Here are today’s headlines from the Kansas congressional delegation:Fort Leavenworth(AP) Lawmakers push for biodefense site ahead of selection team visit: A week before site selection teams visit Kansas, the state’s congressional delegation is ramping up the push for a new federal biodefense lab to be built in Leavenworth or Manhattan. A state task force formed earlier this year to land the site shows Kansas is making the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility “a critical national and state priority,” lawmakers said in a letter Tuesday to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. Eighteen sites in 11 states are competing for the new lab, which could pump $3.5 billion into the local economy over the next 20 years. The field is expected to be narrowed in June and a final decision will be made in October 2008. The new lab would replace an existing facility on Plum Island, N.Y. The letter outlines the merits of locating the $451 million research center in either city in Kansas. Lawmakers said the large number of agriculture research and development sites along the Interstate 70 corridor make the state an ideal location for the lab. “Both sites have demonstrated the research capacity, strong public support and necessary infrastructure to meet DHS’ requirements to fulfill and implement NBAF,” said the letter signed by Sens. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and all four of the state’s U.S. House members. The site near Fort Leavenworth is close to several premier animal health companies and can draw on the University of Kansas and its experience in health research.Fort Riley(AP) Iraq vet holds hostages, wants PTSD treatment: A veteran of the Iraq war who held his family hostage and wore military armor during a standoff with police surrendered only after being assured he would receive help for post-traumatic stress disorder, police said. The 33-year-old Fort Riley soldier, whose name was not released because he had not been charged, locked himself and his family inside his Herington home Sunday night. He released his family shortly after the incident began, but surrendered only after talking to a Herington police officer who had befriended him, police Chief John Pritchard said. Pritchard said Tuesday that the man would undergo psychiatric evaluation at Fort Riley before the Dickinson County attorney will decide what, if any, charges will be filed.(Chico Enterprise Record) Soldier from Paradise dies in Iraq: An 18-year-old soldier from Paradise died in combat over the weekend in Iraq. Family members and those close to Pfc. Steven Walberg-Riotto recalled his lifelong dream to serve in the military. Tammy Riotto said the family had spoken with one of Walberg-Riotto’s commanding officers about the events leading to his death. While the Riottos plan to release a statement about what happened on Saturday afternoon, she did say the officer called Steven a hero. “He died an extremely noble death,” Riotto said. Walberg was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, based at Fort Riley, Kansas. He was one of about 6,000 soldiers deployed abroad from Fort Riley, according to the base’s Web site. Two other members of Walberg’s squadron succumbed on Monday to wounds suffered in Baghdad, according to the Associated Press. The military reported one died from small arms fire and the other from an “improvised explosive device.”(AP) Army Reservist still pedaling bike, serving his country after heart transplant : As a professional soldier, John Fairbanks wasn’t about to let what he calls “a medical procedure” end his Army career. But his superior officers told the 38-year-old sergeant that the procedure — a heart transplant — precluded him from service. Now, nearly two years after the surgery, Fairbanks’ fight to save his life and his job has paid off: he’s been given a clean bill of health and a post in the Army Reserves.Kansas National Guard(Salina Journal) Planes, but no pilots:A partnership between a maker of unmanned aerial vehicles and the Kansas National Guard has Salina and Herington leaders buzzing about possible jobs and investment in their communities. Mist Mobility Integrated Systems Technology, based in Ottawa, Canada, will test fly the Snowgoose UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) May 2-4 at the Guard’s Great Plains Joint Training Center (formerly Smoky Hill Weapons Range), located just west of Salina. UAVs were demonstrated in October at a symposium at the range, but the partnership between a commercial business and the range is an “historic first,” according to a press release from the Kansas Adjutant General’s Department.