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Peso Pluma seems to be dominating these days. He delighted audiences at Coachella, made history on The Tonight Show, and he's got hit after hit after hit on multiple music charts.

President Biden used the high-profile speech to draw a contrast with his 2024 likely opponent, former President Donald Trump. He hit on the economy, abortion, the Mideast and the border.

Under new Trump administration rules, students won't be able to borrow as much for medical or nursing school or some other health professions.

The Kansas foster care system improves but still lags behind the nation in key areas... Kansas legislators want answers about exactly what happened in a police raid on a Marion County newspaper...independent candidates could have a harder time getting on Kansas ballots...and a KU program aims to help rural Kansans lose weight. Enjoy this ad-free summary of area news headlines, made possible by KPR listener-members.

Wind farm near Beaumont, Kan. (Flickr Photo via brentdanley)WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A new government report indicates that Kansas is among the largest and fastest growing wind energy markets in the country. The Energy Department reported Tuesday that Kansas ranks third among all U.S. states in the percentage of in-state electricity generation from wind power. The state installed 1,441 megawatts of new wind power capacity in 2012, bringing its total capacity to 2,713 megawatts. The department says in a news release that Kansas now has enough capacity to generate more than 20 percent of its electricity from wind energy. The agency's annual Wind Technologies Market Report says that in 2012, wind energy became the top source of new U.S. electricity generation for the first time.

Supplmental Nutrition Assistance Program (Food Stamps)The Department of Social and Rehabilitation services is defending a policy that has effectively made hundreds of children ineligible for food stamps. SRS recently changed how household income is calculated for the program. Michelle Schroeder, public policy director for SRS, says the old policy favored households that include illegal immigrants.00000184-7fa7-d6f8-a1cf-7fa7a6970000 Schroeder appeared before the House Appropriations Committee. Illegal immigrants are not eligible for food stamps, but their children, who are sometimes U-S citizens, can be eligible. Some lawmakers questioned the change, because it affects children. Bill Feuerborn (“FIRE-born”), of Garnett, is the top Democrat on the committee.00000184-7fa7-d6f8-a1cf-7fa7a6970001Several lawmakers asked SRS officials to follow up with households that have been removed from the food stamp program.

(Photo by Stephen Koranda)Kansas House Speaker Ray Merrick says he’ll be working to focus the chamber on economic issues for the rest of the legislative session. Some controversial bills in the House have caught national attention and criticism in recent weeks. Merrick, a Stilwell Republican, says he can’t stop members from filing bills, but he can try to get lawmakers back to what he calls the basics.00000184-7fa7-d6f8-a1cf-7fa7cad70000Merrick’s comments came after the top Democrat in the chamber, Paul Davis from Lawrence, made calls to end the session 20 days early. Davis says the current legislative session is a “circus” and leaving early would save taxpayer money. Merrick says there’s still work to do and leaving without finishing it would not benefit Kansans.

(Flickr Photo by 401(K) 2013) The Kansas Senate has given first-round approval to a bill that would issue more than $200 million in additional state bonds to help pay for a federal research lab to be built in Manhattan. The National Bio and Agro- Defense Facility, known as NBAF, will study diseases that could affect the US agriculture industry. The bill passed with bipartisan support. Anthony Hensley, from Topeka, is the top Democrat in the Senate.00000184-7fa7-d6f8-a1cf-7fa7c0250000A Senate committee added a provision saying the state would only issue the bonds if the federal government pays its share of the more than $1 billion in construction costs. President Obama put more than $700 million in his budget proposal to build the lab.

(Flickr Photo by Jimmy Emerson)A Kansas Senate committee will hold a hearing next week to consider Governor Sam Brownback’s choice to fill an open court seat. Brownback has nominated his office’s top attorney, Caleb Stegall, for the seat on the Kansas Court of Appeals. Senator Jeff King chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will consider the nomination. King says they’re looking for public opinions.00000184-7fa7-d6f8-a1cf-7fa7c3a20002Written testimony can be submitted by email to Senator King. He says people who submit testimony may also appear in person at Tuesday's hearing. Stegall's is the first nomination under a new system in which the governor selects candidates for the Court of Appeals. Those candidates then must be confirmed by the Kansas Senate.

Avian influenza, or bird flu, has been spreading across the country. Harvest Public Media takes a look at the response to the outbreak in the Midwest.