University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Rodney Bennett will resign next week, he announced in a brief email to students, faculty and staff on Monday, leaving UNL nearly six months short of his initial contract. via @nebraskaexaminer.com

Customers of South Carolina’s two large, private power companies could see their electric bills go up in 2026. via @scdailygazette.com

Without directly praising President Donald Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis Monday at Florida’s “Deportation Depot” condemned the “destructive” Nicolás Maduro government days after U.S. military forces captured him. via @floridaphoenix.com

A big change is in store for lawmakers and the public when the Kentucky General Assembly begins its 2026 session Tuesday. via @kentuckylantern.com

Freestanding birth centers can address maternal health inequities, but many are facing mounting financial and regulatory pressures. via @stateline.org

The beat goes on: A Q&A with journalist Andrew DeMillo, new editor at the Arkansas Advocate arktimes.com/arkansas-blo... @statesnewsroom.com @arkansasadvocate.com

Pentagon will try to penalize Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly for illegal orders video | via @jennifershutt.bsky.social @StatesNewsroom.com mainemorningstar.com/2026/01/05/r...

Redistricting dominated the political news in Utah during the second half of 2025, but the issue is far from settled in the new year, report @utahnewsdispatch.com and @statesnewsroom.com

In just over 300 days, Pennsylvania voters will decide whether to reelect Gov. Josh Shapiro for a second term. via @penncapital-star.com

A Blue Ribbon Commission formed by the Rhode Island Foundation wants to significantly change the formula for state aid to local school districts. via @rhodeislandcurrent.com

Every single seat in the Colorado House of Representatives and about half of seats in the Colorado Senate will be on the ballot this year. via @coloradonewsline.com

As the 2026 West Virginia legislative session nears, the West Virginia Watch team is gearing up to keep you informed over the 60-day law-making process. via @westvirginiawatch.com

Gov. Tim Walz ended his campaign for a historic third-term on Monday amid mounting pressure from members of his own party and intense attacks from Republicans over widespread fraud in state-run social services programs. via @minnesotareformer.com www.newsfromthestates.com/article/minn...

North Dakota’s farmers are looking for higher profits but things may get worse before they get better, ag industry experts say. via @northdakotamonitor.com

Missouri Republicans played power politics in 2025, crushing Democratic opposition in the Legislature on major issues from abortion to congressional redistricting. via @missouriindependent.com

Washington is close to opening a new incentive program for commercial fleet operators to transition trucks and other vehicles to models that run on electric or hydrogen power. via @washingtonstatestandard.com

New Mexico’s 2026 legislative session begins Jan. 20. via @sourcenm.com

Moving the Chiefs to Kansas will spur economic development, but the complexity and lack of details about the deal make it difficult to determine what taxpayers will ultimately pay. via @kansasreflector.com

R.I. lawmakers are back in action on Tuesday. Here’s what awaits them. via @rhodeislandcurrent.com

A key program aimed at helping individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities gain access to home care may be getting a refresh in 2026. via @georgiarecorder.com

Episode 9 is live! This week, we’ll hear from our States Newsroom colleagues at @lailluminator.com. For their podcast called The Light Switch, they took a deep dive into kratom as Louisiana lawmakers debated the ban in 2025. www.newsfromthestates.com/episode/krat...

When Maine lawmakers return to Augusta in January, they will face an agenda shaped as much by federal policy shifts as by ongoing state issues held over from last session. via @mainemorningstar.com

State and federal changes to food benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, are expected to start affecting Idahoans in 2026. via @idahocapitalsun.com

A last look back at 2025, from @jennifershutt.bsky.social in the @statesnewsroom.com DC bureau: Deportations, tariffs, court clashes, record shutdown mark a historic year in Washington, D.C. buff.ly/Fy2HVgU

Lawmakers and Indiana’s education secretary preview legislative priorities that are likely to be debated in the coming weeks. via @indianacapitalchronicle.com

The Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office has received over 220 complaints of open records violations this year, with the numbers increasing since a public complaint form launched, officials said. via @oklahomavoice.com

A handful of Missouri lawmakers are pushing for legislation that would help improve maternal and infant health outcomes. via @missouriindependent.com

Fifty-two bears were “harvested” during the recently wrapped 2025 bear hunt in Florida, the first in a decade. via @floridaphoenix.com

Fifteen Virginia health centers are suing the state government, claiming it has violated state and federal law through underpayments on Medicaid reimbursements. via @virginiamercury.com

In his veto letter, President Trump blamed the Miccosukee Tribe for having “actively sought to obstruct reasonable immigration policies that the American people decisively voted for when I was elected.” via @floridaphoenix.com

As South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden announces state economic development grants for communities, opponents criticize the announcements as campaigning. via @southdakotasearchlight.com

A mandate that public schools offer free meals to all students appears to have failed to capture widespread support in the GOP-controlled Oklahoma Legislature after being ignored by school districts. via @oklahomavoice.com

A federal judge in California found the Trump administration unlawfully terminated temporary protections for more than 60,000 nationals from Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua. www.newsfromthestates.com/article/judg...

In our Evening Wrap newsletter this week, we spotlighted photos from each States Newsroom outlet, illustrating some of the top stories of 2025. Part 1: prod.cdn.everyaction.com/emails/van/S... Part 2: prod.cdn.everyaction.com/emails/van/S...

Maryland ends the year with almost 15,000 fewer federal jobs than it had at the start of the year. via @marylandmatters.org www.newsfromthestates.com/article/mary...

In a case headed for the Kansas Supreme Court, Gov. Laura Kelly and Attorney General Kris Kobach filed scorched-earth briefs outlining disagreement over authority to advance federal litigation. via @kansasreflector.com www.newsfromthestates.com/article/kans...

Throughout his military career, U.S. Rep. Jason Crow said he always took “compliance with the law and morality very seriously.” via @coloradonewsline.com www.newsfromthestates.com/article/call...

After a settlement, the Trump administration will review frozen grants to universities without using its controversial standards that discouraged gender, race and sexual orientation initiatives and vaccine research. www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trum...

As part of last summer’s budget, Ohio lawmakers axed the state’s existing independent campaign watchdog and replaced it with a new office under control of the secretary of State. via @ohiocapitaljournal.com

With college students returning to class after the New Year, international students face heightened uncertainty including visa bans and disruptions to application processing. via @virginiamercury.com

As immigration enforcement and a federal task force descended on Tennessee, John Partipilo, photographer for @tennesseelookout.com, was there. The year in photos:

The 2026 election cycle begins early for some Arkansans who can start casting ballots in two special legislative elections that were the focus of legal challenges over their timing. via @arkansasadvocate.com

The U.S. Postal Service has adopted a new rule that could create doubt about whether some ballots mailed by voters by Election Day will receive postmarks in time to be counted. via @stateline.org www.newsfromthestates.com/article/usps...

With funding for the Oklahoma mental health crisis hot line set to run out, lawmakers must consider whether to fund the program that fielded nearly 57,000 calls and 11,000 texts between January and November. via @oklahomavoice.com

After a half-century of uncertainty, all Cheryl Buswell-Robinson wants is the body of her husband, Perry Ray Robinson, to be returned. via @southdakotasearchlight.com www.newsfromthestates.com/article/fami...

Despite calling out the Utah Legislature’s attorneys for failing to appeal her previous redistricting rulings at more appropriate junctures, Judge Gibson has issued a ruling allowing lawmakers to appeal her ruling throwing out the 2021 congressional map. #utpol

As immigration arrests surge, Maryland advocates say they will push again for legislation to limit coordination between local police agencies and federal immigration enforcement. via @marylandmatters.org www.newsfromthestates.com/article/immi...

Alaska, Montana, Oklahoma crack top five in first rural hospital funding allocation. Story by Shauneen Miranda for @statesnewsroom.com

A Utah judge overseeing the case against the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk ruled on requests from news outlets Monday, but he didn't settle questions about cameras in the courtroom. #utpol utahnewsdispatch.com/2025/12/29/q...

Rancher Bill Sproul manages cattle according to principles of regenerative grazing and has seen an increase in plant species rarely found outside of healthy, high-quality prairie. Read more in @kansasreflector.com' s Cowboys of Conservation series.