The Fergus Falls Daily Journal reports…

The Fergus Falls city administrator is pushing back on rumors that an NDA signed with a Dayton, Minnesota, company could pave the way for a data center at the Kirkbride building on the former Regional Treatment Center campus.

“I can say with certainty that the project related to the RTC does not and is not related to a data center,” City Administrator Andrew Bremseth said. “We see NDAs being used in other areas, where data centers are using that mechanism to try to get further down the process before people find out about it. That is not happening in this case. There’s no data center conversation happening around the RTC whatsoever. I can clearly say, without violating anything, that there is no data center proposed project.”

It’s difficult to know if this is speculation or just a concern following what’s happening in other communities…

The local rumors appear rooted in events in Pine Island, where city administrative staff — but not elected council members — signed NDAs with developer Ryan Companies in late 2024 as part of what became known as Project Skyway, a nearly 500-acre technology park north of Pine Island.

It does speak to the need for communities to prepare and/or discussion options for data center regulations or expectations in the community.