EDITORIAL: Trump, Congress, should give hemp farmers a break
During his surprisingly successful bid for the presidency, Donald Trump famously sought out rural America and American farmers, and for good reasons beyond politics.
For years, farmers in Colorado and other states have struggled against falling prices, global competition and a drain of talent as millennials leave the family business to boomer parents, or sell out and move on. The situation is dire enough that in Colorado special steps are being taken to extend suicide hotline help to farming districts, as Erin Douglas reported in The Denver Post this weekend.
So we couldn’t help but notice another Post story on Sunday, from Libby Rainey, that recounts problems some farmers in Colorado and other states are facing; problems perfect for a businessman president with a thirst for curbing government regulation to solve.
Appeals court shuts down path to challenge convictions if lawyer tells jury that defendant is guilty
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 15 hours ago
Colorado’s second-highest court concluded on Wednesday that defendants cannot challenge whether the evidence was sufficient to sustain their convictions if their lawyer argues to the jury that it should find the defendant guilty. The U.S. Supreme Court has provided guidance...
Colorado legislature votes to make committee hearing livestreams permanent
Marianne Goodland
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 15 hours ago
The executive committee of the legislative council—the six top leaders of the House and Senate—voted 5-1 Wednesday to make permanent the video livestreaming of committee hearings, starting in the 2026 legislative session, which begins Jan. 14. And they managed to...
Here’s where House retirements stand as clock strikes midnight on 2025
Rachel Schilke, Washington Examiner
rachel.schilke.washington.examiner@gazetteedit.wpenginepowered.com
Updated 17 hours ago
The House will return on Jan. 6, and with it, some 10% of lawmakers will start their final year in the lower chamber, either retiring or seeking higher office in the 2026 midterm elections. The lower chamber will get its...
Colorado senator, local officials push for new Colorado Springs federal courthouse
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 16 hours ago
Local officials and one of Colorado’s U.S. senators urged the judiciary earlier this year to explore placing a new federal courthouse and judge’s chambers in Colorado Springs, while the district court is cautioning that Congress must establish new judgeships before...
SNAP recipients in five states will be banned from using assistance for candy and soda, beginning 2026
David Zimmermann Washington Examiner
davidzimmermannwashingtonexaminer@wpstage.coloradopolitics.com
Updated 17 hours ago
More than 1.4 million recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program across five states will be banned from using federal food assistance for candy and soda purchases, starting Thursday. Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah, and West Virginia are the first group...
Trump’s first year back in office: Four successes and four failures
NAOMI LIM Washington Examiner
naomi-lim-washington-examiner@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 16 hours ago
President Donald Trump is closing a seismic year as the country’s commander in chief. Since the first day of his second administration, when he issued 26 executive orders, 12 presidential memos, and four proclamations, the most first-day actions of any...
Gov. Polis appoints Lindstedt to Colorado Senate District 25 after vacancy committee misses deadline
Marianne Goodland
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 13 hours ago
Despite a similar vote by a Senate District 25 vacancy committee last week, it was up to Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday to make sure the Senate seat was filled and ready for the 2026 session. That’s because the vacancy...
‘Rot in hell’: Trump post reignites feud with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis over Tina Peters
Thelma Grimes
thelma.grimes@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 14 hours ago
Heading into the New Year, President Donald Trump said he would like Gov. Jared Polis and others in Colorado to “rot in hell.” The object of the president’s ire is Tina Peters, the former Mesa County clerk convicted of state...
US Rep. Lauren Boebert calls for override vote after Trump vetoes bipartisan Colorado water bill
Marianne Goodland
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 14 hours ago
President Donald Trump issued the first veto of his second term Tuesday, blocking a long-awaited bipartisan effort to finish a southeastern Colorado water project that supporters say is critical to delivering clean drinking water to roughly 50,000 residents of the...
From Pope Francis to Charlie Kirk, many deaths in 2025 had a wide impact
Bernard Mcghee
bernard.mcghee@associatedpress.com
Updated 21 hours ago
The death of Pope Francis brought change to the Catholic Church, which counts 1.4 billion adherents and is now led — for the first time — by an American pope. The fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk as he...