Print edition: 
TOPEKA – The full Senate gave initial approval Thursday to a resolution asking the federal government to exempt prairie burns in the Flint Hills from counting against air quality measurements.
The burns, which are conducted each spring, process helps keep trees and other woody plants from encroaching on the grasslands and helps provide richer fodder for cattle.
Cities, including Wichita and Kansas City, Kan., worry that smoke from the burns would bump them out of compliance with stricter ozone rules that the U.S. Environmental Protection agency is considering,
The non binding Senate Concurrent Resolution 1623, which passed with no opposition, asks the U.S. Congress to recognize the area as an ecosystem of historical significance.
