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(Photo credit: Flickr user Matthew Kenwrick)WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a burgeoning domestic marijuana industry has transformed the potency of the weed now hitting the streets. In the past, law enforcement says they mostly seized compressed marijuana bricks. Now they are mostly intercepting medical-grade, domestic marijuana. A Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area study found busts involving Colorado weed were made last year in 23 states. Information obtained by The Associated Press through an open records request shows the Kansas Highway Patrol made 468 felony drug trafficking arrests last year. The agency arrested 187 people during the first five months this year. Most of the pot seized came from Colorado.

(Image credit: Tennessee Department of Transportation)SEDGWICK, Kan. (AP) — Firefighters have contained a fire at a biodiesel plant in the town of Sedgwick. No injuries have been reported. Several explosions were reported at the Green Energy Products facility after 8 a.m. Tuesday. The cause remains under investigation. KWCH-TV reports that about a dozen people believed to be inside the building when the fire started were able to get out safely. The plant was still burning slowly Tuesday afternoon as crews worked to keep tanks on the outside of the building cool. Firefighters were using foam to put out the flames. Crews from Halstead, Harvey and Sedgwick counties are on the scene. McConnell Air Force Base also sent in trucks carrying foam to help battle the blaze.

Photo credit: Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas and Hostess Brands LLC via SiteSelection.comEMPORIA, Kan. (AP) — The Emporia City Commission approved tax abatement incentives for Hostess Brands' planned expansion of the company's plant. The Emporia Gazette reports that Hostess plans to add a 36,000-square-foot warehouse for $3.5 million, add $24 million in equipment and make leasehold improvements of $2.5 million. In exchange for the 10-year tax abatement, Hostess said it will create 50 full-time jobs with a total payroll of $1.5 million. The Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas board of directors approved the agreement on January 10. No timeline has been announced for the expansion project.

(Image credit: artspartnerswichita.org)WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Sedgwick County Zoo will get about $31 million from the county over the next five years, giving zoo supporters a boost in efforts to expand the elephant exhibit. The Sedgwick County Commission voted Wednesday to spend $30 million over the next five years at the zoo, with nearly all the money going to staff and maintenance costs. The increased financial support will allow the zoological society to begin raising $10 million to $12 million for an expanded elephant exhibit. The zoo has two elephants and needs at least one more to meet new requirements for accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Zoo officials delayed starting the capital campaign without a commitment from the county to maintain current and future exhibits and address delayed maintenance needs.

A KC-46 tanker with a B-2 jet (Photo Credit: The Boeing Company)Kansas has not one, but two possible locations in the running to become the home of the KC-46A tanker program. The United States Air Force has selected both McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita and Forbes Airfield in Topeka as finalists. Senator Jerry Moran said that underscores the state's importance to the military.Moran said he, Senator Pat Roberts and the rest of the Kansas congressional delegation will work to secure the tanker program for the state.

(Photo Credit: Major League Soccer/MLS.com) It looks like the Kansas City region is getting an All-Star reputation. Major League Soccer officials announced Thursday that Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas, will be the site of the 2013 MLS all-star game on July 31st. That's just one year after Kauffman Stadium hosted the Major League Baseball 2012 All-Star Game. Kansas Public Radio's Greg Echlin reports that the MLS version of its midsummer classic uses a format...and an opponent...that's different from other leagues' all-star celebrations.

The Campanile World War II Memorial at the University of Kansas (Photo credit: KU University Relations)Earlier this spring, thousands of bell towers were ringing at college graduations all across the country. But Quasimodo wasn't pulling the ropes. At most places, the bell chimes are simply recordings. But that's not the case at the University of Kansas. KU is one of just a handful of schools that offers a carillon class. KU Journalism Professor Dawn Fallik recently climbed the 80 stairs of the university's bell tower to find out who’s been making music at KU for the past 14 years. KPR contributor Dawn Fallik is a journalism professor at the University of Kansas.

(Photo Credit: wikimedia.org)TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas legislative committee plans to meet next week to review issues arising from this year's overhaul of the state's Medicaid program. The October 7 meeting at the Statehouse comes amid complaints from hospitals of delays in payments for services they provide to needy Kansans who participate in the $3 billion-a-year Medicaid program. The state turned over most of the administration of Medicaid this year to three private health insurance companies. The reorganized program is now known as KanCare, and Republican Governor Sam Brownback's administration has said it is delivering better-coordinated services at a lower cost to the state. Lawmakers formed the joint committee this year to provide oversight of KanCare.

(photo credit: hutchpost.com)HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — The Reno County Sheriff's Department is looking for a red Chevrolet Impala that apparently tried to pull a motorist over using red and yellow lights mounted on the dashboard. The Hutchinson News reports a motorist called 911 at 4:02 p.m. Thursday to say an older, bald man wearing a brown jacket tried to make a traffic stop, but the motorist didn't think he was a real officer and kept driving. Sheriff's spokesman Capt. Wayne Baughman says neither his department nor any other local law enforcement agencies use red Impalas. Baughman urges anyone who thinks they are being pulled over by someone impersonating an officer to call 911.

A KC-46 tanker with a B-2 jet (Photo Credit: The Boeing Company)Last week, the Air Force announced that McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita will become the main operating base for a new series of air refueling tankers. That will mean investment and jobs at McConnell. Some Kansans have worried that efficiency efforts in the military could lead to cutbacks or even closure of the base. But members of the Kansas congressional delegation, including Congressman Mike Pompeo of Wichita, say the decision shows that McConnell isn't likely to face cutbacks in the near future.The next-generation KC-46A tankers are scheduled to arrive at the base in 2016.