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He flagged the DEI language. He filed the report anyway. Colorado fired him for both.
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

He flagged the DEI language. He filed the report anyway. Colorado fired him for both.

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice "I don't think I'm surprised by their decision at all," Rich Guggenheim said three days after the Colorado Department of Agriculture fired him. "I expected this decision." On May 8, CDA Deputy Commissioner Jordan Beezley signed the termination letter, effective immediately. Guggenheim had been the plant health programs manager since 2021. https://twitter.com/5280BasedHomo/status/2052861817740017907 Guggenheim posted the termination letter on X the same day it was delivered, tagging Vice President JD Vance, Associate Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon and the DOJ Civil Rights Division. As RMV first reported in December, the dispute started with a single chat comment during a November managers meeting and the whistleblower com...
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San Luis Valley Growers Face Massive Potato Surplus Crisis
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Alamosa Citizen, Approved, Local

San Luis Valley Growers Face Massive Potato Surplus Crisis

By The Citizen | Alamosa Citizen An estimated hundred million pounds will need to be disposed of after overproduction and a warm March ruin potatoes in storage. he San Luis Valley has an overabundance of potatoes in storage here in mid-April that, because of the warm winter, is leading to concerns about what happens as a new growing season begins. An historically hot March that punctuated a warm winter overall is creating quality standard problems in the potato bins of the Valley. If a potato bin doesn’t meet the quality standard, it doesn’t ship. “When we start to lose a bin, a bin can be 5,000 sacks, 10,000 sacks, up to 100,000 sacks … then we look at a really gigantic pile of potatoes that has to be managed,” explains Jeff McCullough, who operates Spud Sell...
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Trump Administration Presses Democrat States to Share SNAP Data or Face Withholding of Aid
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, National

Trump Administration Presses Democrat States to Share SNAP Data or Face Withholding of Aid

By Darlene Superville and Geoff Mulvihill | The Denver Gazette WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration said Tuesday that it will move to withhold SNAP food aid from recipients in most Democratic-controlled states starting next week unless those states provide information about those receiving the assistance. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday that the action is in the works because those states are refusing to provide data the department requested such as the names and immigration status of aid recipients. She said the cooperation is necessary in order to root out fraud in the program. Democratic states have sued to block the requirement. Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia previously sued&...
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USDA Pushes Reforms After Study Links Liquor and Tobacco Shops to SNAP Fraud Risks
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Just The News, Approved, National

USDA Pushes Reforms After Study Links Liquor and Tobacco Shops to SNAP Fraud Risks

By: Steven Richards | Just the News More than 5,000 liquor and smoke shops were approved as retailers under SNAP, raising fraud concerns. There's no way to determine how much alcohol, tobacco, or other "non-compliant" goods have been sold nationwide. At least 20 states refuse to share data with the feds. Food stamps were first issued in 1939 as an assistance program to prevent starvation during the Great Depression.  But 86 years later, thousands of liquor stores and smoke shops have become approved retailers, increasing the possibility of fraud, new research shows.  The longest ever government shutdown, which ended after 43 days of deadlock, thrust the federal food stamp program into the national spotlight as millions of recipients went without benefits. But...
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Colorado Joins the Fight to Keep SNAP Benefits for Illegal Aliens
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Joins the Fight to Keep SNAP Benefits for Illegal Aliens

By Marissa Ventrelli | The Denver Gazette Colorado joined 21 other states in a lawsuit seeking to undo the Trump administration’s campaign to stop taxpayer-funded food aid from going to individuals illegally staying in the U.S., arguing the move also implicated a group of noncitizens who should be eligible to get the benefits under the law. At issue is a guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that implements the provisions of the congressional budget passed in July. That budget narrowed the groups of noncitizens who could receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that some 90,000 on average will lose eligibility per month as a result of the new law. The individuals would have received about $210 per mo...
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Blue States Sue Trump Over SNAP Rules Limiting Immigrant Eligibility
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Politico, Approved, National

Blue States Sue Trump Over SNAP Rules Limiting Immigrant Eligibility

By: Rachel Shin | POLITICO Democratic attorneys general in states like California and New York argue that new guidance illegally blocks legal permanent residents from receiving food stamps. Democratic attorneys general from 21 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration Wednesday over guidance that they say unlawfully blocks certain groups of legal immigrants from accessing food aid. The GOP’s tax and spending package, which was signed into law in July, narrows some immigrants’ eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the nation’s largest anti-hunger initiative. Green-card holders, however, can apply for benefits after a five-year waiting period. In their lawsuit, state officials allege USDA issued guidance on Oct. 31 incorrectly de...
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Federal Judges Push Trump Administration to Resume Partial SNAP Payments
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The Post Millennial, Approved, National

Federal Judges Push Trump Administration to Resume Partial SNAP Payments

By Thomas Stevenson | The Post Millennial It is not clear how much those getting benefits will receive. The Trump administration on Monday said that there would be partial funding of SNAP after two judges ruled that the administration had to continue to fund SNAP despite the government shutdown.   The partial funding will go forward, but it is not clear how much those getting benefits will receive.   “Per orders issued by the United States District Courts for the Districts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, FNS [Food and Nutrition Service] intends to deplete SNAP contingency funds completely and provide reduced SNAP benefits for November 2025,” the Department of Agriculture said in court documents.  There are around $4.6...
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Colorado Sues USDA for Ending Food Assistance to Needy Families
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Colorado Sues USDA for Ending Food Assistance to Needy Families

By: Robert Garrison | Denver7 DENVER — Colorado joined 22 other states in filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Secretary Brooke Rollins for suspending during the government shutdown the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser made the announcement in a Tuesday press release. The lawsuit argues the USDA acted illegally by halting food assistance despite having access to contingency funds. On Friday, the Trump administration announced it would not use the more than $5 billion in emergency funding the USDA maintains to cover the program, arguing the funds are “not available to support FY 2026 regular benefits, because the appropriation for regular benefits no longer exists.” In an interview with S...
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USDA move to Fort Collins could add 6,000 jobs and $1B in output, study finds
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

USDA move to Fort Collins could add 6,000 jobs and $1B in output, study finds

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s planned relocation of up to 2,600 employees to Fort Collins could bring more than $1 billion in new business output and over 6,000 new jobs to the area by the end of next year, according to a study by the think tank Common Sense Institute. In July, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that the department would be relocating up to 2,600 personnel and operations to five new hubs, including Fort Collins. According to CSI study authors Dr. Caitlin McKennie and Cooper Pollard, the move is expected to “stimulate job creation, bolster local businesses, and enhance collaboration with Colorado State University,” which ranks 23rd in the nation for agricultural sciences. Agriculture plays a “vital role...
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Western Cattlemen Push Back on Federal Land Restrictions
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The Fence Post, Approved, National

Western Cattlemen Push Back on Federal Land Restrictions

By Carrie Stadheim | The Fence Post Several groups of cattle producers could be seen walking the halls of Congress and the U.S. Department of Agriculture in recent weeks. No, they weren’t lost. They were detailing some of the ways government prevents cattle producers from being profitable and identifying solutions that could help. Jack Payne, owner of Nevada Livestock Marketing, was one of five ranchers from western states to meet with U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to describe the drastically diminished cattle numbers on federal lands. Grazing is needed on rangelands to maintain plant and soil health, reduce fire danger and provide economic stability to communities, Payne said. Secretary Rollins posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Sept. 6, 2025, “Earl...
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