The Mankato Free Press reports…

An opportunity to learn more about large-scale data centers from a coalition of area environmentalists drew more than 70 people to a Mankato church basement Saturday.

More than two hours of presentations were made by experts in technology, aquifers and environmental health, along with residents of a pair of Minnesota communities where massive data center proposals have prompted intense community opposition.

“What’s the Data on Data Centers? A People’s Hearing on Public Health, Environmental Justice and Greater Mankato’s Future” came two months after business owners and local leaders gathered for a Greater Mankato Growth panel discussion focused largely on the economic benefits of the growing data center industry.

Focused on members of the local chamber of commerce, the GMG forum left the broader community feeling excluded, said Sabri Fair of the Southcentral Minnesota Clean Energy Council during introductory comments at Saturday’s event at Grace Lutheran Church.

“There was a lot of uproar from the community members wanting to be part of the conversation,” Fair said.

The result was a much more dire and decidedly skeptical look at the mammoth computer processing centers that are being constructed at an ever-increasing pace around the nation and world to meet the demands of  artificial intelligence, online commerce, entertainment streaming, social media, cryptocurrency and more.