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Does driving (a paddleboard) without a license warrant a permanent criminal record?

As the ice is melting on nearby Cedar Lake in Minneapolis, my not-so-distant memories turn to swimming, canoeing, kayaking and paddleboarding in the calm and pristine water. But I also have other darker memories of this lake.

On July 12, 2014, a greyish overcast early morning with no one else on the lake, my son, daughter-in-law, and I were enjoying a relaxing paddleboard excursion. Our serene paddling was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a motor as a boat came through the channel and headed our way.

The AI Revolution: Tech is Taking Over

Artificial intelligence isn’t just tech jargon anymore—it is the headliner at the global innovation festival. From self-driving cars to AI-powered investment tools, AI is flipping industries upside down and rewriting the startup playbook. PwC estimates that AI will add over $15 trillion to the global economy and boost local GDP by 26% by 2030, with the broader market projected to hit $826 billion in just five years.

That’s not just a stat—it is a wake-up call. AI has shifted from a niche subject to a main stage act, captivating everyone from Fortune 500 execs to founders and innovators who are either building with AI or competing against those who are. 

I remember back in law school, grinding through legal textbooks until 2 a.m. and the struggle was real. Fast forward to now, and tools like ChatGPT can solve a semester’s worth of problems in minutes. For entrepreneurs, this isn’t just technological progress — it is a massive shift in the rules of the game. The message is clear: adapt fast or get left behind. Or, as 50 Cent would say: “Get Rich or Die Tryin’.”

Requiem for the Penny?

On February 9, 2025, at 8:27, Donald Trump posted (from his Super Bowl box?) that production of the U.S. penny coin will cease.

Can this really happen? And if so, can it work?

The penny, worth one cent, costs approximately 3.7 cents to mint. It’s estimated that there are approximately 240 billion pennies floating around out there ($2.4 billion dollars!), many of them in change jars, on your car floorboards, swimming around in the bottom of your purse, or buried in your couch cushions – in other words, not being put back into circulation. But retailers and other money handlers still make change and need pennies to do so – so they need to “buy” more pennies from their banks, which in turn need to obtain more pennies from the Mint. The U.S. Mint lost more than $85 million making pennies in 2024 – 3.7 cents at a time.

Buy-Sell Provisions: More Than Just an Emergency Plan

Regardless of the type of entity, every business has or should have (more on the should aspect below) a governing document that is at least a basic agreement among its owners that governs (1) the operation of the business and (2) the owners’ contractual rights, obligations, and restrictions with respect to their ownership interests in the business. The second of these contains what are commonly referred to, by lawyers at least, as the “buy-sell” provisions. If for some reason the owners decide not to enter into a written governing document, then the statutory default provisions of the business’s state of formation (which vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction) automatically govern the entity and the owners. For example, if an owner of a limited liability company is determined to be legally incompetent to manage their affairs and the business either doesn’t have a governing document or that document is silent as to the treatment of an owner’s interest in the event of legal incompetence, what happens? Under Delaware law, the most widely recognized state of formation for businesses, the owner’s personal representative can effectively step into the owner’s shoes as an owner, thereby resulting in a previously unrelated (and likely inexperienced) third party having an active ownership interest in the business.

Patent and Trademark Applicants Could See Big Delays in 2025

Patent and trademark applicants are likely to see significant changes with their applications in 2025. First, numerous fee increases have recently taken effect – on January 18 for trademark applications and January 19 for patent applications. Second, applicants are also likely to see lengthened delays in the processing of new applications due to recent decisions by the new Trump Administration which may slow the operations of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO).

Two of President Trump’s “first day” Executive Orders issued on January 20 may present a pair of challenges to the USPTO’s efforts to review pending patent and trademark applications in an efficient and timely manner. A Presidential Memorandum was issued requiring all federal employees to return to in-person work. The USPTO employs about 14,000 employees, with 13,000 employees currently working remotely. The Memorandum could create changes in the available workforce depending on how it is enforced. Additionally, one of new Director Coke Morgan Stewart’s first actions as head of the USPTO, in response to a President Trump directive to shrink the federal workforce, was to put a freeze on new hires at the agency. This overturned a USPTO announcement in mid-2024 to hire 800 new employees – mostly new patent examiners – in an effort to address the increased backlogs of patent applications. The confluence of these two decisions could lead to fewer USPTO employees available, which would directly lead to greater increases in wait time for pending applications.

Tariffs and Trade Wars, and Taxes, Oh My!

Man your battle stations--it’s time for a trade war! If you’ve been following the news, it’s likely you have been bombarded with near constant updates about escalatory tariffs and the looming threat of trade wars as the new administration has been following up on its promise to impose tariffs of 10-60% of all U.S. imports. Within the first few weeks, we have seen the posturing with Mexico, Canada, and China. The Trump administration has now ordered 25% tariffs on aluminum and steel. But what are tariffs and how do they result in a trade war? And how might trade wars impact consumers, entrepreneurs and the economy?

The Love for the Chiefs, the Love for the City!

Once again, the Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl bound! The Chiefs won the AFC Championship by beating the Buffalo Bills on January 26th. They will be facing the Philadelphia Eagles during Superbowl LIX. This is a historic matchup as Super Bowl LIX marks the second time in three years the Chiefs and the Eagles face each other. It is safe to say that Kansas City (and its surrounding areas) are proud of the Chiefs!

This past holiday season, the Chiefs and Kansas City reached a whole new level – being the stars of a Hallmark Christmas movie. There were multiple cameos, many locations throughout Kansas City, and the spirit of Chiefsmas all wrapped into an hour-and-a-half movie. Kansas City has been booming with pride. The city is welcoming visitors at record levels as Visit KC (the region’s primary destination sales and marketing organization) deploys its “From the Heart” campaign to engage and drive more than 28 million visitors.