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Situational awareness: A proposal for a 3,000-bed state prison in Franklin County has been canceled, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders had advocated for the prison, and the site was controversial among nearby residents.

Today's newsletter is 937 words — a 3.5-minute read.

Much of the public might not know that they can access more than 7.5 million objects at the University of Arkansas Museum. A $1 million gift could change that.

Why it matters: The museum is undergoing a process to determine what its future space, staffing and overall presence will be, with a goal of increasing the impact and accessibility of the collections, curator of education and engagement Laurel Lamb told Axios.

• The museum has made the most of its current space and has a lot of potential, she said, calling it an "incredible resource." The collection includes archaeology, ethnology, history, geology and zoology objects.

Catch up quick: The museum has existed in one form or another since 1873, just two years after the university was founded. Lately, the collections have been in storage on North Hatch Avenue, north of the main campus, not on display in a traditional museum setting that's clearly open and inviting to the public.

• Yes, but: They're still regularly used for teaching on campus and for research, including by international researchers, and anyone can make an appointment to access the collections, Lamb said. The museum occasionally has public open houses, has put objects on display at community pop-up events and has an online database.

State of play: A recent $1 million donation from alumni Bob and Becky Alexander launched a 32-week planning process to decide what's next for the museum.

• The donation covers a contract worth about $100,000 with consulting firm Lord Cultural Resources to conduct feasibility studies, development officer Becca Bradley told Axios. The rest of the money can go toward potential expenses like staffing, marketing or space for the museum.
• The process will start by assessing the museum's collections, facilities, operations, visitor experience and growth potential, according to a news release. The consulting firm will then develop recommendations and assess the financial feasibility of expansion or relocation.

What we're watching: The firm's recommendations for the museum, which are expected in early 2027.

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The Fayetteville City Council meets today and could vote on an ordinance that would further regulate future data centers.

🌐 The latest: Since passing an ordinance in June requiring data centers to obtain Planning Commission approval and regulating their power and water usage, the City Council has determined that additional regulations are warranted, according to city documents.

📑 The big picture: The state's data center boom hasn't made its way to the northwest corner, but Fayetteville is preemptively establishing regulations.

✍️ The proposed additions include:

• Requiring an annual report on the data center's compliance with permits and regulations, any complaints about that compliance and the operator's response to those complaints.
• Requiring that data centers use battery storage as the primary power backup source and not allowing backup generators unless battery storage is limited to 25% or less.
• Considering noise from a data center a disturbance if it is “plainly audible” at a residence 1,000 feet away.
• Requiring an amendment to a data center's permit for any expansion.

Go deeper: See all current and proposed rules.

🚧 Zoom out: The council will also vote on a contract worth about $14.9 million with Crossland Heavy Contractors for the construction of the Highway 112 widening project. The Arkansas Department of Transportation is covering about $13.9 million of the cost, according to city documents.

📍 If you go: 5:30pm at City Hall or online.

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🏫 Designs for the new Farmington Junior High School are about 60% complete and include a 90,000-square-foot building off of Arkansas 170. (Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

🦫 Arkansas' first Buc-ee's opened yesterday in Benton. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

💰 The National Institutes of Health gave $11.2 million to the Arkansas Integrative Metabolic Research Center, which will help the center's second phase five years after opening. The center focuses on the role of cell and tissue metabolism in disease, human development and repair processes. (University of Arkansas)

More than a quarter of younger Americans (27%) believe they or someone they know has lost a job because their employer replaced them with AI, according to a new Axios-Generation Lab poll of 18- to 34-year-olds.

Why it matters: Research suggests the actual share of job losses from AI is smaller. But the survey reflects the suspicion, mistrust and fatalism in how Gen Zers and young millennials see the technology — sentiments driving their views on politics, the economy and social interactions.

• Asked which political party they trust more to bring down the cost of living, respondents' top choice was neither (36%) — over Democrats (26%) and Republicans (22%).

What they're saying: "They're kind of thumbs-down on everything," said Generation Lab CEO Cyrus Beschloss.

• "AI is a pretty big disruptor; it's easy to point to one faceless thing as the cause," he says.
• Despite fears of AI stealing jobs, 71% said they're as comfortable or more comfortable with it than they were a year ago; 61% said they'd used ChatGPT in the past month, while 48% reported using Gemini and 20% Claude.

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Thanks to Chloe Gonzales for editing this newsletter.

😢 Alex is reading about Hayden Panettiere.

🏝️ Worth is out today. Maybe he's at the university museum.