Grand Sky (North Dakota) gets a mobile data center

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It’s a story from North Dakota, but that’s Minnesota adjacent, also I was interested in the idea of a mobile data center. InForum reports…

A new chapter in North Dakota’s technology industry is taking shape at Grand Sky near Emerado.

Armada launched a new mobile modular data center at the Grand Forks Air Force Base that could help bring faster, more flexible computing power.

What looks like a standard shipping container is actually a high-powered data center designed to go where computing power is needed most. The mobile modular data center, unveiled Friday, July 17, at Grand Sky, is built to provide secure, scalable computing without the need for a traditional brick-and-mortar facility.

Why a mobile data center?

The goal of the mobile data centers is to help customers process large volumes of mission data locally and reduce reliance on distant cloud infrastructure.

Faribault City to set data center performance standards (Rice County)

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I wrote about the Faribault City County meeting (Jul 14) earlier; now Hometown Source reports more information on the discussion of …

With data centers popping up across the country and a proposed facility on the horizon for Faribault, the city has decided to pursue the development of performance standards for data centers.

In past discussions about data centers, the city council identified the need for creating performance standards, which are specific requirements related to an allowed use under zoning regulations, for future data centers. Archer Datacenters, the company of the proposed data center in Faribault, also requested that standards be set so they can properly address them in the additional information they have been asked to provide in their environmental study.

At Tuesday’s city council meeting, City Administrator Jessica Kinser said the city has required performance standards before.

The discussion was interesting…

Kinser said the Environmental Commission would be involved in the standard setting process.

Councilor Royal Ross asked if setting performance standards would allow companies to come into the city and build without ever coming before the council.
…

Kinser said businesses would need to be required to submit a plat to the city to be approved in order to build. Therefore they would most likely still need council approval.

Councilor John Rowan clarified for the public that the council was not yet setting standards but simply authorizing the development of standards. Kinser confirmed that that was correct.

 

US Senate passes Modernization, Accountability, and Planning for Broadband Funding Act

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Telecompetitor reports…

The United States Senate has passed S.2585, which is known as either the “Modernization, Accountability, and Planning for Broadband Funding Act” (or the “MAP for Broadband Funding Act”). It is an effort to study and, if necessary, improve oversight in federal funding for broadband infrastructure.

The bipartisan bill, which was introduced about a year ago by Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), tasks the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) with collecting data in order to most effectively use federal funds for broadband deployment and avoid inefficient use of and fragmentation of funding.

The bill mandates that an FCC notice of inquiry exploring optimal functionality and transparency be conducted within 270 days of the bill’s enactment. Any FCC commissioner can ask for a vote on the inquiry.

The bill lays out six evaluation parameters. It instructs the FCC to look at the adequacy of federal agencies’ collection of broadband data; the usability of the data; the timeliness of updates from federal agencies; whether an expansion of data collected for the map is justified; and whether third party mapping or FCC mapping tools be used to augment or streamline the process.

The bill also mandates that the General Accountability Office (GAO) conduct a study looking at the “roles, responsibilities, and progress to date” of federal agencies regarding the broadband map. The study must be conducted no later than 180 days after the act’s enactment.

Blue Earth has two decenters and looking at adding one more (Faribault County)

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Faribault County Register reports…

While some cities, like Mankato, are putting moratoriums on having data centers in their area, the city of Blue Earth seems to be embracing them.

Blue Earth currently has two data centers operating, and next year will be adding a third one, according to Blue Earth Light and Water manager Tim Stoner.

While most residents are well aware of the first one, which is just off Highway 169 next door to Cabin Coffee, they are surprised there is a second one.

That one is located in the West Industrial Park, and is just north of the Blue Earth Light and Water water treatment plant, and just east of Winnebago Manufacturing. It is hard to see from any street and is low profile, with its building units being just one story tall.

Next year, in 2027, a new data center will be built on property that is west of the West Industrial Park, across the road from Winnebago Manufacturing.

That is on 46 acres that BELW now owns and it will be the site of two companies, Talus Ag and the new data center.

More details…

It all started about three years ago, [Blue Earth Light and Water manager]Stoner relates, when the data center owners showed an interest in locating in Blue Earth.

“We have been working hard on how to protect the community and still have these new businesses locate here,” Stoner said. “We studied their sound generation, use of water and locations. We also looked at the level of return.”

By that Stoner says that BELW has had to create some infrastructure to provide electricity to these new customers, but the benefit is that they will be a large customer of electricity and that will be a big boost locally.

He said an average summer day in the past needed 11 mega watts of electricity. Now electrical power consumption is 30 mega watts per day year round. In the near future that will jump to 140 mega watts.

The Blue Earth Light and Water manager continues in the article to detail uses and advantages of the data centers

Minnesota Supercomputing Institute using AI and Tiny Worms for Discovery

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I found this fascinating, from the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute,,,

What if artificial intelligence could help scientists discover new drugs for healthy aging?

Thomas Hodder, the Life Sciences & Engineering Runner-Up at this year’s Research Computing Exhibition, is developing new ways to identify compounds that may promote healthy aging. Hodder created an AI-powered imaging process that measures heat stress resistance, a trait strongly linked to longevity, in the microscopic worm C. elegans

Traditional lifespan experiments can take weeks and require significant manual effort. Hodder’s approach automates much of the process, allowing researchers to rapidly screen thousands of compounds and identify promising candidates more efficiently. Using this method, his team discovered 14 previously unknown drugs that extend worm lifespan.

One of the biggest challenges was developing and validating the assay itself. Hodder spent nearly two years refining the method before it was ready to detect potential drug candidates. Throughout that process, he relied on high-performance computing resources from the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute to process large imaging datasets, test software, and store research data.

Minnesota ranks 18 for average cost of broadband (highest cost being number 1)

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BroadbandNow has released the results of a recent survey on broadband pricing and today’s budgets. The good news is that most households have not seen a recent price increase. The bad news is that nearly a quarter of those surveyed say the bill stresses their budgets. It’s worth nothing that the survey included 954 adults, but the results are interesting. Here are the highlights:

  • The national average monthly cost for a home internet plan is $81.16. Prices range from $65.43 in New Jersey to $109.88 in Alaska.
  • Though most households have not experienced recent internet service price hikes, nearly 1 in 4 Americans (23%) say internet bills stress their household budgets.
  • 1 in 5 Americans (19%) worry about paying their internet bill each month; that number spikes to 41% among former ACP recipients.
  • Women are nearly twice as likely as men to worry about affording internet service (24% vs. 14%).
  • 1 in 5 households (19%) say their current internet plan doesn’t meet their needs, rising to 28% among former ACP households.

Minnesota ranks 18 for average cost of broadband.

And while I’m looking at BroadbandNow, here’s what they say about Minnesota. (You can learn more about them; their stated goal is to help people compare broadband providers.)

Concerns About Proposed Broadband Label Changes

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Communications Daily reports…

Consumer advocacy groups and others are expressing concern that the FCC’s proposed changes to its broadband consumer label rules focus heavily on easing the requirements for providers when the greater problem is their widespread lack of compliance.

Consumers clearly like the labels, but ISPs aren’t making them accessible, said John Breyault, the National Consumers League’s vice president of public policy, telecommunications and fraud. The lack of that kind of compliance has been a consistent issue, he told us, pointing to a 2025 study of 35 ISPs of various sizes that found they were “fairly (though not thoroughly) compliant with FCC requirements.” While the labels have the potential to be a useful transparency tool, the FCC is focused on weakening the requirements instead of forcing ISPs to better comply, said Breyault, who served on the agency’s Consumer Advisory Committee when it worked on the initial label recommendations.

The draft order would drop the requirement that telemarketers have to read the labels verbatim to customers and instead let them present the label information in a conversational style. It would also let providers use links or icons instead of the full label at the point of sale. In addition, providers would no longer have to make labels’ contents available separately in a machine-readable spreadsheet file format or itemize “pass-through fees,” such as pole-attachment fees, which could instead be displayed in aggregate.

A view from Minnesota…

Bree Maki, executive director of the Minnesota Office of Broadband Deployment, told us that any action resulting in clearer and more concise information for consumers is a plus. The FCC’s proposed changes might help give people a better understanding of aspects of their subscriptions, such as fees or speeds, she said.

Update from Paul Bunyan Communications on Broadband Expansion in Itasca and St. Louis Counties

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Update from Paul Bunyan Communications…

Paul Bunyan Communications started construction in late April on expanding the all-fiber optic network, the GigaZone®, to over 600 more locations in Itasca and St. Louis County across five townships.
This project includes areas south and west of the city of Cook including parts of the following townships: Alango, Carpenter, Field, Sturgeon, and an unorganized township east of Carpenter.
Currently crews are working in Sturgeon, Field, and Alango townships. The construction phase of the project is expected to be completed within the next 4-6 weeks with services expected to become available by winter. There is no construction fee to get connected, by signing up for services a location gets on the construction list.
The first stage of the construction process is installing the main fiber network which is followed by installing the connections up to individual homes and businesses that have signed up to be connected. Once those two stages are completed, our clean up/restoration crews will come through, and our team will work to splice the fiber network. Once it is operational in a project area, customers who signed up for service will be contacted to schedule service installations. A video on how the construction process works is located on the Paul Bunyan Communications YouTube channel at:

For those unfamiliar with Paul Bunyan Communications, we are a member-owned broadband cooperative that has served northern Minnesota since 1952. There are no membership fees or annual dues, membership is gained when a resident or business subscribes to local phone service or GigaZone® Broadband Internet service. The cooperative headquarters is in Bemidji with a Customer Service & Technology Center located in Grand Rapids.
Sign Up Now to Ensure Fiber Optic Connection Residents and businesses in these expansion areas are encouraged to sign up for service now, before construction crews move on to ensure the fiber optic connection is brought up to the location. That can be done quickly and easily online at paulbunyan.net or in person at one of our office locations.
Services Available Upon Completion Once the network is live, customers will have access to Paul Bunyan’s GigaZone® services, including high-speed fiber-optic Internet with speeds up to 10 Gig and dependable, low-cost unlimited local and long-distance GigaZone® voice services.
This project is made possible through the State of Minnesota, Department of Employment & Economic Development, Low-Density Population Broadband Infrastructure Development Grant Program. This project is estimated to cost $7,810,355, with the State of Minnesota’s Low-Population Density Program grant contributing $3,924,157, Paul Bunyan Communications investing $2,203,928, Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation (IRRR) investing $1,000,000, St. Louis County investing $583,250, Alango Township $41,200, Field Township $17,800, and Sturgeon Township $40,000.

Update from Paul Bunyan Communications on Broadband Expansion in Central Aitkin County

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From Paul Bunyan Communications…

Paul Bunyan Communications broadband expansion across Central Aitkin County is progressing as planned. The project area includes the cities of McGregor, Palisade, and Tamarack, as well as portions of Clark, Haugen, Jevne, Libby, Logan, McGregor, Shamrock, and Workman Townships. Once completed over 2,400 homes & businesses will have access to the all-fiber optic network and the services it provides.
Currently crews are working in areas south of Sandy Lake Reservoir and west of Lake Minnewawa. They are still working north of McGregor and will soon be heading east towards Tamarack. Construction in the city of McGregor is almost done.
Paul Bunyan Communications will be at the Aitkin Chamber of Commerce Riverboat Days on Saturday, August 1 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. in the vendor fair area and we will be at Palisade Riverfest on Saturday, August 8 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Please stop by to learn about our expansion, services, and cooperative plus pick up a free fast charging power cube while supplies last.
The first stage of the construction process is installing the main fiber network which is followed by installing the connections up to individual homes and businesses that have signed up to be connected. Once those two stages are completed, our clean up/restoration crews will come through, and our team will work to splice the fiber network. Once it is operational in a project area, customers who signed up for service will be contacted to schedule service installations. A video on how the construction process works is located on the Paul Bunyan Communications YouTube channel at:

Paul Bunyan Communications is a member-owned broadband cooperative that has served northern Minnesota since 1952. There are no membership fees or annual dues, membership is gained when a resident or business subscribes to local phone service or GigaZone® Broadband Internet service. The cooperative headquarters is in Bemidji with a Customer Service & Technology Center located in Grand Rapids.
Sign Up Now to Ensure Fiber Optic Connection Residents and businesses in these expansion areas are encouraged to sign up for service now, before construction crews move on to ensure the fiber optic connection is brought up to the location. That can be done quickly and easily online at paulbunyan.net or in person at one of our office locations.
Services Available Upon Completion Once the network is live, customers will have access to Paul Bunyan’s GigaZone® services, including high-speed fiber-optic Internet with speeds up to 10 Gig and dependable, low-cost unlimited local and long-distance GigaZone® voice services.

July 21 EVENT: Kandiyohi County Board to discuss broadband project expansion

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The West Central Tribune reports…

The Kandiyohi County Board is expected to take action Tuesday on the 2026 Svea Fiber Internet Project.

A proposal to expand the project will be brought before the board at its regular meeting on July 21 in Willmar.

In a regular meeting in April, the Kandiyohi County Board approved the original project totaling $210,000. Of that, the county would be responsible for $100,800 of funding.

The new proposal in front of the board on Tuesday would allow the original project to pass by an additional 70 homes in Whitefield Township at a cost of $1,271 per passing for the county.

The county is responsible for 28% of the costs for the expansion, according to meeting materials posted with the agenda, and Vibrant Broadband for another 28%.

The largest contributor to the project is a grant, secured by Vibrant Broadband, from the state Broadband Line Extension Connection Program, which is expected to pay 35% of the costs.

According to the materials, the project in total would cost $312,532.26. Of the total, Kandiyohi County would be responsible for $88,972.98.

The meeting begins at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Kandiyohi County Health and Human Services Building, 2200 23rd St. N.E. in Willmar.

Carlton County Board sets data center moratorium hearing for Aug 24, 2026

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The Pine Journal reports…

The Carlton County Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing next month on a proposal to establish a one-year moratorium on data center constru-5twithin Carlton County.

After discussing a moratorium at length last week, commissioners unanimously voted Tuesday to schedule a hearing for Aug. 24 at 4:15 p.m. A public hearing is legally required before the board can pass an ordinance, noted Chris Berg, the county’s zoning and environmental services administrator.

City Council Tables Eviction Moratorium

The proposed ordinance, which comes at the urging of grassroots organizers, would pause data center construction and authorize a study on whether additional regulation within the county would be required.

Some residents have been sounding the alarm after it became known that Silver Brook Township on the eastern edge of the county is one of three locations being considered for a data center.

The Patriot gives a Minnesota-specific description of data center projects

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The Patriot reports…

Data Centers have recently been discussed in nearby communities. During the July 6, 2026, meeting of the Elk River City Council, council members voted to reject a draft ordinance that would allow data centers into the light and medium industrial district at 19178 Industrial Blvd. It is likely that a moratorium on data centers will be discussed in the upcoming August meeting.

Across the Mississippi River, neighboring Wright County passed a 1-year moratorium on new Township data center applications on May 19, 2026. The moratorium does not affect the proposed 547-acre data center located at 85th St. NE, East of Hwy 25 in Monticello. The application for the project was submitted to the city on July 6, 2026.

The article goes on to talk about several other project or decisions in the area. The local discussion help punctuate the various perspectives on data centers

North Branch sets six-month moratorium on data centers (Chisago County)

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The Chisago-Isanti County Star reports…

North Branch is trying to get ahead of any potential data centers by changing zoning and setting regulations on “high utility users.”

For now, the city council plans to set a six-month moratorium on new data centers in the city while staff figures out what those regulations will look like.

To date, much of the discussion has occurred within the Planning Commission, one of several committees that regularly meet, report and make recommendations to the full city council. Council member Patrick Meacham serves as the liaison between the two boards and has been leading the charge to address the issue in council.

Community raises concern about public notice for data center in Mountain Lake (Cottonwood County)

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KEYC reports…

A data center project from C-MN Data Centers Inc and AAIM Data Centers at 2203 3rd Avenue has drawn scrutiny in Mountain Lake after some members of the community have claimed there wasn’t enough public notice from the city.

The city said it had public hearings for the project’s conditional use permit back in 2025 on Oct. 20 and Nov. 6.

Faith Hall, a local nurse, claims many of her neighbors weren’t even aware that the project was moving forward after it was originally discussed.

Some views…

City Administrator Michael Mueller claims the project could have a lot of benefits.

“The data center is anticipated to provide long-term economic benefits by increasing the city’s tax base and supporting future investment in the city’s electric infrastructure. The additional utility revenue will help stabilize electric rates for residents and businesses while strengthening the reliability and capacity of the electric system,” Mueller said.

The city also expects the facility to generate $400,000 in annual gross margin for its electrical utility, which it claims could help halt climbing electricity rates.

Sawatzky is skeptical that increased electricity usage will lead to cheaper rates. …

Others like Brittany Winters are unsure if the potential benefits are worth the tradeoffs from noise and environmental pollution that a large data center might entail.

Faribault city still has questions about Environmental impact of proposed (and delayed) data center (Rice County)

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Faribault’s Daily News reports…

Archer’s data center development would use as much daily power as the entire City of St. Cloud, home to 68,000 residents, according to the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy.

But when the Faribault City Council voted to approve its Environmental Assessment Worksheet on Aug. 12, 2025, it was listed as using the same amount of power as a large warehouse.

“I don’t feel with full comfort stating that we were presented with everything,” City Councilor Mandy Barnes said.

The council voted on Tuesday to allow Archer to submit a revised EAW by March 2027 before its development can proceed. But the emissions are not the only discrepancies with the original draft.

Luke Norquist, a fellow for the MCEA and main litigant against Archer, said the company also failed to provide detail with its air pollution mitigation, generator usage, and noise pollution. In particular, Norquist said air quality pollution needed much more information.