Ag communities confront immigration enforcement crisis and more news from the states

Good evening. Tonight we begin in Kansas, where the state’s agriculture and rural communities need immigrants, but some say the immigration system has failed them. 

In New England, high oil costs are creating a home heating crisis this winter, while the president moved today to expand access to tax-free diesel fuel nationwide. 

In Rhode Island and elsewhere, hemp growers are facing uncertainty under new federal regulations. 

With Election Day approaching, Democrats are looking to grow their ranks of state governorships and pump more money into U.S. Senate races, while civil rights leaders are bolstering voter protection efforts. 

In Oregon, sightings of animals — dead or alive — will help guide construction of future wildlife crossings.

In Kansas, an immigration crackdown in late September that led to the detention of more than 100 people has highlighted the agriculture industry’s reliance on immigrant workers after the enforcement effort led businesses to stop or delay operations, Kansas Reflector reports. 

“This is one of those rare situations where the humanitarian and economic interests align,” said Brian Vulgamore, a fifth-generation farmer and Kansas businessman.

Vulgamore’s opinion about the crisis, first posted online, drew vigorous opposition from many and highlighted frustrations in the Midwestern, agriculture-based states that largely vote Republican. Immigrants are necessary to adequately operate many businesses, farms and ranches, but there isn’t a workable process to bring them to the country legally.   

The Kansas Livestock Association, Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association and Texas Cattle Feeders Association released a statement noting the effects on the industry from ongoing ICE operations in the three states. 

“These disruptions come at a time of enhanced focus and pressure on the cattle and beef supply chain,” the statement said. “They are a costly and unnecessary impact to cattle producers already suffering from unwelcome political interference to both the markets as well as the physical supply chain. Frustratingly, the harm these actions cause to cattle producers last for days and weeks after such operations conclude.”

More immigration coverage: 

High oil prices are teeing up a cold and stressful winter for some New Hampshire residents, New Hampshire Bulletin reports. 

Inflated by pressure from the wars in Iran and Ukraine, the cost of oil is hitting Americans at the gas pump and, as cold weather sets in, inflating heating bills, too. 

In the Northeast, where reliance on heating oil is heavier than in the rest of the U.S., the impact on residents is likely to be especially severe: The average cost of a season’s worth of heating oil is projected to rise more than 31%, or $548, over last year, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association. That brings the average cost of heating a typical home throughout the winter to about $2,300.

Already, some of New Hampshire’s community action partnerships, which administer a heating assistance program for qualifying residents, have reported seeing an uptick in new applications, they said. 

Related: (Stateline) Americans’ water bills are growing faster than groceries, overall inflation

Utahns may start seeing more artificial intelligence tools in their doctors visits now that the state’s Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy signed agreements with healthcare providers to test new programs, Utah News Dispatch reports. 

The agreements include an improved medication refill system and tools to expand dermatology and postpartum treatments.

The office had already been overseeing some healthcare related pilots, including a first-in-the-nation program that allows an AI system to approve some prescription medication renewals in the state. While the initiative was criticized by members of the Utah Medical Licensing Board for not including their input before it was implemented, the updated program includes additional safeguards, officials said.

Related: (California) ‘Evaluators’ are supposed to keep AI from killing us all. No pressure

North Carolina: Democratic Gov. Josh Stein is urging the Trump administration to reconsider proposed changes to the Head Start program, which critics argue could increase class sizes, reduce program hours and weaken standards. 

Utah: Attorneys in three lawsuits are asking the state’s high court to block a transfer of the cases to the Legislature’s newly created, randomly selected three-judge panel specifically meant to hear challenges to state laws. 

New Mexico: The Democratic Party has asked the State Ethics Commission to investigate whether state Senate Republicans’ use of AI-generated images in recent social media posts violates a 2024 state law aimed at curbing political misinformation.

Ohio: Democratic candidate for governor Amy Acton and Democratic U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur have faced backlash from comments they made about transgender people during the lead up to Election Day. 

Indiana: Advocates remain concerned about a new assessment tool that is being used to determine Medicaid disability services for state residents. 

New Jersey: Some legislators want to create a new agency to oversee energy programs, an effort intended to give the state more control to expand its energy capacity and ultimately cap soaring utility bills.

Wisconsin: An aquifer was breached along the reroute path of the Enbridge Line 5 oil and gas pipeline. It’s unclear how much water was released due to the breach.

Maine: The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a lobsterman’s legal challenge to an electronic vessel tracker requirement, putting an end to the multi-year lawsuit. 

​Tennessee: Lawmakers held hearings to discuss implementing a limited medical marijuana program, but the state’s top law enforcement group remains the most vocal opposition.

Idaho: Voters in November will decide whether to give the state Legislature the sole power to regulate marijuana and other drugs — and eliminate their right to bring a citizen-led ballot initiative to do so.

Mike Simpson, left, and Ryan Plante, co-founders of Lovewell Farms in Hopkinton, Rhode Island, stand next to hemp plants nearing harvest on Sept. 24. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)

The rest of their crop will be harvested in the next couple of weeks and turned into concentrate, destined to become products such as tinctures, 1-milligram THC gummies and 5-milligram THC lemonades. 

Rhode Island’s regulated hemp market generated $2.85 million in sales in 2025, according to data provided by the state’s Cannabis Control Commission. Drinks and seltzers infused with THC — the psychoactive component of the cannabis plant that can cause impairment— accounted for $2.36 million, or about 83% of the total. The state had 201 licensed hemp businesses as of Oct. 1, including 169 retailers.

But the market could soon be upended by a federal restriction that Rhode Island regulators say they must enforce. Starting Dec. 11, federal law will prohibit the sale of hemp-derived cannabinoid products containing more than 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container, creating uncertainty for growers. 

Read more from Rhode Island Current. 

As President Donald Trump refuses to rule out taking extreme action in the midterm elections, voting rights advocates and civil rights leaders are bolstering their voter protection efforts in anticipation of possible federal interference, States Newsroom’s D.C. Bureau reports.

The focus by activists comes amid uncertainty among advocates and election officials over what Trump may do before, during and after Election Day. Some organizations are preparing to deploy volunteers to the polls to help assure voters in places where fear of federal intimidation may run high.

On Tuesday, several groups — including the Save America Movement, the American Federation of Teachers labor union and the National Action Network — launched Vote Safe, an initiative that will put local volunteers at polling locations in areas where they say pressure on Black, Latino and Asian voters is highest. 

The program will include Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina and Ohio. The volunteers will document any intimidation and serve as a reassuring presence for voters, organizers said.

As the political prospects for Republicans worsen ahead of November’s midterm elections, the GOP is increasingly playing defense over its yearslong grip on state governments, Stateline reports. 

That’s particularly true for gubernatorial elections, as Democrats could win a majority of governorships for the first time since 2010. Currently, Republicans boast  a 26-24 gubernatorial advantage over Democrats.

This November, voters will choose governors in 36 states. Thirteen of those races are considered competitive by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

More Election 2026 coverage: 

With Election Day less than a month away, lawmakers in several states are suspending gas taxes or rolling back regulations on diesel fuel as voters grow increasingly frustrated with rising fuel costs amid the president’s war with Iran, Stateline reports. 

On Tuesday, Trump issued an executive order to expand access to tax-free diesel fuel nationwide, following the lead of several governors who have taken the same step.

Trump signed the order at a Nebraska rally, promising U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts and Gov. Jim Pillen, both Republicans, that “this should absolutely ensure your election, I guarantee you that,” the Associated Press reported.

In at least four states — Georgia, Indiana, Ohio and Utah — leaders have moved to temporarily suspend or reduce the state tax on gasoline.

Ohio lawmakers voted last month to approve a 90-day gas tax holiday, a move called for by both the Democratic and Republican candidates for governor.

In Oregon, environmental advocates are seeking volunteers to help collect research on how the state’s roadways are impacting wildlife, Oregon Capital Chronicle reports. 

Environment Oregon, a conservation nonprofit with affiliates across 29 other states, is recruiting volunteers for its 2026 Roadside Wildlife Count, which runs from Oct. 17 to 25, to help track any wildlife dead or alive on Oregon’s roads.

Volunteers will record each animal they see, and their data will add to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s official roadkill and survey data to help inform decisionmakers about where wildlife crossings are needed the most, said Justin Boyles, Environment Oregon’s conservation advocate. 

Oregon has built at least six wildlife crossings, mostly tunnels under roads in the central part of the state. One wildlife crossing is under design and another is awaiting funding. 

“We’ve built more than 70,000 miles of roads across the state of Oregon so that we could connect in all those ways, but unfortunately in the process, we dissected and fragmented the habitat of every other species that we share this landscape with,” Boyles said.