Author: Cody Porter

A new bipartisan group of legislators from the Midwest has been selected to take part in a one-of-a-kind leadership program offered by The Council of State Governments’ Midwestern Legislative Conference.

Coming this fall, a new federal definition of hemp will take effect. But what it means for states, their own regulations and laws, and hemp growers remains unclear.

For some of her constituents, Illinois Rep. Tracy Katz Muhl says, access to a four-year degree can seem out of reach because of the time it takes to get to and from the school itself.
“If you are a student, for instance, in the western part of my [legislative] district, it could take you 90 minutes in good traffic to commute to the nearest public university,” she says.

Data centers are becoming a conundrum for state policymakers. They are crucial to the digital economy and provide jobs and property tax revenue for communities needing both. But their proliferation and need for power and water have sparked concern from voters to city halls to state capitols and beyond.

In January, a South Dakota Senate bill changing parts of the permitting process for energy and transmission facilities received 17 yeas and 17 nays. South Dakota Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen broke the Senate tie, voting in favor of the measure and declaring it passed. What followed were questions about the balance of powers between the executive and legislative branches and two different sections of the South Dakota Constitution.

With backing by the state’s association of township governments, a new law in Indiana sets in place a process for analyzing the performance of townships and, likely, consolidating hundreds of them. The Indiana Capital Chronicle notes that this year’s signing of SB 270 comes after failed legislative efforts over the past two decades to reorganize township government in the state.

Nebraska is the first U.S. state to implement provisions in a 2025 federal law that mark one of the biggest changes in the 61-year history of Medicaid: requiring some enrollees to participate in work-related activities. Across the country, minus a state securing a “good faith” extension waiver, these work requirements must take effect in January 2027.

Imagine taking a multi-day bike trip from Chicago to Niagara Falls in Buffalo, N.Y., basking in stunning Great Lakes views all along the way. A graduate research team at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) has announced their Great Lakes Waterfront Trail Starter Guide that jump starts that process, bringing us one step closer to this incredible vision.