About a month ago, ICTV reported on Facebook…

“No data center has been proposed in Itasca County, but the issue has become a contentious one in other communities, including Hermantown.” Cory Smith, the current Itasca County Commissioner for District 1 running for reelection, shares where he’d draw the line if the question ever comes here. Watch the full candidate forum with all three District 1 candidates at watchictv.org.

Today, the Grand Rapids Herlan Review publishes a summary of recent (July 7, 2026) proceedings of the Itasca County Board of Commissioners…

Commissioner Johnson reported on attending Coffee with Commissioners, a MN Data Centers meeting and also visited a data center in Duluth.

It’s not a lot of information but enough to see that leaders in Itasca County are thinking about data centers. For folks outside of Itasca County, these are some of the things to look at to get early signs that data centers are a topic of conversation in your community. Look to local news (even on social media) and notes from local public meetings. Many meetings are livestreamed and archived if you have the time to look.