Local Government

The City of Lakes was recently jointly awarded a U.S. Department of Transportation grant. Officials there will work with their counterparts in Seattle to develop a program assisting package delivery services.

With an ongoing push towards expanding high-speed broadband Internet coverage, Dunn County officials expect that nearly all residents there will be able to access the service soon.

Municipalities around the nation are carefully using artificial intelligence to improve access to documents and public meeting materials, leaders said during the GovAI Coalition Summit in December.

Leaders in Macon-Bibb County are working with a data-based assessment company to determine which of their roughly 1,200 miles of county-owned roads are in the worst shape and should be fixed first.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is giving a Columbus, Neb.-based electric cooperative the investment as part of its Empowering Rural America Program. It will fund wind and solar projects across three counties.

Confronting post-pandemic challenges, leaders and planners in local government and philanthropy reshape their landscapes through partnerships and innovation. Mayors serve as critical connectors.

In his final State of the City address this year, Mayor Richard Irvin said his city is “becoming a city of bytes, bandwidth and breakthroughs,” highlighting its work expanding broadband access and modernizing its online presence.

Pre-shift inspections of police vehicles is a tedious but vital task that can impact officer and citizen safety. A new tool could make that process more efficient and more reliable — and could save money for cities.

Justine Tran, recently named technology leader, served as deputy CIO for the city of Dallas for nearly four years. She brings with her years of technology work in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

State and local agencies have until Dec. 31 to commit federal funds they received through the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund as part of the response to the pandemic. Anything not obligated must be returned.

A new data system in Washington, D.C., will track student outcomes from preschool through post-secondary education and employment, potentially informing decisions by parents, employers and community partners.

The Georgia city is the latest local government to set up an AI study group, which could lead to municipal improvements. But before that happens, the commission might have to make it through several hurdles.

Leaders hope NVIDIA’s resources, training and networking opportunities will help improve competency in artificial intelligence among San Jose city employees, as well as faculty and students at San Jose State University.

Mayor Randall Woodfin writes about how collaboration between cities helped shape the Birmingham Talks program, which was inspired by work in other cities that used tech to help children with language.

City officials have approved a request from Missoula police for 120 new Tasers and a bundle of add-on services, including AI software that writes up to 80 percent of police reports.

Officials in Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin and Tulare counties are asking why the San Joaquin Valley received just 6.6 percent of the first $804 million California gave out to increase access to affordable broadband.

As a new federal administration prepares to assume control, the GovAI Coalition Summit showed the local promise of artificial intelligence, from solutions available to the leaders ready to make them work.

Mayor Ben Walsh’s administration wants to expand the use of body-worn cameras to its code enforcement staff, but city lawmakers want questions answered before they’ll go along with buying the equipment.