Concealed carry permit holders in Kansas would be allowed to carry their weapons in more places under a bill heading to the Senate.

The measure would allow concealed carry permit holders to carry weapons in public buildings that lack adequate security, such as metal detectors and security guards. The House approved the changes Monday on a 70-54 vote.

The changes would apply to all public buildings. Allowing the weapons is also viewed as an economic issue because of the cost associated with providing metal detectors and guards at entrances to each public building across Kansas.

Hospitals, colleges and nursing homes would be able to exempt themselves for a specific period of years by sending notification to the attorney general’s office.

A Spanish company is building a plant in southwest Kansas where grass and other crop residue will be turned into fuel.

Madrid-based Abengoa Bioenergy is building its first commercial plant in Hugoton. The facility is expected to use about 1,300 tons of crop residue and grass a day to make ethanol.

Tom Robb, manager of the product division of Abengoa, says the site is expected to be producing ethanol by late 2013 or early 2014. The plant is projected to have 65 permanent jobs with an annual payroll of $5 million when it’s operating.

Abengoa has also received a $132 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop the site, which is expected to cost more than $350 million.

Lawyers for a 38-year-old central Kansas man accused of killing a 14-year-old girl are trying again to get his trial moved.

Adam Longoria is scheduled for trial March 26 in Barton County District Court on charges of capital murder and attempted rape. He would face life in prison if convicted.

Longoria is accused of killing Alicia DeBolt, who disappeared in August 2010 after leaving her Great Bend home for a party. Her burned remains were later found at an asphalt plant where Longoria worked.

Judge Hannelore Kitts denied a motion in February for a change of venue from Barton County. But the Great Bend Tribune reports the defense renewed the request in a motion last week that cited subsequent news coverage, including reports on the denial of the first motion.

A Kansas State University’s student newspaper column that questioned why students from countries unfriendly with the United States are allowed to attend public universities has raised a flap.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reported that sophomore Sean Frye suggested in the Feb. 24 issue of The Collegian that legislation be passed to prevent the enrollment of students who “could, in the near future, become the enemy.”

Frye’s column targeted students from China, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and Turkey and incorrectly stated $7 million in state and federal funds is spent each year to educate international students at Kansas State. University officials say that international students pay about 2 ½ times more in tuition than in-state students.

On Feb. 29, The Collegian published an apology by Frye. The newspaper’s editor-in-chief apologized the next day.