Posted on

ONE MORE PERSON FILES FOR CITY COUNCIL, NOBODY FOR SCHOOL BOARD

One more person has filed to run for Crookston City Council, and nobody filed to run for Crookston School Board on Thursday.

CITY COUNCIL
The City of Crookston has four City Council positions up for election on November 5.  The positions up for election are City Council spots in Ward 1, 3, 5, and one at-large council position.
Kristie Jerde filed to run for re-election in Ward 1 on Thursday. Jerde joins Derek Brekken, who filed for Ward 5; Clayton Briggs, who filed for re-election in Ward 3; and Morgan Hibma, who has filed to run for re-election for the council at large spot.

Crookston residents interested in running for the four openings can file at Crookston City Hall from Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except Tuesday, August 13, when it will be open until 5:00 p.m. There is a filing fee of $2.
The positions up for election are Ward 1 – Kristie Jerde, Ward 3 – Clayton Briggs, Ward 5 – Wendy Ault, and At-Large – Morgan Hibma.

SCHOOL BOARD
The Crookston School Board has three spots up for election. Frank Fee, Dave Davidson, and Mike Theis’ four-year terms expire this year. 

Nobody filed for School Board on Thursday. Adam Schiller filed to run for school board on Wednesday, joining Mike Theis and Malissa Burnette, who filed on Tuesday.

Any Crookston School District resident interested in running must file in the school district clerk’s office and pay the filing fee by 5:00 p.m. on August 13, 2024. The district office will be open Monday through Thursday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

The post ONE MORE PERSON FILES FOR CITY COUNCIL, NOBODY FOR SCHOOL BOARD appeared first on KROX.

Posted on

James Sauve – OBIT

James Sauve, 60, of Bloomington, MN, formerly of Red Lake Falls, MN, passed away on Wednesday, July 24, 2024, at St John’s Hospital, Maplewood, MN.

Service of the word for James will be held at 11:00 AM on Thursday, August 1, 2024, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Red Lake Falls, MN, with Father Bob Schreiner officiating. Burial will be held at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery near Red Lake Falls, MN. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the church.

James Sauve was born January 12, 1964, the son of James and Elizabeth (Hagl) Sauve in Red Lake Falls, MN. He attended St. Joseph Catholic School in Red Lake Falls and graduated from Lafayette High School in 1982. Due to an automobile accident in 1982 he became a quadriplegic, but it didn’t slow him down and lived a full life. He moved to South St. Paul then to Robbinsdale and finally settling in Bloomington.

James enjoyed rubberstamping and shooting off fireworks, he was excellent at digital art, and he loved going to concerts. His favorite band was AC/DC, and he attended several of their concerts. He also enjoyed attending Twins baseball games and Vikings and was a diehard fan of both teams. He collected baseball cards and refrigerator magnets. He was a magnet for kids, giving them rides on his wheelchair. He was a very loyal friend to everyone. Jimmy was a father figure to Janelle’s 3 children, Melissa Fischer, Katie (Noah) Paro, and Zach Fischer and grandfather figure to Atlas. Jimmy was very proud of being a Quad for 42 years.

James is survived by his siblings; Sherry (Wallace) Rondorf, Thief River Falls, MN, Michelle (Randy) Chaput, Red Lake Falls, MN, Colleen Gudmundson, Red Lake Falls, MN, Jamie (Peggy) Sauve, Red Lake Falls, MN and Bradley (Angela) Sauve, Red Lake Falls, MN; nieces and nephews: Cassandra Rondorf, Jessica Rondorf, Samantha Drury, Evan (Jasmyn) Chaput, Brett Larson, Casey (Sky) Sauve, Kylee Sauve, Wyatt Sauve, Landon Sauve, Kiara Sauve; great nieces and nephews, Charley Mae, Kevin James, Collin Dean, Elizabeth Marie, Travis James, Odin Randy Drury-Putz, Trey Sauve and Daisy Sauve; Special lifelong friend Janelle Fischer and her children Melissa, Katie and Zach and a very special friend Claire Zindler.

Jimmy is preceded in death by his parents James and Elizabeth, three infant brothers, James, John, and Joseph, nephew Brandon, brother-in-law Pete Gudmundson. Along with his four-legged friend Sabie.

Accompanist: Polly Beyer

Reader: Melissa Fischer

Casket bearers: Jimmys nieces and nephews; Cassandra Rondorf, Jessica Rondorf, Samantha Chaput, Evan Chaput, Brett Larson, Casey Sauve, Kylee Sauve, Wyatt Sauve, Landon Sauve, Kiara Sauve.

The post James Sauve – OBIT appeared first on KROX.

Posted on

Fed leaves key interest rates unchanged, alludes to cuts coming in September

Photo illustration/logo of the central bank of the United States^ The Fed^ With chairman Jerome powell in the background

The Federal Reserve held its key interest rate steady again Wednesday but signaled that a long-awaited interest rate cut may be just weeks away – as soon as mid-September. According to an article from The New York Times, the Fed’s decision on a rate cut will come on Sept. 18, when policymakers next meet. The rate of inflation has dropped substantially from a peak of over 8% in 2022 down to 3% for the month of June.

Rates remained unchanged Wednesday afternoon after the bank’s July meeting on Wednesday, with the Fed deciding to hold interest rates steady at about 5.3 percent.  However, a report Wednesday morning provided the latest evidence that wage growth is slowing, bolstering the case for rate cuts. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, economists think chances the Fed will cut rates in September are 85%.

On July 15, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said he would not wait until inflation is down to 2% to begin interest rate cuts: “The implication of that is that if you wait until inflation gets all the way down to 2%, you’ve probably waited too long, because the tightening that you’re doing, or the level of tightness that you have, is still having effects which will probably drive inflation below 2%.”

Powell added at an Economic Club meeting in Washington: “For a long time, since inflation arrived, it’s been right to mainly focus on inflation. But now that inflation has come down and the labor market has indeed cooled off, we’re going to be looking at both mandates. They’re in much better balance.”

According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the U.S. economy rose sharply in the second quarter, with GDP up a higher-than-expected 2.8%, while the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shared that it will release its July jobs report Friday.

Editorial credit: Muhammad Alimaki / Shutterstock.com

Posted on

SPORTS FEEVER – August 1, 2024

SPORTS FEEVER by Chris Fee of KROX Radio – chrisjfee@yahoo.com

The first official day of Minnesota State High School League Fall practices are Monday, August 12. We ran the info below last week, but a reminder in case you missed it.

The Minnesota State High School League 2024-25 School year activity calendar has been updated and looks like this –

FALL SPORTS –
GIRLS TENNIS – August 12 start date – 11 week season with 16 events – First date of competition is August 15 with the final day of Section play on October 15. The state tournament is October 22-25.

BOYS AND GIRLS SOCCER – August 12 start date – 12 week season with 16 games max – First date of games is August 22 – Last day of sections is October 18 – State Tournament dates are Quarterfinals October 22-24, Semi’s/3rd place/championship are October 28 – November 2.

FOOTBALL – August 12 start date – 15 weeks with a max of 9 games – First game is August 29 – Final day of section play is November 2. State tournament quarterfinals are November 7-9. State semi-finals are November 14-16, State Championship is November 22-23.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL – August 12 start date – 13 week season with a max of 17 matches – First competition date is August 22. Final day of section play in November 2. State tournament is November 6-9 at Excel Energy Center.

GIRLS SWIMMING – August 12 start date – 13 week season with 16 meet max – First competition is August 22 – Last day of sections is November 9 – State Swimming is November 14-16 at the U of M Aquatic Center.

CROSS COUNTRY – August 12 start date – 12 weeks eason with 10 races – First competition is August 22 – Final day of Sections is October 26. State is November 2 at Les Bolstad Golf Course in St. Paul.

— — —

The first Minnesota High School Volleyball poll has already been released. I will say this: the Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association is one of the best-run coaches’ associations in the state.

Class A –
1. Mabel-Canton
2. Mayer Lutheran
3. Minneota
4. Russell-Tyler-Ruthton
5. Canby
6. New Life Academy
7. West Central Area
8. Kittson County Central
9. Wabasso
10. Alden-Conger

Class AA-
1. Albany
2. Chatfield
3. Hawley
4. Belle Plaine
5. Southwest Christian
6. Annandale
7. Nova Classical
8. Wadena-Deer Creek
9. Redwood Valley
10. Concordia Academy

Class AAA-
1. Northfield
2. Wilmar
3. Rocori
4. Marshall
5. Byron
6. Alexandria
7. Delano
8. Monticello
9. Grand Rapids
10. DeLaSalle

Class AAAA-
1. Champlin Park
2. Lakeville North
3. Lakeville South
4. Eagan
5. Rogers
6. East Ridge
7. New Prague
8. Wayzata
9. Maple Grove
10. Burnsville

— — —

Congratulations to Fosston on winning the 2024 Division II Northwest Sub-state American Legion Baseball tournament in Red Lake Falls last weekend. Fosston is advancing to the state legion tournament for the first time ever!

Fosston rolled through the tournament in impressive fashion. In the first round they beat Hawley 3-1. They beat up on Wadena (who only had one loss on the year) 9-2. They beat Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 10-3 to win the championship!

The Division II American Legion Baseball tournament is being played in Bird Island August 2, 3, 4.

Fosston gets a good draw as they will play the host BOLD in the first round on Friday, August 2 at 7:30 p.m.
In the second round they will either play Sleepy Eye or New London-Spicer. The four teams on the other side of the bracket are Rushford, LeSueur, Glenwood-Lowry, and Esko.

— — —

Bemidji won the Division 1 Northwest Substate tournament in a crazy fashion.

#3 seed Bemidji lost their first-round game 8-5 to #6 seed Fergus Falls. Bemidji bounced back to beat #7 seed Thief River Falls 5-4! They beat #1 seed Moorhead 10-6. In their third loser-out game, they beat #5 seed Perham 10-6. In their fourth loser-out game, they beat #4 seed East Grand Forks 14-4 in five innings. In the championship, needing to win two games to go to state, Bemidji beat #2 seed Alexandria 8-2 to force a true championship game. Bemidji won the championship 4-3 to advance!!!

It just goes to show you never know and never give up.

The Division 1 American Legion Tournament has 16 teams split up into four pools of four teams each.

Bemidji is with Shakopee, Fridley Gold, and Rochester Redhawks.
Blue Pool – Osseo, Farmington, Chmplin, Pierz.
Silver Pool – Mankato National, Hastings, Forest Lake, Sartell
Red Pool – Duluth, Burnsville, Eden Prairie, Maple Grove

— — —

The Minnesota High School League Board of Directors met earlier this week and below are some highlights from the meeting.

9C: Transfer of Enrollment and Eligibility Guide

The Board of Directors approved an updated Transfer of Enrollment Eligibility Guide that contains clarifying language to assist Member Schools in determining eligibility.

9E: 2024-2025 Speech Season: Books and Topic

The Board of Directors approved a motion to accept the following for the 2024-2025 Speech Season:

  • Discussion Task: Workforce, Workload, and Workplace: A World Out of Balance
  • Prose: The Mothpresents All These Wonders edited by Catherine Burns, 2017.
  • Poetry: The Name She Gave Me by Betty Culley, HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2022.
  • Storytelling: Selected stories from Project Gutenberg.

9G: 2024-2025 Strategic Directions

The Board of Directors approved the first draft of Strategic Directions for the 2024-2025 school year. They are:

  1. The League will communicate through effective systems and mediums to promote and support the values and value of the League and its education-based activities and athletics.
  2. The League will support the health, safety, wellness and inclusion of all students, coaches, administrators and officials through leadership, instruction, support and resources.
  3. The League will employ effective policy governance to review, revise and create bylaws and policies that grow, enhance and clarify League student participation.

Input from League Staff and the Board of Directors will continue and final approval will be in October.

9H: 2024-2025 Budget Approval

The Board of Directors approved the League’s annual budget of nearly $12 million.

9I:  2024-2025 Membership Dues

The Board of Directors approved a membership dues credit for the 2024-2025 school year totaling $1.675 million. The credit is due to returning excess revenue back to Member Schools. Based on the credit, membership fees per school of $100 and $50 per activity were approved for returning members. There will be no per-student fee.

Discussion Items  

10B: Spring Advisory Proposals 

League Staff shared updates on Spring Advisory Proposals, which will be Action Items for consideration at the October board meeting.

  • Baseball — This proposal seeks to seed all teams in each classification Nos. 1-8.
  • Boys and Girls Golf— There are two proposals: One provides a clarification on the definition of a two-day, 36-hole limit. The other clarifies the term “event” for a non-MSHSL event. If a non-MSHSL event is greater than 18 holes, that event will count as only one outside event if the event is held on consecutive days with the same participants.
  • Boys and Girls Lacrosse — This proposal seeks to seed all teams Nos. 1-8.
  • Softball — This proposal seeks to seed all teams in each classifications Nos. 1-8.
  • Speech— There are two proposals: One is to modify the penalty for certain rules violations from being ranked last in a round to the participant being dropped one rank in the round. The other is to eliminate the removal of the Selection Rule.

10C: Classification Competitive Section Placement and District Football for 2025-2026 and 2026-2027

League Staff shared an overview of the Competitive Section Placement timeline and process steps involved.

10D: State Tournament Venues 

League Staff shared information from recent discussions on Boys Volleyball and the potential of the University of Minnesota hosting Girls Softball Championships.

10E: Eligibility and Enrollment Impacts 

League Staff shared information on building a stronger connection between Eligibility and Enrollment, which includes considering a policy change for students enrolled in public online schools.

Committee Reports  

11A: Eligibility Committee 

  • Approved the Transfer of Enrollment Eligibility Guide.
  • The Transfer Portal for the 2024-2025 school year opens Aug. 1.
  • The Board of Directors approved the Eligibility Report as presented.

— — —

The CCM Minnesota Hockey High Performance Youth 14U Tier 1 USHL Fall Classic team has been announced. The team will compete in Pittsburgh September 19-21. Area players on the team are below –

Parker Deraney (5’10 165lb) Detroit Lakes
Ayven Hontvet (6’0 215lb) Warroad
Cameron Coulter (5’6 128lb) Moorhead
William Cullen (5’9 130lb) Moorhead
Joseph Cullen (5’7 140 lb) Moorhead
John Gramer (5’7 140lb) Moorhead

— — —

The Crookston Lions and Minakwa Golf Course will hold their 43rd Annual Youth Golf Tournament on Monday, August 12. Shotgun start at 8:00 a.m. for 13 to 17 year olds. 12 and under will start at 9:30 a.m. Ages 9 and under will golf 4 holes, 9 to 12-year-olds will golf 9, and 13 to 17-year-olds will golf 18 holes. The entry fee is $20 and includes lunch. The fee for Park and Rec golfers or those who are 8 years old or under will be $10. Call 281-1773 to pre-register by July 31.  Make checks payable to Crookston Lions Club.  New this year are outdoor games, hole games, door prizes and tons of prizes throughout the day.

— — —

The Crookston High School Summer Weight Room will be open at the following times for CHS student-athletes.
(Grade Levels are based on the grade you will be in next school year)
6:30 am – 8:00 am (Monday – Friday) – Grades 10th-12th
8:00 am – 9:30 am (Monday – Friday) – Grades 10th- 12th
10:00 am – 11:00 am (Monday, Tuesday & Thursday) – Grades 7th- 9th

— — —

 

— — —

JOKES

After giving the man a regular check-up and running some tests, the doctor eventually returned with three bottles. One with blue pills, one with green pills, and one with red pills.

“This is a month’s supply of pills.” The doctor explains. “Every morning, take one of the blue pills with a large glass of water. Every lunchtime, take one of the green pills with another large glass of water. And at bedtime take one of the red pills with another large glass of water.”

Concerned with the number of pills he’s going to be taking, the man asks “What’s wrong with me, doctor?”

“You’re not drinking enough water.”

— —

Q: What’s the difference between horny and homesick?

A: trucker who has been out on the road for two months stops at a brothel outside Atlanta, walks to the Madam, drops down $500, and says, “I want the worst bj in the house!” “but sir, for that kind of money you could have the BEST blowjob in the house” The trucker replies, “It’s ok, I’m homesick, not horny”

— —
So one day, I gynecologist got bored with his job. But he realized that he had spent many years training with his hands, and he decided he would switch to careers to something else that he could use his hands with. Not wanting the stress of being a medical professional, he decided to attend vocational school to learn to be an automotive mechanic. He worked really hard and studied day and night. When the results of his final exam came in, he was quite perplexed. It showed that he got 150% on the test. The doctor figured this had to be a mistake so he called his instructor at the vocational school.
Doc: there must be some mistake. It says I got a 150% on the final exam. Could you explain that?Instructor: well, for the first part of the test you took apart the cars engine perfectly. That counted for 50 points of your test. Then you went and put the engine back together perfectly. That was another 50 points. But those last 50 points? Well that’s because none of us have ever seen anyone do it through the muffler before.

— — —

How are former Crookston Pirates athletes doing in college or elsewhere?
****LET ME KNOW OF OTHERS TO ADD TO THE LIST. Email me at chrisjfee@yahoo.com

Emilee Tate is a freshman playing Softball at Northland Community and Technical College.

Halle Bruggeman is a freshman on the University of Wisconsin-Stout Women’s Tennis team.

Grace Fischer is a freshman on the Concordia College (Moorhead) Women’s Golf team.

Ethan Boll is a Freshman on the University of North Dakota Football team.

Breanna Kressin is a Sophomore on the Hockey Cheer Team for THE University of Minnesota Golden Gopher Hockey team.

Emma Osborn is a Junior playing basketball at the University of Minnesota Crookston.

Jacey Larson is a Sophomore playing hockey at Dakota College at Bottineau.

Aleah Bienek is a Sophomore playing hockey at Trine University in Indiana.

Elise Tangquist is the Head Girls Golf Coach at Horace High School in Fargo, ND..

Kaleb Thingelstad is a junior playing golf at Kansas Wesleyan.

Joslynn Leach is a sophomore playing golf at Concordia College in Moorhead. The Cobbers wrapped up the Fall season.

Brady Butt is a Junior playing football at the University of Jamestown.

Ty Hamre is playing football at Bemidji State University.

Aleece Durbin is a Junior on the University of North Dakota Womens Track and Field team.

Elizabeth Erdman is a coach for the Moorhead Red Dragon swim team.

Crookston School District Coaches

Emilee Tate is the Pirate 7th grade volleyball coach. 
Todd Miner is a Pirate Football assistant coach.
Ben Parkin is the head Pirate Baseball Coach.
Jeremy Lubinski is a Pirate 8th Grade Football coach.
Amy Boll is the head Pirate Girls Track head coach
Sarah Reese is the Pirate Head Girls Soccer coach
Marley Melbye is the Head Girls Swimming coach and assistant girls golf coach
Jeff Perreault is the Pirate Girls Golf head coach
Connor Morgan is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Sam Melbye is the Pirate Boys J.V. Hockey coach
Chris Dufault is a youth wrestling Coach

Non-Crookston High School coaching/Admin/etc

Tim Desrosier is an Assistant Coach for Warren-Alvarado-Oslo Pony Boys Basketball

Pat Wolfe is the head wrestling coach for Fosston/Bagley.

Austin Sommerfeld is an Assistant Athletic Director for Strategic Communication at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth.

Collin Reynolds is the head baseball coach for the University of Colorado Buffalo Club Baseball team.

Trent Stahlecker is a School Security Specialist & he works for the Brevard Public Schools, Florida.

Cody Weiland is an assistant wrestling coach at Proctor/Hermantown.

Josh Edlund is the head football coach and phy ed teacher at Flandreau, South Dakota.

Allison Lindsey Axness is Assistant Varsity Volleyball Coach at Champlin Park

Jeff Olson is the Head Wrestling Coach and Head Baseball coach at Delano.

Jake Olson is an Assistant Football Coach and Head Boys Tennis coach at Delano.

Matt Harris is an Assistant Principal/Athletic Director at Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Marty Bratrud is the Superintendent and High School Principal at Westhope High School.

Gordie Haug is an assistant football coach at the University of Wyoming.

Mike Hastings is the Wisconsin Badgers Men’s head Hockey coach.

Mike Biermaier is the Athletic Director at Grand Forks Schools.

Stephanie (Lindsay) Perreault works with the North Dakota State stats crew for Bison football, volleyball, and basketball in the winter. Stephanie’s husband, Ryan, is the assistant director for Bison media relations.

Jason Bushie is the hockey athletic trainer at Colorado College.

Chris Myrold is the Director and Fitness at Mission Ranch and Fitness in Camel, California.

Kyle Buchmeier is a Tennis Pro at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center in Minneapolis

Ben Andringa is serving our country in the Army and is now a Ranger.

Jarrett Butenhoff is serving our country with the U.S. Navy.

Joshua Butenhoff is serving our country on a Submarine with the Pacific Fleet with the US Navy.

Peter Cournia is a 2002 Crookston High School Graduate and a grad of West Point and currently serving in the U.S. Army.

Erik Ellingson is serving our country with the U.S. Air Force at Minot.

Philip Kujawa class of 2004, from Crookston High School. He is an Army recruiter in Rochester.

Rob Sobolik is the General Manager of the Fargodome

That’s it for this week. Thanks for the comments, and if you have anything to add or share, please e-mail chrisjfee@yahoo.com or call. Thanks for reading and listening to KROX RADIO and kroxam.com.

The post SPORTS FEEVER – August 1, 2024 appeared first on KROX.

Posted on

U.S. Senate introduces bill to protect artists from AI Deepfakes

The United States Capitol building in Washington DC^ sunrise

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced the highly anticipated NO FAKES Act on Wednesday (July 31), which aims to protect artists and others from AI deepfakes and other nonconsensual replicas of their voices, images and likenesses. Led by Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, the senators introduced a revised version Wednesday of the No Fakes Act, which would make it illegal to create an AI replica of someone without their consent.

Unlike many existing state-law systems, the NO FAKES Act would create would not expire at death and could be controlled by a person’s heirs for 70 years after their passing. To balance personal publicity rights and the First Amendment right to free speech, the NO FAKES Act also includes specific carveouts for replicas used in news coverage, parody, historical works or criticism. The advance of artificial intelligence — and high-profile controversies involving Taylor Swift, Joe Biden, Scarlett Johansson, and most recently, Kamala Harris — have spurred renewed interest in both state and federal legislation.

The entertainment industry has united in support of the bill to outlaw digital deepfakes and create the first-ever federal right to one’s voice and likeness. If passed, the legislation would create federal intellectual property protections for the so-called right of publicity for the first time, which restricts how someone’s name, image, likeness and voice can be used without consent. Currently, such rights are only protected at the state level, leading to a patchwork of different rules across the country.

The bill has the support of SAG-AFTRA, Disney, the Motion Picture Association — which represents six major studios — as well as the Recording Industry Association of America, the Recording Academy, and the major music labels and talent agencies.  Fran Drescher, the president of SAG-AFTRA, in a statement: “Game over A.I. fraudsters! Enshrining protections against unauthorized digital replicas as a federal intellectual property right will keep us all protected in this brave new world. Especially for performers whose livelihoods depend on their likeness and brand, this step forward is a huge win!”

In addition, the Motion Picture Association (MPA) has also come out in its support of the bill, with Charles Rivkin, Chairman and CEO of MPA, sharing in a statement: “The Motion Picture Association thanks Senators Coons, Blackburn, Klobuchar, and Tillis for their work on the NO FAKES Act. We support protecting performers from generative AI abuse – and this bill thoughtfully establishes federal protections against harmful uses of digital replicas, while respecting First Amendment rights and creative freedoms. We particularly appreciate the sponsors’ inclusion of safeguards intended to prevent the chilling of constitutionally protected speech such as biopics, docudramas, parody and satire – which will be necessary for any new law to be durable. The MPA looks forward to working closely with the bill’s sponsors as the NO FAKES Act makes its way into law.”

Editorial credit: Pozdeyev Vitaly / Shutterstock.com

Posted on

U.S. Senate introduces bill to protect artists from AI Deepfakes

The United States Capitol building in Washington DC^ sunrise

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced the highly anticipated NO FAKES Act on Wednesday (July 31), which aims to protect artists and others from AI deepfakes and other nonconsensual replicas of their voices, images and likenesses. Led by Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, the senators introduced a revised version Wednesday of the No Fakes Act, which would make it illegal to create an AI replica of someone without their consent.

Unlike many existing state-law systems, the NO FAKES Act would create would not expire at death and could be controlled by a person’s heirs for 70 years after their passing. To balance personal publicity rights and the First Amendment right to free speech, the NO FAKES Act also includes specific carveouts for replicas used in news coverage, parody, historical works or criticism. The advance of artificial intelligence — and high-profile controversies involving Taylor Swift, Joe Biden, Scarlett Johansson, and most recently, Kamala Harris — have spurred renewed interest in both state and federal legislation.

The entertainment industry has united in support of the bill to outlaw digital deepfakes and create the first-ever federal right to one’s voice and likeness. If passed, the legislation would create federal intellectual property protections for the so-called right of publicity for the first time, which restricts how someone’s name, image, likeness and voice can be used without consent. Currently, such rights are only protected at the state level, leading to a patchwork of different rules across the country.

The bill has the support of SAG-AFTRA, Disney, the Motion Picture Association — which represents six major studios — as well as the Recording Industry Association of America, the Recording Academy, and the major music labels and talent agencies.  Fran Drescher, the president of SAG-AFTRA, in a statement: “Game over A.I. fraudsters! Enshrining protections against unauthorized digital replicas as a federal intellectual property right will keep us all protected in this brave new world. Especially for performers whose livelihoods depend on their likeness and brand, this step forward is a huge win!”

In addition, the Motion Picture Association (MPA) has also come out in its support of the bill, with Charles Rivkin, Chairman and CEO of MPA, sharing in a statement: “The Motion Picture Association thanks Senators Coons, Blackburn, Klobuchar, and Tillis for their work on the NO FAKES Act. We support protecting performers from generative AI abuse – and this bill thoughtfully establishes federal protections against harmful uses of digital replicas, while respecting First Amendment rights and creative freedoms. We particularly appreciate the sponsors’ inclusion of safeguards intended to prevent the chilling of constitutionally protected speech such as biopics, docudramas, parody and satire – which will be necessary for any new law to be durable. The MPA looks forward to working closely with the bill’s sponsors as the NO FAKES Act makes its way into law.”

Editorial credit: Pozdeyev Vitaly / Shutterstock.com

Posted on

Joe Rogan stand-up comedy special to stream live on Netflix Aug. 3

Joe Rogan experience podcast on smartphone screen.

Netflix announced that comedian and podcaster Joe Rogan is set to headline a live stand-up special on Netflix, airing Aug. 3 at 10 p.m. ET.

Joe Rogan: Burn the Boats,  Rogan’s first comedy special in six years, will be filmed live at the Majestic Theater in San Antonio, Texas, directed by Anthony Giordano, a veteran director of televised UFC fights who has also helmed four of Rogan’s previous specials: 2018’s “Strange Times,” 2016’s “Triggered,” 2012’s “Live From the Tabernacle” and 2009’s “Talking Monkeys in Space.”

Rogan has performed as a stand-up comedian for more than 30 years, but is best known for “The Joe Rogan Experience,” the No. 1 podcast on Spotify which he’s hosted since 2009. The show has boasted guests including Elon Musk, Bernie Sanders and Dwayne Johnson, as well as controversial figures such as Alex Jones, Jordan Peterson and Candace Owens. Rogan inked a new multi-year deal with Spotify in February that is said to be worth up to $250 million, and the show — which had been exclusively available on Spotify for three years — is now available on other audio platforms.

See the trailer for Joe Rogan: Burn the Boats: here.

Editorial credit: Rokas Tenys / Shutterstock.com