Tom Hesse

Grand Junction

Western Slope Producer at Colorado Matters

Western Slope producer for @ColoradoMatters. May remember me from such jobs as @DailySentinelGJ, @TheIdahoPress, @Chronicle and @sitkasentinel.

Articles

Trump directs Department of Justice to try to free Tina Peters from prison in social media post

1 week ago | ksut.org | Bente Birkeland |Tom Hesse

Updated 10:48 a.m., May 6, 2025President Donald Trump escalated the federal attempt to upend Colorado’s prosecution of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters in a social media post Monday night. “Tina is an innocent Political Prisoner being horribly and unjustly punished in the form of Cruel and Unusual Punishment,” he wrote.
Trump directs Department of Justice to try to free Tina Peters from prison in social media post

1 week ago | kunc.org | Bente Birkeland |Tom Hesse

Updated 10:48 a.m., May 6, 2025President Donald Trump escalated the federal attempt to upend Colorado’s prosecution of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters in a social media post Monday night. “Tina is an innocent Political Prisoner being horribly and unjustly punished in the form of Cruel and Unusual Punishment,” he wrote.
Former Colorado postal employee admits to stealing ballots ahead of 2024 election

1 week ago | durangoherald.com | Tom Hesse

One of the women accused of stealing and fraudulently casting more than a dozen ballots ahead of last November’s election pleaded guilty Monday. Vicki Stuart, 64, was charged with 34 counts related to the ballot theft scheme, which occurred in the lead-up to last year’s presidential election. She pleaded guilty to one count of identity theft and one count of forgery in the 21st Judicial District Court.
Trump signals for Department of Justice to try and free Tina Peters

1 week ago | durangoherald.com | Bente Birkeland |Tom Hesse

‘Tina is an innocent Political Prisoner being horribly and unjustly punished,’ he wrote President Donald Trump escalated the federal attempt to upend Colorado’s prosecution of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters in a social media post Monday night. “Tina is an innocent Political Prisoner being horribly and unjustly punished in the form of Cruel and Unusual Punishment,” he wrote.
Colorado ski coach charged with sexual assault of a minor

1 month ago | durangoherald.com | Tom Hesse

The Frisco man was arrested in Taos, New Mexico A Frisco man is accused of sexually assaulting a minor during a club ski trip to New Mexico and attorneys for the victim are concerned other athletes could have been harmed. Jared W. Hedges, 48, was arrested on March 21 by the Taos County Sheriff’s Office, according to court records. Hedges is accused of one count of criminal sexual penetration on a child under 13 and one count of criminal sexual contact with a child under 13.
Montrose judge denies city’s request to clear church’s unhoused camp

2 months ago | durangoherald.com | Tom Hesse

About 20 people have been living at United Methodist Church property At a hearing in Montrose, on Wednesday, Municipal Court Judge Erin Maxwell rejected a city request for an emergency abatement on a camp of unhoused residents sitting on Montrose United Methodist Church grounds. The abatement would have permitted city authorities to go onto private property to potentially clear the camp, which has drawn controversy in recent weeks.
Grand Junction resists calls to close unhoused resource center

Nov 26, 2024 | durangoherald.com | Tom Hesse

Nearby business owners have asked shelter be closed because of gatherings Grand Junction’s unhoused resource center won’t shut down, but it will institute new guidelines to alleviate concerns from downtown businesses and residents. During a 4½-hour special meeting Monday night, the Grand Junction City Council reconsidered the facility’s lease and set up a plan to move the day shelter out of downtown this spring.
Colorado asks court to dismiss Utes’ tribal gaming lawsuit

Oct 17, 2024 | durangoherald.com | Tom Hesse

Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute tribes sued state over their stance on sports betting Attorneys for the state of Colorado say a lawsuit from the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute tribes over sports betting regulation should be dismissed, in part because the state officials named in the lawsuit are immune from such claims. Earlier this summer, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe sued Colorado in federal court, saying that the state improperly sought to regulate their entry into sports betting.
Colorado asks court to dismiss Utes’ tribal gaming lawsuit

Oct 17, 2024 | the-journal.com | Tom Hesse

Thursday, Oct 17, 2024 3:17 PM Updated Friday, Oct. 18, 2024 5:37 PM Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute tribes sued state over their stance on sports betting A sign marks a northern border of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe’s reservation along Colorado Highway 172 south of Elmore’s Corner.
Teenager identified as human remains found in freezer near Grand Junction

Oct 12, 2024 | the-journal.com | Tom Hesse

(AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File) Investigators have identified the person whose head and hands were found in a freezer left behind by the previous occupants of a home near Grand Junction. The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office identified the human remains as belonging to Amanda Leariel Overstreet, who was believed to be around 16-years-old at the time of her disappearance. Overstreet was the biological daughter of the home’s previous owner, according to a Friday morning press release.