Sen. Eliot Bostar is the sponsor of legislation (LB1185) that would require providers of conversational artificial intelligence, or AI services, to disclose to users under 18 that they are not human. Such disclosures would have to be made at the start of each session and at least every three hours after that. Providers would also be required to avoid providing sexual content or simulating romantic relationships. And if users talk about self-harm or suicide, providers would have to make “reasonable efforts” to refer them to suicide hotlines or other appropriate services.

Among those supporting the bill in the hearing before the Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee was author Mary Pipher, a clinical psychologist and author of Letters to a Young Therapist. Pipher reflected on changes in society since 2004.

“Social media was really just getting started. Cell phones came in in 2007 so the changes between 2004 and 2016 were significant. But since 2016 till now, we’ve had the rise of AI and chatbots. We’ve had the COVID pandemic, and we’ve had a rapidly changing culture that presents all of us with unique challenges that humans have never faced before,” Pipher said.

Support also came from representatives of Google and from Emily Allen of Tech Nebraska, part of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Allen said the bill takes a reasonable approach.

“We view this bill as a constructive starting point for what we often call smart regulation, policy that protects people while still allowing innovation to move forward,” Allen said. “Tech and in this case, AI, is evolving faster than any legislative body can realistically keep pace with. That being said, this bill reflects a good faith effort to put reasonable guardrails in place.”

No one spoke against the bill.

The committee also heard another bill (LB1083), which would require large chatbot developers or providers to take measures to protect public safety and children, and disclose how they assess and manage such risks.

The “whole time” is almost uncomfortably accurate. As he mapped each colony, Brust overlaid them on the habitats of the state’s glacial relict fish populations; in other words, those that have been present since the Ice Age glaciers have retreated.

Wherever he found the fish, he’d find the hopper.

“It has everything to do with the cold water system,” he said, “That water is keeping the environment cold enough for that fish to survive.”

But those environments and the grasshoppers therein could be in danger if the state endures milder and milder winters.

“You know, there is cause for concern, especially as climate change keeps warming things up,” he said. “These are already a cool weather species, they’ll probably become even more and more limited.”

Brust is also concerned that human intervention may cause some habitat destruction.

“We could see a change in land use, drainage of some habitat areas, and I’m especially concerned, here in Nebraska, about invasive grasses,” he added.

The northern spur-throat eats only a handful of specific native plants.

However, Brust said the good news is that the species isn’t extinct, or even declining yet, and he’s hoping that its resurgence and growth can prove to be a bellwether for the state’s cold-weather ecosystems.

“The number of these wetland sites that I surveyed thoroughly versus how many are out there in the Sandhills, and how extensive they are, I’d bet there’s probably five to 10 times more out there than I accounted for,” Brust said.

You may not be surprised, but winter in Nebraska and Iowa has been dry…again.

On average, we see about 16″ of snow up to early February. This winter, Omaha has received 6.5″. Not as bad as last year, but nowhere near our seasonal average. We are in a ‘snow drought’, but we are not alone.

The hotspots for snow this year have been to our east and south, leaving much of the western US high and dry. In fact, the Rocky Mountain states of Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana are experiencing some of the driest winters on record.

Why is this? Ridging in the atmosphere has kept winter storms away from the west and favored the east. Likewise, a series of rainstorms in early January melted much of the snowpack, which means less to melt come spring.

You can see this in these two images. The first shows the “snow water equivalent (SWE)” over the west, which is the water content in the snowpack. The numbers are in %. Anything below 100% is below average, anything above 100% is above average. This time last year, much of the West was seeing above-average snowpacks.

This year, nearly every station is well below average.

USDA

This is shown in the satellite imagery of the western US snowpack. Last year, the snowpack was quite healthy.

NASA Worldview

This year, it’s a much different story, with only the tallest mountains having any snow.

NASA Worldview

So, what does this mean for Nebraska and Iowa? In the short-term, disappointed skiiers, sledders, and kids, alongside happy drivers.

However, in the long term, the lack of moisture out west could be a serious concern.

Take the Platte River in Nebraska. The Platte gets a lot of its water from snow runoff in Colorado and Wyoming. If those states see little snow, there is less water that flows into the river. Since the reservoirs in Nebraska are already low, this could create some water issues come the summer.

Likewise, runoff into the Missouri River will be lower, with the Army Corps of Engineers predicting a lower runoff in 2026. This could impact river levels, which widens into impacted river travel & recreational activities.

While this sounds doom and gloom now, it’s only early February. We are just entering the snowiest time of the season for many of these places. All we need is a pattern change, and the snow issues out west could go away. Time will tell.