the first of eight tiny, affordable homes on the lot.

“As both a building and a teaching instrument, Kaw House stands as an example of how innovation in architecture can simultaneously advance sustainability, education and social good,” the press release about the development said.

In May 2024, the City of Lawrence’s Affordable Housing Advisory Board said its goal is to add 1,200 affordable units to the city’s housing stock by 2029.

“We love working with Dirt Work Studio because, basically, there’s free student labor. They get a learning experience, and we get more affordable but higher-end houses,” Rebecca Buford, Tenants to Homeowner executive director, said.

Junior KU architecture student Camryn Strope said she could talk about the house’s tiling for 30 minutes. She knows the project inside and out, and showcased it Friday as people lined up out the door to take a look.

“It was crazy how much we (students) actually got to do,” Strope said. “I was doing electrical work, I was doing some of the plumbing, cutting things, using power tools — all these things I never thought I’d be doing myself.”

Students started designing the house in August 2025, and in March, the build process began and lasted eight weeks.

During the build, students met the woman who will move into the home.

“Just the joy I felt at seeing her appreciate someone looking out for her and providing a home for her was really special,” said Tori Schmidt, junior architecture student.

Federal, state and county funds and rental assistance programs will help keep the tiny homes affordable on a sliding scale for tenants, according to Buford.

Some of the units will be supportive housing, which can include on-site supportive services for people with disabilities, mental health conditions or chronic illnesses.

Buford said there is no time limit on how long a tenant can stay in their home.

“We have KU students learning about designing affordable housing. How great is that? Maybe they’ll go on to be architects and design more affordable housing, because that’s a special niche,” Buford said.

Students also focused on where their materials come from and what kind of environmental impact they have.

“We need to really focus on the impact we have as humans as a whole on our Earth,” Schmidt said. “That goes down every tiny building that we build. A small home can make a huge impact.”

The house marks the first project in Kansas to utilize mass plywood panel construction to enhance environmental performance. Other materials and features included in the project “create a highly insulated, air-tight building envelope that reduces embodied carbon, accelerates construction and supports long-term durability,” according to a press release from the University of Kansas.

“We’re all so passionate about it because it’s such a special project to us, and it’s so close to our hearts because it’s for such a good cause,” Strope said.

The junior KU student said her class has a story for each part of the house.

“It’s crazy because we physically left our mark here,” Schmidt said. “I can come back here whenever and be like, ‘I built that house.’”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Rachel Henderson

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    KANSAS CITY (KSHB) — A Kansas City, Kansas, mother is speaking out after her son was shot and killed by a KCKPD officer Thursday morning.

Susan Aikichy called police late Wednesday night because her 27-year-old son, Jesse Fitzgerel, was drinking and causing a disturbance.

She said police told her they couldn’t do anything because he was a resident at the apartment complex.

Police said they received a second call from the same number the next morning.

Aikichy said she was not expecting officers to return Thursday. When they did, Fitzgerel was shot and killed.

She was just inches away when it happened.

“My son laid down here like a dog,” Aikichy said.

Aikichy retraced her exact steps leading up to the moment her son was shot.

She said the metal object police said Fitzgerel ran at an officer with was a spoon he used to cook chicken and rice — a meal she will always remember as his last.

Aikichy claimed her son was not trying to fight the officer, but push them off him.

Fitzgerel had just returned home in March after being released from prison and came back “changed.”

She described her son’s hobbies as listening to music and going to the park.

This year’s Mother’s Day was the first time he had been back with his mother in a long time.

“It’s really hurting me a lot,” Aikichy said.

Fitzgerel leaves behind three children.

KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson reached out to Kansas City, Kansas, police to make them aware of Aikichy’s comments.

A spokesperson said the department stands by their report on the incident.

The KCKPD officer is currently on paid administrative leave.

Nikki Richardson with Justice for Wyandotte said her organization supports families like Aikichy’s, particularly with victim services.

Richardson is calling for the body camera footage to be made public, and for KCKPD’s use-of-force policy to be reexamined.

“I am grateful that we’re not out here every month, but we don’t want to be out here at all,” Richardson said.

Aikichy left with a message for other parents to protect their children.

She said she doesn’t want any parent to experience what she is feeling.

“It’s really hurting me,” Aikichy said.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is in charge of the investigation.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. KSHB verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Lily O’Shea Becker

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    LAWRENCE, Missouri (KSHB) — Many parents and grandparents are used to being in the audience to cheer their loved ones on, but that won’t be the case for a group of people 55 years and older this July in Lawrence.

Theatre Lawrence began rehearsing “Guys and Dolls Sr.” — a version of the Broadway show for those who are above the age of 55 — on Tuesday.

“We’re the first theater in the whole region to do a Broadway Senior — not Kansas City, not Topeka, not Ottawa,” said Bruce Douglas, Vintage Players director at Theatre Lawrence.

The cast was so large, theater staff had to grab more tables and chairs to accommodate everyone for the first rehearsal Tuesday.

“It’s being able to do what I love at a point in my life when I didn’t think I was going to be able to do this,” said Jeff Lady, who will be playing the lead role of “Sky Masterson.”

For Lady, the audition held a surprise.

“I turned around and it was Terry, and we just screamed and hugged each other,” Lady said. “It made it a very comfortable audition.”

In the role of “Masterson,” Lady will be playing opposite “Sarah Brown,” who will be played by Terry Thoelke.

“We were shocked when we saw each other at auditions because we haven’t seen each other in several years,” Thoelke said. “We first met 42 years ago when we were working in a show at Worlds of Fun.”

For several people in the rehearsal room, Tuesday was about getting together with friends. For others, it was about making new ones.

“A big part of the point of this is to let other people know you can do this too, you don’t ever have to stop being a kid, you don’t ever have to stop having fun, and in a way, you don’t have to grow up,” Lady said.

The performances will be held July 17, 18 and 19 at Theatre Lawrence, located at 4660 Bauer Farm Drive.

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By CJ Maclin

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    BROKEN ARROW, Oklahoma (KJRH) — Students with opportunity gaps at Arts @ 302, a free after-school arts program in Broken Arrow, created an art car designed to reflect the mental health struggles children face every day.

The car, named Aumbre, was donated by the president of First National Bank, who requested the design include flames. Julian Delesdernier, director of Arts @ 302, added a stipulation: the flames had to connect to a mental health message.

The result layers words of negativity and hatred throughout the flames while raining down affirmations and positive words from a cloud above. The design represents the mental struggle people face and how they can beat themselves up — but also the idea that someone is always there to pick you up.

“They were writing stuff about simple things like homework but then other things like body image stuff like that. The kids even though their young their thinking about these things at a young age and its being engraved in them through different things like social media and peer pressure. In the flames you will see the words of negativity but from up top we have things like harmony, creativity, community, all the kinds of positive things that kids can think about to try and weigh out that negativity,” Delesdernier said.

The project comes as data shows Oklahoma children are facing a growing mental health crisis. According to the Healthy Minds Policy Initiative, 60 percent of Oklahoma’s children and youth experience high or moderate psychological distress. Almost 20 percent consider suicide, and almost 10 percent have tried at least once.

Aumbre will be on display at the 95th Roosters Day Parade this weekend in Broken Arrow.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. KJRH verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Brodie Myers

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    TULSA, Oklahoma (KJRH) — As bikers from across the region enjoy the Black Wall Street Rally, some public art is drawing eyeballs. A window at Tulsa’s Living Arts Gallery, shows the American flag made of nooses.

Able Dodd is one of the bikers in town for the rally. He is visiting Tulsa from Phoenix. 2 News Oklahoma listened to his reaction.

“Well, I thought it was odd. I was interested in knowing what the representation was, and wanted to find out more about it,” Dodd said, “I think a lot of people are gonna ignore it, you know? It’s got a lot of bad taste in a noose.”

2 News Oklahoma spoke to others too. Some had not seen it. Others were too shook up for an interview.

Leaders at Living Arts declined the chance for an interview, but did accept questions over email. At press time, they had not responded to those questions.

The exhibit extends throughout the whole floor of the gallery, including supplemental pieces. Leaders say it is part of a commentary on the death penalty and prisons.

“We encourage the public to come in during gallery hours to see the works in totality rather than briefly from outside through a window. To understand the magnitude and significance of the exhibition, the works should be explored and viewed together, not taken out of context.”

Despite the context, some question the timing.

“I don’t know if the timing has anything to do with anybody. Everybody’s here to enjoy themselves. I guess nobody wants to say anything negative about something that’s been going on over so many years,” Dodd said.

The exhibit is scheduled to close on May 23.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Logan Smith

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    Colorado (KCNC) — State and county authorities took possession of dozens of bison from a private ranch in northwestern Colorado on Saturday and expect to charge the owner with multiple counts of cruelty to animals.

The owner, however, claimed that his bison are raised drug-free and healthy and only appear thin compared to other commercial livestock.

The Moffat County Sheriff’s Office began investigating the herd a month ago “in an effort to remediate ongoing concerns regarding the care and condition of the animals,” MCSO stated in a press release. “Despite those efforts, investigators determined that further action was necessary to protect the welfare of the animals involved.”

Approximately 90 animals were removed from the Lay Valley Bison Ranch, located between Craig and Maybell, on Saturday. Personnel from the Colorado Bureau of Animal Protection and the Colorado State Veterinary Office assisted Moffat County during the seizure of the animals.

Two bison died during the operation. Two other bison and a mule “were humanely euthanized to prevent further suffering,” according to the sheriff’s office.

“It was pretty rough on the buffalo, the roundup,” Lay Valley owner Dan Martin told CBS Colorado a day later, using a more general term to describe the animals.

Martin said he has been raising buffalo for 45 years. For the last 30 years, they’ve been raised without antibiotics, growth hormones, or grains.

“I do my animals natural,” Martin said. “They’re always on the slender side. People now think they should be a little fatter, more robust.”

His animals are turned loose on pasture grass, Martin said, and supplemented with a high-protein alfalfa hay. They will not look like beef cattle at the National Western Stock Show, he added.

“I’m not trying to impress you with size,” Martin said. “Today’s people have pushed the buffalo a little harder. I don’t believe in that. (Lay Valley bison) do get fed. I don’t think they were unhealthy at all.”

John Graves, the current President of Rocky Mountain Bison Association, co-owner of JG Bison in Sheridan, Wyoming, and former Ralphie program manager at CU Boulder, says the animal protection authorities are professionals. He has spoken to Martin, the sheriff’s office, and the state board of agriculture, but he has not seen the seized bison or their body condition scores.

“It’s an unfortunate situation for everyone involved,” Graves said Sunday. “They (authorities) never want to get to the situation where they have to seize animals. It’s a last resort.”

But, he added, “Dan knows what he’s doing. Bison are vastly different than lay cattle. They might appear like their bones are sticking out more than beef cattle. They lose weight naturally over the winter and look ‘raggedy’ when they lose their hair. To the average person, comparing bison to beef cattle is different. Bison appear to be much more slender. They’re lean animals by nature.”

Bison typically lose 10% of their body weight during winter, then fatten up during the summer, according to Graves.

The 2022 U.S. Census counted 9,555 head of bison in Colorado private herds, according to the Rocky Mountain Bison Association. That was the fifth-highest bison count among U.S. states. Colorado then had the second-most bison producers in the country. The average herd size that year was 87 head.

The seized Lay Valley bison are being cared for and evaluated, according to the Moffat County Sheriff’s Office press release.

In that release, MCSO included photos of bones and skulls, presumably of deceased bison, and presumably taken on the Lay Valley property. No explanation was provided.

Martin acknowledged piling bison carcasses in a gulley for erosion control. The image shows dead animals he has placed there for 45 years.

“Every rancher loses some animals,” he said. “Nobody likes to see an animal die. But it’s a natural thing to contend with when you’re raising animals.”

Graves also called the selection a single site for the disposal of deceased animals, “standard practice.”

Martin stated that 85% of the animals seized “were in pretty fair shape.”

The ones not in fair shape, he said, were the result of inbreeding in a closed herd. He explained that he tries to breed stronger animals within the herd and does not bring in outside stock. This gets him superior animals when the genes “match up,” as Martin described. But he admits this also creates a greater risk of genes “not matching up,” as he put it, and weaker animals – runts – are produced. These, he tries to give a couple of years of good life before an early slaughter.

Martin said he is being charged $10/day per animal for the animals that were seized.

“Not a bad rate,” he said, “but I can’t afford to stay in business too long at that rate.”

He wants the case before a judge as soon as possible. He will argue that the disagreement is a matter of different management styles, and not one of neglect or abuse.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Jasmine Arenas

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    DENVER, Colorado (KCNC) — A high school senior in the Denver metro area nearly missed one of the biggest nights of her life after a sudden medical emergency. But thanks to the quick action of doctors at HCA HealthONE Rocky Mountain Children’s, she still made it to prom just hours after surgery.

“I have a lot of good people around me right now,” said Arvada West Senior, Lucie Brown.

The twinkle in her eye and upbeat personality are what make 17-year-old Lucie stand out. She’s a dedicated student-athlete who loves people and her faith. Her senior year prom was an event she had been looking forward to, a chance to celebrate with her friends. However, that same week, her health began to decline.

“Wednesday night was when the pain started, and it was bad. It was the worst pain I’d ever been in,” shared Lucie.

What started as stomach pain on Wednesday quickly turned into emergency surgery by Friday, the same day as her senior prom.

“We almost canceled the ultrasound appointment because it really didn’t hurt as much as I thought it should,” Lucie said. “The ultrasound technician asked if I had a high pain tolerance, and I was like, ‘Maybe. I don’t really know.'”

Later that day, Lucie was diagnosed with appendicitis after visiting her pediatrician and getting an ultrasound. Doctors urgently referred her to HCA HealthONE Rocky Mountain Children’s, where pediatric surgeon Steven Rothenberg performed a minimally invasive appendectomy.

“We do the surgery minimally invasively, basically through a small half inch incision in her belly button. I said, ‘If you feel well enough, we can let you go, and you can go to prom,'” said Dr. Rothenburg.

The procedure took about an hour, and Brown was discharged from the hospital just hours later.

“We were driving home, and I looked over and said, ‘Did we just do that? Did that really happen?’ Because it was so fast,” said Laurie Brown, Lucie’s mom.

Determined not to miss one of the biggest milestones of her senior year, Brown still attended prom that night, arriving in a wheelchair.

“I was so grateful that I got to be there. All my friends were so excited, and I just felt so loved that day,” said Lucie.

Doctors say advancements in minimally invasive surgery helped make her quick recovery possible.

“Even 15 or 20 years ago, it would have been unthinkable to let somebody go home three hours after an appendectomy, and now we routinely send patients home the same day,” said Dr. Rothenburg.

Lucie graduated from Arvada West High School on Thursday and will continue her studies at Brigham Young University in Utah.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.