Monticello Times reports…

With a contentious data center proposal looming over Tuesday’s local elections and a pivotal City Council hearing approaching Nov. 9, a new national poll suggests the debate unfolding in Monticello is part of a much broader wave of opposition.

Nearly three-quarters of American voters — 72% — oppose new artificial intelligence data centers in their communities, according to an Ipsos poll conducted for The Washington Post and ABC News released Oct. 20.

The findings come ahead of Monticello’s Nov. 3 mayoral and City Council elections, in which the proposed Monticello Tech data center has emerged as a significant issue.

Less than a week after the election, the City Council will hold a Nov. 9 public hearing on the proposed 3 million-square-foot data center campus on approximately 550 acres south of 85th Street NE and east of Highway 25.

The proposal has generated considerable public debate over electricity demand, water consumption, noise, land use and the potential effects on nearby property owners — concerns that mirror those being raised in communities across the country.

The national poll does not measure sentiment in Monticello, but its findings provide a broader perspective on an issue that has become increasingly contentious as technology companies pursue large-scale developments to support artificial intelligence.

The Monticello Planning Commission recommended approval of the project’s conditional use permit, rezoning and preliminary plat applications on a 4-1 vote Oct. 6, following a public hearing that drew approximately 150 people.

The City Council’s Nov. 9 hearing begins at 6 p.m. at the Monticello Community Center.

The article outlines major historical timeline and events related to data centers in Monitcello.

Hometown Source reports…

Elk River candidates discuss data centers, housing and city spending at forum

Westgaard outlines priorities as mayoral successor to Dietz; council candidates weigh growth, infrastructure and taxpayer costs

Elk River’s next mayor and City Council will face decisions about data center development, housing affordability, downtown construction and the cost of expanding city services, candidates said during a forum hosted by the Elk River Area Chamber of Commerce.

Discussion on data centers…

Data centers prompt calls for clearer rules

Data center development was among the forum’s most consequential topics, with candidates generally acknowledging the potential economic benefits while emphasizing the importance of location and planning.

Johnson, who said he has spent much of his career in the information technology industry and has worked in data centers across Minnesota, said the facilities are increasingly necessary to support businesses’ technology needs.

 

The Minnesota Star Tribune reports…

Despite fierce opposition, last-minute legal action and unsettled lawsuits, Google’s massive proposed data center in northeast Minnesota obtained critical approvals Friday night.

Friday’s meeting was the Hermantown City Council’s third attempt to approve a slate of Google-related measures this week. It followed a flurry of attempts to stop the vote, including a chaotic Monday night protest and the filing of an emergency motion in district court.

After four hours of comments from people largely opposed, the council asked several questions of project representatives before approving a revised development agreement. It also approved an agreement for Google to decommission its data center if it is no longer using it, and a special use permit for the site.

City Council member Brian LeBlanc said the No. 1 issue he’s heard in his four years on the council is bringing tax relief.

“I think this is the best opportunity that we’ve had before us to do that,” he said.

Google has other hurdles to clear before development can begin. Several lawsuits, a wetland permit and state approval of the tech giant’s electric service agreement are still undecided. One lawsuit involves ownership of 80 acres of land situated near the center of the proposed site.

As a reminder, I am going back in time (a few months) to compile data center data by Minnesota counties. Data Center Dynamics reports…

A $4 billion data center has been rejected by local officials in Nobles County, Minnesota.

Renewable energy developer Geronimo Power has been eyeing a 959-acre land parcel located between 200th Street and 190th Street for the construction of eight data center buildings totalling 2.5 million sq ft (232,257 sqm).

But the Nobles County Commissioners’ decision to vote against a text amendment to the county’s Planning and Zoning Ordinance that would include data centers as a conditional use under the agricultural preservation designation means that Geronimo will have to look elsewhere for its project.

As a reminder, I am going back in time (a few months) to compile data center data by Minnesota counties. The St Peter Herald reports…

The Nicollet County Board of Commissioners is pausing development of data centers as county staff look to study how their environmental impacts and energy consumption may affect local infrastructure and nearby residents.

The year-long moratorium, approved July 14, prohibits the construction of large-scale data centers and applications to build them while county staff draft study their impact and zoning regulations tailored to the facilities.

 

As a reminder, I am going back in time (a few months) to compile data center data by Minnesota counties. KEYC reported in June 2026…

Le Sueur County announced at the end of May it would be moving forward with a moratorium on new data center proposals in its townships and unincorporated communities.

According to Le Sueur County Administrator Joe Martin, the moratorium is set to last for 12 months, as the county figures out how it would like to regulate the growing industry going forward.

“There is no proposed data center in the county, and no one has approached the county about proposing a data center. Just knowing that there has been a lot of controversy across the country and in the state, the board recognized that they wanted to be proactive,” Martin said.

Martin stressed this isn’t a ban just a temporary pause.

The Caledonian Argus reports…

During a discussion about data centers and battery storage facilities, the Houston County commissioners decided to not implement a moratorium yet.

“We should not put a moratorium in because it is a timestamp,” Commissioner Kurt Zehnder said during the July 14 workgroup session. “If somebody proposes to put (a data center) in, then we put our moratorium down and start really putting the screws to this thing. I’m not in favor of it, but we should do it the right way.”

There are no data centers or battery storage facilities in Houston County. County Coordinator/HR Director Brent Parker said there are 15 operating data centers in Minnesota and 14 planned. The closest planned data center to Houston County is Project Skyway, near Pine Island in Goodhue County.

The commissioners have thoughts…

“We still need to do research into what a data center actually is,” Suzanne Bublitz, interim county attorney, said. “Be prepared for something to come up. Get prepared now. Then when someone makes requests, then we’re more prepared to respond, whether it’s a moratorium or something else.”

The board agreed data centers would not benefit the Houston County residents, which is part of why the members are against it.

KTTC reports…

The Harmony Planning and Zoning Commission approved a draft ordinance that would establish regulatory standards for potential data center development in the Fillmore County community.

The ordinance now goes to the city council for consideration. The next council meeting is Nov. 10.

More info on the ordinance…

The ordinance is in its sixth draft. According to its language, it establishes clear regulatory standards for the development and operation of data center facilities within the city by protecting public health and safety while preserving Harmony’s rural character and environmental resources.

Unlike the planned Google data center development in Pine Island, there has been no public announcement about a specific project in Harmony.

The Douglas County website reports…

The Board of Commissioners in and for the County of Douglas, State of Minnesota, met in Regular Session in a joint meeting with the Alexandria City Council this 28th day of September 2026. The meeting was called to order at 5:00 p.m. with the following Commissioners present: Tim Kalina, Charlie Meyer, Jerry Rapp, Shane Schmidt, and Jeff Way The following informational items were discussed, with no action taken: PrimeWest Health RCC/Douglas County Library Project, Flock Cameras, Data Centers, E-bikes/E-scooters, Partnership: Green Cities Task Force/Pope Douglas Environmental Center.

Not much, but at least we know it’s on the radar.

Careful readers will notice that I’ve added a few articles that are a little more dated than usual. That’s because I’m gathering information on data centers by county, as preparation for the annual MN County Broadband profiles. In that spirit, Community Digital Technologies shares…

BlockchAIn Digital Infrastructure Inc. plans BlockchAIn Digital Infrastructure Crow Wing County data center, a data center in Crow Wing County, MN. The project is sized at 25 MW. dcmap.us tracks a planned ~25 MW BlockchAIn Digital Infrastructure data center in Crow Wing County (Brainerd area), an HPC/crypto-style facility.

Server County provides a little more information…

This record tracks BlockchAIn Crow Wing County Data Center in Minnesota.

BlockchAIn Digital Infrastructure’s April 2026 SEC-filed investor presentation lists a current Minnesota site in Crow Wing County, described as OBC-owned with interconnection in progress and a target of 25 MW of power delivery by Q4 2026. DCD reported from the same presentation that development was underway, but the source language remains forward-looking and subject to change, so this is recorded as planned rather than under-construction.

Data Center Dynamics also reports…

BlockchAIn Digital Infrastructure, which focuses on powering data centers for blockchain, AI, and HPC workloads, has outlined a planned US data center development pipeline totaling around 715MW.

The New York-listed company detailed the plans in an April 2026 investor presentation, setting out current and proposed sites in South Carolina, Minnesota, and Texas, as well as other unnamed markets under evaluation.

The company said the planned pipeline spans nine sites and could require around $9.9 billion in capital expenditure over five years.

BlockchAIn currently operates a data center in South Carolina, described in the presentation as 40MW operational and cash-flowing, with around 25MW of additional upgrade capacity available. The company said 20MW of that capacity is transitioning to AI workloads in the future, and that a separate 100MW pipeline site in Florence County, South Carolina, is planned for AI GPU hosting in the second quarter of 2028.

In Minnesota, BlockchAIn said it owns a site in Crow Wing County where development is underway. The company is targeting 25MW of power delivery at the site by the fourth quarter of 2026.

InForum reports…

Candidates in two races for seats on the Clay County Commission debated issues ranging from taxes to data centers during a candidate forum Monday, Sept. 21.

On data centers…

A full room of guests listen and ask questions to Tom Berglind, Julian Dahlquist, Jenny Mongeau and Scott Steffes during the League of Women Voters’ Clay County Commission candidate forum on Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, at the Moorhead Public Library.

Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum

Berglind said his support for data centers would depend on the resources needed for the data center and its environmental impact.

“And I would truly want to know what our citizens’ concerns are,” Berglind said.

Mongeau said she is opposed to large-scale projects like data centers circumventing local entities like townships and counties.

“We’ve had conversation, as of last week, about counties supporting moratoriums because the developments are happening much too fast for local ordinances to even keep up,” Mongeau said.

Each candidate said they would not sign a non-disclosure agreement for a data center project.