Pine County News reports…

Pine County will hold a public hearing on Aug. 18 after adopting an interim ordinance authorizing a six-month moratorium on data center developments earlier in July.

County Administrator Kelly Schroeder explained that she verified with county attorney Reese Frederickson that “procedurally there likely should have been a public hearing” prior to the board’s vote on July 7.

After hearing public input at the hearing, the board would reaffirm the ordinance establishing the moratorium.

“We don’t want any issues moving forward with the data center moratorium,” Schroeder said.

The approved measure also directs the county’s Zoning Board to conduct a study of data center regulations and make recommendations.

The boards met for an informational session about data centers at a June 30 Committee of the Whole meeting, after which the moratorium was brought back to the agenda.

Interesting to see decisions at the county-level and to see how quickly decisions about data centers are evolving…

County administrator Kelly Schroeder explained that the moratorium covers all Pine County townships and cities that have opted into county zoning.

Schroeder added that the board could extend the measure if the Zoning Board needs more than six months for the study.

The board had previously considered a moratorium on April 7, but a motion made by commissioner Matt Ludwig to adopt the interim ordinance failed due to a lack of a second.

The Twin Cities Pioneer Press reports…

The Hastings City Council on Monday night moved forward a potential pause on any data center development, joining a growing number of cities across the state considering such a measure.

The ordinance calls for a moratorium on any data center projects for one year, allowing Hastings city staff to study the impact of these facilities, while also considering how to better define such facilities within city code.

The city council on Monday approved the first reading of the proposed moratorium, and will consider final adoption at its Aug. 17 meeting, when they will also solicit comments from the community with a public hearing.

KEYC reports...

The North Mankato City Council held a public hearing on August 3, 2026, regarding a moratorium and study on data centers within city limits.

The meeting was well attended…

Council chambers were full of residents and of around 15 who spoke, only one opposed the motion. The rest were in favor, but also asked the council to reconsider the language as they felt it was too broad.

They will vote in two weeks…

The council decided to table the vote on the ordinance for two weeks to consider public input and ensure correct language in the moratorium. Council members agreed, “We want to get it right”.

I wrote about the proposed data center locating to the former Star Tribune earlier. FOX9 has followed up with notes on varying options of location stakeholders on the project…

• What they’re saying:
  “We have to get things right here,” Rainville said.

  Rainville believes the data center, and other future developments like it, can help shift some of the property tax burden away from homeowners, renters and small business owners. “They’re here already, and they’re part of our economy, which will lower the tax base. For every renter and homeowner and small business owner in this city, which are getting crushed right now,” said Rainville.

• The Downtown Council’s perspectiveLocal perspective:Adam Duininck, CEO of the Minneapolis Downtown Council, sees the data center as a potential solution to downtown’s high vacancy rate.”How long are we willing to let 30% vacancy just hold? If we take a pass on these investments, they’re going to go to a different downtown,” said Duininck.

• Community concerns and city council actionThe other side:Some city council members and neighbors are worried about the environmental impact, and whether a data center is the best use for the site.”Is this the best use of land, a data center, or should there be more activation for community?” said Aurin Chowdhury, Council Member for the southeast side of the city.

I wrote about the July 27 City Council meeting in advance of the meeting…

The Otsego City Council unanimously approved a one-year moratorium on data center projects Monday…

On July 27, the Otsego City Council will address a proposal for a one-year moratorium on new data center applications. The aim is to allow time for uniform zoning regulations that will dictate the locations permissible for data center construction.

The Star News reports the meeting results…

The Otsego City Council unanimously approved a one-year moratorium on data center projects Monday.

I have written about this meeting earlier, but this article from Free Press Mankato gives the time and place….

North Mankato City Council will hold a public hearing Monday on a proposed interim ordinance that would impose a one-year moratorium on new large-scale data centers while the city studies how to regulate the facilities through its zoning code.

The hearing is set to take place at the beginning of the 7 p.m. council meeting at City Hall. Afterwards, members will vote on authorizing a formal study and temporarily prohibiting the construction or expansion of qualifying data centers for up to 12 months, unless the moratorium is repealed earlier.

The proposed ordinance states that the moratorium is intended to protect the city’s planning process while staff, consultants and the Planning Commission evaluate the impacts of large-scale data centers and recommend potential zoning regulations, city documents state.

The proposal defines a large-scale data center as a facility primarily used for storing, managing, processing or transmitting digital data that exceeds 250,000 square feet or uses 50,000 gallons of water per day or more. The definition also includes related infrastructure such as cooling systems, substations, generators and water storage facilities but excludes computing facilities that are accessory to another principal use.

If approved, the ordinance would prohibit new data centers throughout North Mankato during the study period. The city would not accept, review or approve applications for construction or expansion of covered facilities while the moratorium is in effect.

The MN Daily (University of Minnesota student newspaper) reporter, Madina Elmi, talks with environmental activists, students and Minnesota Daily reporter Shayne Tarquinio about the status of data centers in Minnesota and the dangers they pose to the environment. They are speaking to environmentalists, not data center developers so there is a perspective to consider, but it’s an easy 16 minute podcast that covers a lot of ground. And a good look at what youth are thinking about. Here’s a description of the talk from the website…

Hi everyone, I’m Madina Elmi with the Minnesota Daily. Welcome back to another episode of In The Know, a podcast dedicated to the University of Minnesota. 

This year, our environment has been the center of attention in the news, social media, and in political landscapes. A couple weeks ago, wildfires in Canada and Northeast Minnesota caused the air quality in the Midwest to plummet.

But one of the largest concerns are AI data centers and the ongoing national discussion about their environmental repercussions. Over the last few months, environmental activists across the country have attended local city council hearings and made their voices heard to stop the construction of future data centers, and Minnesota residents are a part of that fight.

I wanted to better understand the impact these data centers could have and the legal battles being brought against them. So for this episode, I spoke to a recent environmental engineering graduate from the University of Minnesota, an attorney from the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, and a local reporter who has been investigating the local impact of data centers themselves.

Shane Tarquinio is an investigative reporter here at The Daily. She recently wrote a piece exploring the consequences of these data centers in Minnesota. Tarquinio said data centers have been around for years to store digital footprint, but as AI technology develops, it demands more from our environment.

The Minnesota Star Tribune reports…

A Virginia-based data center developer signed a purchase agreement for the Minnesota Star Tribune’s former printing plant, one of the last remaining large industrial sites in Minneapolis’ North Loop.

A Star Tribune spokesman on Wednesday confirmed the company reached a deal with Legacy Investing, the firm that transformed part of downtown’s Sleep Number Building into a data center for artificial intelligence and cloud computing.

A similar data center is at the heart of Legacy’s plans for the Star Tribune’s 13 acres, located at 800 N. 1st St., just west of the Mississippi River at the north edge of downtown Minneapolis. Managing partner Daniel English said the firm is envisioning a mixed-use development, incorporating elements such as housing or retail buoyed by anticipated profits from a data center. …

Demand for data centers has exploded in recent years to meet the vast computing needs of artificial intelligence. The boom is sparking controversies across the country, pitting economic promises against fears about water use, energy use and noise. This response is prompting state and local governments, including Minneapolis, to weigh new regulations for the rapidly expanding industry.

Harmony has an upcoming City County meeting in Harmony (Aug 5) to discuss data centers. In the meantime, people are talking. KAAL TV reports…

Harmony residents said the project has caused friction even before a data center ordinance has been approved.

“I’ve heard a lot of hesitancy. I have not heard too many for it at all,” Harmony resident, Kris Torgerson said.

Right now, the proposal is in its early stages with the city planning to write up rules for how a data center could operate in Harmony.

When talking with ABC 6 News many people expressed concerns about a potential project, especially when looking at other towns and the challenges they have had to face after approving plans for data centers.

“It’s a small town. Everything moves at a slower pace, so I think it’s kind of scary knowing that a data center is coming,” Harmony resident Jacquelyn Bernard said.

Harmony’s mayor said the city is working to make sure that any potential data center project would help the community, not hurt it. He emphasized that data center in Harmony would be much smaller than other data centers like Project Skyway in Pine Island.

Brookings looks at data center moratoriums versus oversight…

Data center construction is exploding amid the artificial intelligence (AI) boom—and so is the community backlash against these projects. Protests across the country and community concerns have prompted legislators to consider moratoriums on data center construction. At least 15 states have weighed pauses on data center development, and at least 100 localities have already approved their own.

While these efforts might be successful in affording communities the time they need to craft community benefit agreements or consider whether they want local data centers, they are not a complete solution to the problem at hand. Data centers require meaningful accountability and oversight in both the short and long term. These measures may temporarily quiet communities’ resistance, but they will not slow the national momentum behind projects that are being built or are already underway. For moratoriums to work, there must also be time spent gathering data, enhancing transparency, and creating greater collaboration among legislators, industry, and community residents. If these factors, at a minimum, are not achieved, community upheavals are likely to persist.

They look at proposed or passed legislation in fifteen states. Here’s what they noted about Minnesota…

Minnesota
HF 4888 / SF 4298
Prohibits issuing a permit for a data center until one calendar year after the Public Utility Commission submits a report that assesses various possible scenarios for data center development in the state, or until at least July 1, 2027.
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