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This week, Las Vegas, Nevada, was the epicenter of the tech innovation universe. The annual Consumer Electronics Show descended on Las Vegas to unveil the most cutting-edge, futuristic, and creative technologies coming available this year.  

From AI-powered kitchen gadgets to smart LEGO bricks and ping-pong playing robots, this week’s show brought some of the wildest new technologies onto the scene for 2026.  

Let’s dig into just a few of the standout technologies unveiled this week that could reshape daily life into the future.  

One company that consistently generates a mixture of excitement and trepidation is Boston Dynamics and its fleet of robots. This year, the company showed off its human-like Atlas model, which will soon be integrated with Google’s DeepMind AI technology to help the robots learn from, and interact with, the world around them. Atlas models will soon be at work in factories for Hyundai, Boston Dynamics’ parent company. 

Among all of the AI-powered tech at CES this year, the Santa Clara, California-based tech giant NVIDIA stole the show with its new cutting-edge Rubin AI chip. The company is promising a five-times performance increase over its previous AI chip, which will lower the costs and energy demands to run and train AI programs.  

Another crowd-pleaser from CES was Lego’s new Smart Play system, which responds to players with sounds and lights based on the movement of pieces. The Smart Bricks are equipped with light sensors, sound sensors, accelerometers, and a tiny speaker and charging system. They can even distinguish between different colored Lego pieces and sense direction and speed to respond appropriately to the players’ movements.  

In the environmental realm, a lifelike robotic turtle dubbed RoboTurtle impressed attendees in Las Vegas. The robot perfectly mimics a sea turtle as it moves through the water, which the designers hope will allow it to collect environmental data on coral reefs and other marine ecosystems without disturbing wildlife. The company is currently training RoboTurtle’s built-in AI system to help it develop monitoring and recognition skills.  

One last piece of technology that nobody could have seen coming is the music-playing lollipop from the company Lava. The edible lollipops emit tiny, inaudible vibrations that transmit via “bone conduction” through your skull to your inner ear.  

Check out all the new tech from this year's CES Las Vegas, here. 

56 county tour: before the new year, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte completed his fifth annual 56 county tour. The Governor traveled thousands of miles to meet with Montanans in every county in the state to hear directly from residents in the places they live and work.  

Along the way, he heard from small business owners, parents, tribal leaders, veterans, farmers, health care professionals, and many others. Among the issues the Governor heard were housing, jobs, tax relief, public safety, infrastructure, health care, and more.  

“As we close out another amazing year, it’s great to reflect on all of the Montanans we met with this year on our annual 56 County Tour,” Governor Gianforte said. “Serving as Montana’s governor is the greatest honor of my life and being able to travel the state to recognize the people and places who make up this great state is a privilege.” 

Rebuilding continues in LA: it has been a year since the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires swept through southern California. In the year since, Governor Gavin Newsom has fast-tracked recovery and rebuilding efforts for communities around Los Angeles by cutting red tape, delivering historic funding, and deploying cutting-edge technologies to keep communities safe.  

In particular, Governor Newsom’s administration has boosted CAL FIRE’s fire protection budget to $3.8 billion, expanded the state's aerial firefighting fleet with its third C-130 Hercules airtanker, developed a new strike team to respond to urban and wildland fires around LA, and rolled out the first-ever statewide LiDAR maps to give managers a real-time view of the entire state’s forest and vegetation conditions.  

“The Los Angeles fires showed us we need to move faster and smarter,” said Governor Newsom. “We’re streamlining projects that used to take years, deploying new technology to target our efforts where they matter most, and investing record funding in prevention. We’re turning hard lessons into concrete action and delivering results on the ground.”  

Sage grouse plan: in close partnership with Western Governors, the Bureau of Land Management recently released updated plans for the management of Greater sage-grouse habitat across much of the West. The plan emphasizes protecting key sage grouse habitat while balancing responsible energy and mineral development across Idaho, Montana, North and South Dakota, Nevada, California, Utah, and Wyoming. Western Governors were proud to help facilitate and enable the updated plan with close coordination between state and federal partners.  

Washington rebuilds: after historic flooding in December washed out crucial infrastructure in Washington, the state is pushing ahead with ambitious rebuilding efforts. Governor Bob Ferguson recently announced that the west side of U.S. Highway 2 near Stevens Pass has re-opened to traffic ahead of schedule, allowing drivers from more urban areas to the West to access businesses and communities around Stevens Pass.  

Governor Ferguson is also encouraging residents to apply for state assistance that was unlocked through the Governor’s disaster declaration. Learn more about eligibility and how to apply for disaster assistance here.  

Underground nuclear: in Parsons, Kansas, nuclear company Deep Fission is moving forward with its first-ever underground nuclear reactor. The company plans to drill 30-inch-wide boreholes a mile underground to house small nuclear reactors.  

Each pressurized water reactor will be powerful enough to generate electricity for 10,000 homes and could run for seven years. The company says that its design eliminates up to 80% of surface construction costs, cuts timelines, and makes nuclear power generation inherently safer.  

For more on nuclear power in the West, check out Utah Governor Spencer Cox’s WGA Chair initiative, which is examining nuclear power as an important part of an energy abundant future.