Last week may have been the first full post-legislative session week we’ve had in awhile, but Colorado’s political news cycle did not take a pause.

There was talk of a potential special session, to be called by Gov. John Hickenlooper, who even made a major pardon and said more would follow in the coming weeks.

But our most popular stories of the week had nothing to do with Hickenlooper or the looming threat of a special session.

Just what topics were our readers most interested in?

Check out the list below.

5) Union-busting Wisconsin group has its dollars in Colorado politics, according to 2 investigators

Colorado labor and education are in the crosshairs of an anti-union Wisconsin foundation, according separate investigations by the Center for Media and Democracy and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation that supported the anti-union efforts in support of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (who grew up in Colorado Springs, coincidentally) are spreading their efforts nationwide, starting with Colorado and North Carolina.

Read more here.

4) Insights: House GOP leader Neville pivots from expectations to be a principled dealmaker

When Rep. Patrick Neville won the House Republican leadership  last November, most of us in the state Capitol expected the caucus to take a hard slide to the right.

Neville had never seen a fight where he thought the odds were against him since he took office in 2015. And it would have been so easy for the Castle Rocker to be the pugnacious leader his detractors expected, throwing roundhouse minority party punches and connecting with nothing but hot air.

Read more here.

3) Colorado’s Cory Gardner is 1 of 3 in GOP to vote ‘no’ on Trump’s trade rep

When the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly today to approve President Trump’s nominee to be the next U.S. trade representative – with majorities of both parties, for a change, backing the president’s pick – Colorado Republican U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner wasn’t among them.

Gardner was one of only three Republicans to vote no. His reason for stiff-arming his own party’s president? The nomination, he says, is bad for Colorado agriculture.

Read more here.

2) Colorado Republicans more serious about truth in Trump investigation

Republicans from Colorado’s congressional delegation appear more interested in seeking the truth behind President Trump’s potential obstruction of justice.

The fallout began this week following reports that President Trump asked FBI Director James Comey to shut down a federal investigation into the president’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn.

Read more here.

1) Kent Thiry, possible Colorado gubernatorial candidate, gets vicious treatment on HBO comedy show

Hear that laughter? It’s the sound of gubernatorial aspirations in pain. Colorado Politics told you last month that Kent Thiry, the CEO of Denver-based DaVita, is thinking about jumping into next year’s governor’s race.

Sunday night the HBO comedy news show “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” spent 24 minutes tearing down Thiry’s business model in the for-profit dialysis industry, as well as making fun of his eccentric motivational style.

Read more here.