LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Matt Rhule and the Nebraska football staff got commitment No. 17 in the 2025 class on Sunday, adding four-star defensive lineman Kade Pietrzak.

The highly sought-after recruit from West Fargo, North Dakota, is the No. 1 recruit in his state and chose Nebraska over Oklahoma, Kansas State and Wisconsin.

Pietrzak checks in at 6-foot-5, 240 pounds and has been on Rhule’s radar since he was hired at Nebraska.

He will join two other defensive linemen in the class of 2025: Omaha North’s Tyson Terry and Malcolm Simpson from Texas.

Pietrzak is the second-highest rated recruit for Nebraska in this year’s class so far behind Simpson.

COMMITED‼️@HuskerFootball @CoachMattRhule @Coach_Knighton @HuskerCoachTW
#GBR pic.twitter.com/SAXF1FOQ2J

— Kade Pietrzak (@KadePietrzak) July 21, 2024

North Dakota School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler announced new state guidance on artificial intelligence (AI) designed to assist local schools in developing their own AI policies and to help teachers and administrators work more efficiently.

A group of educators from North Dakota schools, the NDDPI, the Department of Career and Technical Education, and state information technology agencies created this guidance, which is available on the Department of Public Instruction’s website.

Baesler emphasized that implementing AI, like any instructional tool, requires careful planning and alignment with educational priorities, goals, and values.

She stressed that humans should always control AI usage and review its output for errors, following a Human-Technology-Human process. “We must emphasize keeping the main thing the main thing, and that is to prepare our young learners for their next challenges and goals,” Baesler said.

Steve Snow and Kelsie Seiler from the NDDPI Office of School Approval and Opportunity highlighted that the guidance was drawn from various state education agencies and technology websites, such as Code.org and TeachAI.org, with the process taking about eight months.

“We had a team that looked at guidance from other states, and we pulled pieces from different places and actually built guidance tailored for North Dakota students,” Snow said.

Seiler explained that AI excels at data analysis, predictive analytics, and automating repetitive tasks but lacks emotional intelligence, interdisciplinary research, and problem-solving abilities.

Snow added that AI can help teachers design lesson plans aligned with North Dakota’s academic content standards quickly and adjust them for students who need more support. AI can also simplify the development of personalized learning plans for students.

“You have so many resources (teachers) can use that are going to make your life so much easier,” Snow said. “I want the teachers, administration, and staff to get comfortable with using (AI), so they’re a little more comfortable when they talk to kids about it.”

Seiler noted that the NDDPI guidance is not a “how-to” manual for using AI but offers general suggestions on developing local policies to leverage AI effectively.

“Our guidance is meant to provide some tools to the school administration and say, ‘Here are some things to think about when you implement your own AI guidance,’” Snow said.

“For instance, do you have the infrastructure to support (AI)? Do you have a professional development plan so your teachers can understand it? Do you have governance in place that says what AI can and can’t be used for?”

NORTH DAKOTA (KXNET) — The hundred-day span between Memorial Day and Labor Day is marked as the most deadly period on the road here in North Dakota.

According to the North Dakota Department of Transportation’s 2022 crash summary report, fatal crashes are twice as likely during this time.

That’s why North Dakota leaders are urging drivers to not fall into a “false sense of security” during the bright and cheery days of summer.

According to Travel and Leisure, North Dakota has been marked as the state with the most reckless drivers.

There’s a range of reasons for this from drunk driving to speeding. But another reason is that when the snow clears, North Dakota drivers are eager to get out more and drive faster than they would in the snow, according to the North Dakota Department of Transportation’s Highway Safety Division director.

And because North Dakota has some of the lowest citation fees in the nation, ranging from $5 to $100, the Highway Patrol’s safety and education officer says that drivers aren’t given enough deterrents to drive safely.

However, with growing concerns about safety, there could be talk of increasing citation amounts in coming legislative sessions.