Savage mayor to address District 719 tonight
Williams will deliver a 'State of the City' message at the meeting, which is scheduled for 7 p.m. today in the board room at the District Services Center, 4540 Tower St., Prior Lake.
The mayors of both Prior Lake and Savage were set to meet with board members before a regular meeting on March 14. Scheduling conflicts led that meeting to be moved to 5 p.m. today, but last week board members were notified that the session had been canceled.
For more on tonight's board meeting, be sure to read this Saturday's Savage Pacer.
– Meryn Fluker
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
2 days ago
- Forbes
Platform Engineering Lessons From Public Sector Technology
The UK Houses Of Parliament & Elizabth Clock Tower (Big Ben bell inside). We need more software. Look into any corner of the enterprise computing landscape and you'll find a need for additional applications, wider network connections between existing resources and new-age AI entities, additional cloud observability services, supplementary data storage and analytics functions and (often above all, although organizations don't like to admit it) better data integration. What that often boils down to in the mind of the average CEO, CIO, CISO or CTO is the management control factor i.e. they want to be able to view their technology deployment and twiddle knobs (literally) on a vizualisation dashboard that turns the flow up, down or outwards on any given stream of the IT stack. But control isn't always what matters most; despite Covid-19, the rise of compartmentalized containerization with Kubernetes and disaggregated multi-cloud norms becoming the de facto standard… some people still haven't understood the need to embrace flexibility as the central ethos around which all computing structures should be built. The truth is, change will always outpace delivery if platforms are built for control, not flexibility. River Of Constant Change This (above) truism was offered by Jonny Williams, chief digital adviser, UK public sector at Red Hat. Speaking from his governmentally-aligned viewpoint (a sector that, in the UK at least, is traditionally known for its proclivity for management meetings, usually with tea and biscuits, rather than any esoteric adherence to flexible autonomy and optionality), he thinks that digital transformation remains a clear ambition across government. But as the recent Blueprint for a Modern Digital Government appears to suggest, delivery isn't working fast or effectively enough. 'The blueprint pulls no punches: transformation is too slow to meet the scale of public sector ambition,' said Williams. 'At the same time, teams across departments are being asked to do more with less. So it's not just about cost. It's about fewer people, less time, less complexity… and less friction. While the goals are consistent (better security, higher resilience, improved scalability), the blockers to achieving them are also familiar: legacy infrastructure, siloed delivery, too much overhead and not enough flow.' Williams uses the term 'flow' in the context of its much-beloved understanding by hardcore software application developers; when they are really in-the-zone (headphones on… Metallica playing, diet Pepsi and cold pizza on the side of the desk, keyboard alight with fingers peppering the command line with great code), they are said to be in a state of 'flow' and, clearly, that's a good place to be. In this context, many advocates and evangelists across the tech industry argue that platform engineering offers a compelling way forward i.e. flexibility from above and below is the core mantra. This means it's not about building another static technology stack. It's about creating evolving internal developer platforms that abstract complexity, support developers and accelerate service delivery… all while staying aligned with operational goals. An Insufficiency Of Infrastructure 'The UK Government (and for that matter the ruling body in any other Western or modern nation) typically doesn't lack ideas, it lacks infrastructure built to adapt when those ideas inevitably shift,' explained Williams. 'In many government departments, ageing platforms were built years ago to meet a particular need. They were often delivered via traditional programmes or projects, with big design up front, and implemented over months or years. They were rarely built with long-term evolution in mind.' At first, these incumbent government platforms did what they were supposed to. But the needs of the services running on top of them changed. Teams began exploring different architectural approaches… and quickly found that they needed flexible networking, updated security models and an ability to serve new types of workloads. Many want to experiment with AI or machine learning. But old platforms don't (and generally can't) keep up. The result is that teams get slowed down, demotivated and frustrated by tooling and processes that don't support the way they work. This is what the IT industry likes to call platform drift, or the 'lava lamp effect' i.e. teams bubbling away from the original platform until eventually, they break off entirely. 'Platform drift leads to platform sprawl. Different teams adopt alternative platforms to meet their needs. Any organization in this scenario loses consistency and the number of platforms multiplies without scaling value,' said Williams. 'This pattern is common across government, where hundreds of departments have deployed hundreds if not thousands of different platforms to solve the same problems. When developers face slow processes that ask them to raise a ticket just to provision an environment, or where AI is entirely distinct from their existing platform, or they can't get rapid feedback on a release, it's no surprise they look for alternatives. But at the scale of government, these challenges have an enormous impact.' How Traditional IT Platforms Work The root problem is not just technical. It relates to an entire delivery model. Traditional platforms are focused on maintaining a stable state. They solve problems after they appear, rather than anticipating future needs. That mindset, not just the tools themselves, is what many in this space think is holding back progress. Technology evangelists say they know that this challenge will only increase with the rise of emerging AI requirements. Platform engineering flips that model on its head. Instead of building a one-off platform and walking away, organizations build internal platforms the same way they build public-facing services… iteratively, based on user needs, with a product mindset. 'It starts with abstraction. A well-designed platform removes complexity, offering reusable components and self-service capabilities. Teams don't need to raise a ticket to create an environment or deploy code. They consume services directly. That's how you reduce stress, risk and overhead. That's how you do more with less,' said Red Hat's Williams. 'It also means continuous improvement. Platform teams gather feedback and ship updates. They measure usage and performance. Some of the best platform teams we've seen in government use product reviews, team charters, skills matrices, backlogs and user surveys… the same practices you'd expect from any good digital service team. Crucially, platform engineering enables what techies like to refer to as 'evolutionary modernization opportunities' today, meaning that rather than rip and replace, departments can support legacy applications and new services side by side, often making use of virtual machines and containers. It's all about giving teams the space to modernize incrementally, all while ensuring the platform can keep up. That's where the idea of the thinnest viable platform comes in i.e. start small, deliver value early and meet real user needs… then expand responsibly as those needs evolve. The Platform Is The (Change) Lever For digital transformation to succeed, Williams says platforms need to stop being 'passive infrastructure' and start being 'active enablers' in modern cloud computing architectures. That means embedding user needs into their DNA. It means investing in empowered, iterative, data-informed teams who align with wider organisational goals. 'Platform engineering isn't a silver bullet. But it's one of the clearest, most actionable levers we have to make digital transformation real – not just in pilots or proof of concepts, but at scale. With the right mindset, the right structure and the right investment, we can build platforms that keep pace with ambition. We can make value delivery easier. Then we can finally move from intent to impact,' concluded Williams. But can we really move forward with progressive government technology architectures (a sort of quadrilateral oxymoron, in the past at least) and talk about a future where public sector IT platform teams are established so that they develop and share projects? Amanda Brock, CEO of OpenUK, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting open computing, open data and open source at large points out what this future might look like… and highlights who is already working on it. 'We are seeing Emily Middleton [UK director for digital centre design at the British government's Department for Science, Innovation and Technology] drive departments' efforts centrally," said Brock. "This is happening alongside the UK's Government Digital Service, the Cabinet Office and others all being urged to operate as a central team, which is the right first step. Now they are looking to build cohesion and skills, to streamline processes and build understanding. I see this bedding-in towards a platform engineering approach as critical to create good practices and avoid silos.' Going deeper, Brock suggests that a centralized approach to computing helps to build shared understanding; this (in theory if not in practice) enables teams (in government or in the private sector) to to check whether others are already working on the same idea, and contribute to existing projects rather than building another new project. 'We are seeing talk of software and data service cataloges, but however we ultimately develop… building open source infrastructure as the base of a future digital spine at this level will allow access for all parts of the public sector and create a well-curated infrastructure that becomes an interoperable de facto standard,' said Brock, speaking at a media event in the House of Commons terrace this summer. Public Sector Progressiveness? Could we move to a technology future where the breadth and girth of public bodies enables them to adopt platform engineering for its flexibility factors even faster than we see in the private sector? Even if the deployment surface is 20% of existing technology projects at this level, the 80:20 knock-on effect could (arguably) be positive for all sectors. Insular information technology silos may soon be regarded as just as damaging as cultural, economic or political insularity, it may just be time to collaborate and listen.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Will the Big Beautiful Bill Make Your Utility Bills More Expensive? Experts Weigh In
Trump's Big Beautiful Bill, signed into law on July 4, rolls back clean energy tax credits, repeals climate-focused funding and expands oil and gas development. While some Senate Republicans claim the bill is pro-growth, energy experts warn it could raise utility bills across the U.S. and make long-term power costs more volatile — below is what they had to say. Also here's ChatGPT's simple explanation of what the Big Beautiful Bill is. Explore More: Read Next: Power Bills Could Jump According to a report from Energy Innovation, households across the U.S. could pay a combined $170 billion more for energy between 2025-2034 due to the Big Beautiful Bill. Patrice Williams-Lindo, a workforce futurist, visibility strategist and CEO of Career Nomad, who has advised energy firms on digital adoption and job transitions, said the Big Beautiful Bill doesn't support the energy systems people actually rely on. 'Consumers might see temporary dips in prices if domestic oil and gas production is amped up,' she said. 'But that's a supply illusion. Without long-term investment in resilient grids, diversified energy sources or consumer subsidies, bills will spike again — especially in disaster-prone regions.' Owen Quinlan, head of data at Arbor, said households are already feeling it. 'In many cities, rates have jumped 10% to 45% this summer,' he said. 'And that's before factoring in the potential impact of this bill.' Quinlan's team tracks real-time energy prices across the country. He warned that pulling back on clean energy now could make things more difficult for households already feeling the strain of higher bills. For You: Clean Energy Keeps Prices Down, but That Could Change Quinlan pointed out that solar already plays a big role in keeping daytime prices low. 'The challenge comes when the sun goes down and demand stays high — that's when the grid relies on costly backup power and prices can spike dramatically,' he explained. 'Without more investment in clean energy and the infrastructure to support it, those price spikes could become more common and expensive.' Williams-Lindo said rolling back clean energy also hits the workforce. 'Rolling back climate-forward policies will stall the growth of future-ready jobs in solar, wind, grid optimization and green infrastructure,' she said. She added that it could mean fewer affordable energy options for consumers and fewer high-wage jobs in underserved regions. What's Missing From the Energy Conversation Williams-Lindo shared what she called the RNA framework: Rebrand, Network, Achieve Recognition and said that consumers and industry leaders will need to rebrand how they engage with energy, moving from passive users to educated advocates. 'Utilities will need to network across sectors — tech, policy, labor — to build smarter, equitable pricing models,' she said. 'And marginalized communities, especially Black and brown households often hit hardest by utility hikes, must be recognized in energy policy as stakeholders, not just line items.' According to Lindo, patriotic branding doesn't pay your power bill. Without transparency, equity and investment in energy innovation, the Big Beautiful Bill could lead to big ugly bills for everyday Americans. Editor's note on political coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on More From GOBankingRates 3 Reasons Retired Boomers Shouldn't Give Their Kids a Living Inheritance (And 2 Reasons They Should) This article originally appeared on Will the Big Beautiful Bill Make Your Utility Bills More Expensive? Experts Weigh In
Business Upturn
3 days ago
- Business Upturn
The Town of Glenrock, WY, is the Target of a FOIA Enforcement Motion Related to Involvement with Flatirons Bank and Justice Escrow
Cheyenne, WY, July 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Coal Creek Law a law firm known for defending open government, transparency, and accountability, recently announced the filing of a show cause motion and motion to compel production in the Wyoming District Court against the Town of Glenrock, WY (Glenrock). The legal action stems from Glenrock's alleged improper refusal to fully comply with a Wyoming Public Records Act (WPRA) request, including the inappropriate assertion of attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine to withhold documents related to Glenrock's interactions with Flatirons Bank and Flatirons's 'Justice Escrow' Qualified Settlement Fund. The WPRA requests, submitted earlier this year, sought all communications, contracts, and records pertaining to Glenrock's involvement and interactions in establishing or facilitating Qualified Settlement Funds (QSFs) utilizing Justice Escrow, a service offered through Flatirons Bank. QSFs are specialized accounts used to manage settlement funds in legal cases. Despite repeated demands, Glenrock, represented by Williams, Porter, Day, and Neville, has produced only a fraction of the requested documents. Specifically, it has improperly sought to redact and withhold communications and contracts with third parties under the auspices of attorney-client privilege and work product. The complaint argues that these materials are public records under Wyoming statutes and are thus subject to disclosure under establish law because such communications involve third parties to Glenrock and its counsel such as Flatirons Bank. Based on information and belief, the improperly withheld documents contain information that reveals Glenrock's involvement with Flatirons and an agreement to sponsor QSFs through Glenrock. Government transparency is the cornerstone of democracy, and the Wyoming Legislature has codified the public's right to information in the WPRA,' said Caleb Wilkins, lead attorney for Coal Creek. Quoting a recent court opinion, Mr. Wilkins noted, 'The Wyoming Supreme Court has held 'the WPRA creates a presumption that the denial of inspection of public records is contrary to public policy.'' He continued, 'Wyoming Courts have vigorously upheld the public's right to governmental transparency under the WPRA, are we are confident that the Court will order disclosure in this case.' The motion to compel requests a court order for the immediate release of all withheld documents and other remedies under the WPRA. Additionally, the show cause motion necessitates that Town officials explain why they should not be held in contempt for failing to comply with its statutory duties under the WPRA. Coal Creek urges the public to support efforts for greater accountability and transparency in local government. About Coal Creek Law Coal Creek Law is a Rocky Mountain and Great Plains law firm, located in Cheyenne, Wyoming, that strives to provide results-oriented and value-driven legal support to individuals and businesses. For more information, visit or contact Caleb Wilkins at [email protected] Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with GlobeNewswire. Business Upturn takes no editorial responsibility for the same. Ahmedabad Plane Crash
