Good morning from Iowa Capital Dispatch.
“As we’ve seen throughout history, different technologies are created, invented, and people can use them to do beautiful things, and people can use them to do destructive things.” — The Rev. Aaron Baart, Dordt University chief of staff, on the university’s program teaching responsible use of artificial intelligence tools.
Young pheasants like to dry off along gravel roads on mornings with heavy dew. Iowa Department of Natural Resources staff use these mornings to count wildlife populations. (Photo courtesy of DNR)
Every August, for over half a century, Iowa Department of Natural Resource staff have set out along gravel roads at dawn, armed with a set of binoculars and, now, an interactive logging application, to survey the landscape for pheasants and other wildlife.
Todd Bogenschutz, an upland wildlife biologist with DNR, has driven the same 30-mile stretch of farm roads in Boone County for the past 30 years.
Dordt University students Cameron Grimes, left, and Daniel Garcia work on computers at Dordt University. The private institution has started a year-long pilot program to provide students with AI tools and discussions. (Photo courtesy of Dordt University)
Dordt University students, faculty and staff this fall began participation in an artificial intelligence pilot program aimed at providing campuswide access to high-quality tools and together explore how AI can be used responsibly inside and outside of the classroom.
Officials with the private, Christian university said that as AI and large language models (LLMs) bleed into different areas of people’s lives, it’s important to help students understand how to interact with it rather than leave them without guidance.
Several fired healthcare professionals were recently awarded unemployment benefits by Iowa judges who found the workers had not committed workplace misconduct.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is investigating the source of murky water and high ammonia levels in Dry Branch Creek that resulted in a fish kill.
One Democratic U.S. senator is sending letters to numerous members of the Trump administration asking for commitments troops won’t be sent to the polls, and state officials are readying plans to keep voting secure.
A U.S. Postal Service rule restricting mail-in voting, like the executive order from President Donald Trump that spurred it, is unconstitutional, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani said in a Friday order extending a freeze on the policy.
The TPS designation for El Salvador is set to expire Sept. 9, and the Department of Homeland Security has made no indication if protections will be renewed.
A District of Columbia Superior Court judge Friday seemed inclined to bar any new felony charges against former Olympian David Hearn, after the Trump administration accused the Maryland man of damaging part of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
COMMENTARY
This week longtime political consultant Eric Woolson joins the conversation, centering GOP lieutenant governor nominee Derek Wulf’s financial issues, new Iowa polling — and a bobblehead of Sen. Chuck Grassley and his dear departed vacuum cleaner, Beth.
A folk tale about "Stone Soup" and Depression-era lessons as the U.S. economy's AI-driven boom raises concerns about another bust, from guest columnist Dave Nagle.
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COMMENTARY
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