AI legislation. Data centers. Free lube. A near Emmy win. And 222,617,547 alcoholic drinks.
6/4/2025Ever wonder how — or if — our elected officials are dealing with Artificial Intelligence and how they are juggling the risks and benefits for their constituents? The National Conference of State Legislatures recently released a tool showing Artificial Intelligence legislation by state.
In 2025, 48 states and Puerto Rico introduced some form of AI-related legislation, while 26 states adopted or enacted more than 75 new measures. Examples of those actions include:
- Arkansas enacted legislation clarifying who owns AI-generated content, which includes the person who provides data or input to train a generative AI model, or an employer if the content is generated as a part of employment duties.
- North Dakota’s new law prohibits individuals from using an AI-powered robot to stalk or harass other individuals, expanding current harassment and stalking laws.
- New Jersey adopted a resolution urging generative AI companies to make voluntary commitments regarding employee whistleblower protections.
- New York enacted a law that requires state agencies to publish detailed information about their automated decision-making tools on their public websites through an inventory created and maintained by the Office of Information Technology.
How about Iowa? A total of 10 pieces of AI-related legislation were introduced in 2025, including the following:
HF 252: “An Act incorporating preparation in computer science, artificial intelligence, and computational thinking into the preparation required in approved practitioner preparation programs, and including applicability provisions.”
HF 406: “An Act relating to restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence, and creating a civil cause of action.” The details on this bill are long. It includes definitions related to AI, developers and private data; device company requirements, developer requirements, rights to likeness and civil liabilities, damages and additional remedies.
HF 279 and SF 118: “An Act relating to powers and duties applicable to state of disaster emergencies and public health disasters.” It would “authorize the use of any drones, unmanned aerial vehicles, advanced robotics, or any artificial intelligence-based systems to enforce the proclamation.” For context, this is considered a companion bill, which means it passes through both the Senate and the House at the same time to speed up the legislative process. …
Speaking of legislation, in a larger sense, Gov. Reynolds signed dozens of bills into law. Here are some of the ones we find interesting:
HF 297: “An act relating to certain emergency services provided by a city.” This allows city officials to be elected to city government while maintaining their role as a chief of a volunteer fire department or serving the volunteer fire department in any other position or capacity. The bill also allows a city to establish an additional fund or a reserve savings account to pay costs associated with the acquisition, possession and maintenance of major equipment for police, fire, rescue or emergency medical services.
SF 565: “An Act providing for the continuation of health insurance in certain circumstances for the surviving spouse and each surviving child of employees of the state of Iowa and including retroactive applicability provisions.” This states that the governing body of the state shall permit continuation of existing health insurance coverage or reenrollment in previously existing coverage for the surviving spouse and each surviving child of an eligible employee of the state of Iowa.
SF 303: “An Act relating to county and city regulation of consumer fireworks.” This prevents Iowa cities and counties from prohibiting or limiting the use of fireworks on July 3, 4 and Dec. 31. …
Get ready for more data. A lot more. CommercialCafe released a report on data center sales activity and construction data from the last decade. The report says Des Moines added 5.61 million square feet of data centers over the past decade — the fourth-highest in the nation — and currently has another million square feet under development. The total inventory surpassed 7.5 million square feet in 2024, putting the city among the top 10 for U.S. data center markets. This is reportedly due to our reliable power grid and affordable land. The interactive map says Des Moines has 10 properties. Nearby Omaha ranks eighth, and Chicago ranks third. The No. 1 location is Northern Virginia, aka D.C. The majority of Des Moines’ square feet comes courtesy of Meta’s 4.1-million-square-foot data center that was built in Altoona in 2015. …
MyBioSource conducted a survey that asked, “How many units of alcohol did you consume over the winter months?” Survey says: Iowans consumed 222,617,547 alcoholic drinks. This ranked sixth among all 50 states in per capita drinking. A total of 48% of responders said their drinking was for socializing with friends or family, 22% was during the holidays, 12% said they were coping with stress or anxiety, 13% designated boredom or habit as the reason, and 5% said they just wanted to stay warm. …
The Polk County Health Department installed a harm reduction vending machine outside of the department’s office at 1907 Carpenter Ave. in Des Moines. The vending machine was provided by the Family Planning Council of Iowa and will be available 24/7 to ensure access to life-saving tools and preventative health supplies. Inside the vending machine is Narcan (which reduces opioid overdoses), emergency contraceptives, birth control, condoms, lube, harm reduction kits, gun locks and more. None of these come with a cost, but registration is required.
“We know that stigma, financial barriers and accessibility challenges often prevent people from getting the resources they need,” Polk County Health Department Director Juliann Van Liew said. “This vending machine is a harm reduction strategy that meets people where they are, providing free and judgment-free access to critical health and safety tools.” …
Several metro area artists recently received Governor’s Arts Awards, which are given to recognize outstanding individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to the arts in Iowa.
Craig Ihnen of West Des Moines, who served as the executive director of the Iowa High School Speech Association for nearly three decades, was awarded the Arts Legacy Award. The city of Bondurant received the Arts Champion Award for its commitment to integrating the arts into community development. Siriaco “Siri” Garcia of Des Moines was given the Emerging Arts Leaders award for his contributions to the visual arts and community engagement through the creation of more than 40 murals across central Iowa. Seso Marentes of Des Moines earned the Heritage Award for his dedication to preserving and sharing cultural heritage through the arts. …
“ChiefsAholic: A Wolf in Chiefs Clothing” is a true crime documentary film directed by Dylan Sires and produced by Kristian Day and Maggie Gilbride. Many of you recognize Kristian Day as the writer of the Des Moines Forgotten column and occasional feature stories in CITYVIEW. In addition to being a filmmaker and writer, Day is also a musician and radio host. He says he has spent his career working in a variety of “below- and above-the-line roles on narrative, unscripted and commercial TV and film.” He is also quite modest — and, clearly, quite talented. While working in production management and field producing for networks including ABC, Max, Hulu and PBS, he also produced and directed his own projects that focused on what he calls “underrepresented voices, identity and Midwestern life.”
Back to “ChiefsAholic.” The film was nominated for a 2025 Sports Emmy for Best Long Documentary. It didn’t win, but it could have. And should have. If you have not seen it, here is the gist. The film follows Kansas City Chiefs superfan Xaviar Babudar’s secret life as a serial bank robber and explores his arrest through his own interviews and subsequent legal journey, as well as interviews of other Chiefs fans, a bank teller who was the victim of his final robbery, and Babudar’s bail bondsman, Michael Lloyd. The film was released on Dec. 24, 2024, on Amazon Prime
