Residents, officials debate data center compensation at MPR town hall
Minnesota Public Radio’s Kerri Miller stood tall, her microphone outstretched. Pine Island resident Reverend David Derksen sat in front of her wearing a red T-shirt reading, “stop the Pine Island data center.”
“What about making (the data centers) pay?,” Lake asked him.
“Do they pay enough to compensate us for poisoned water?,” Derksen asked back as the crowd applauded. “It’s not all about money, and these things are not being addressed.”
Tensions flared as residents from Faribault, and other communities impacted by data center developments, sat down for a town hall with Rural Voice Tuesday evening, to be aired on MPR. Rural Voice organizes town halls across Southern Minnesota, aiming to shine a light on rural communities and the issues they face daily.
Miller said the conversation was meant to cut through the noise surrounding data center developments, both the techno-optimism from advocates, and the fear-driven rhetoric that accompanies conversations around the projects. The conversation was not directly focused on Faribault’s Archer data center development specifically, Miller made it clear the purpose was to introduce and discuss data centers broadly as they continue to be developed and built across the country.
The conversation included community compensation, water concerns and more. The show will be broadcast soon on MPR.