Tag Archives: Data Centers

More Minneapolis neighborhoods have data centers on the radar and may attend the Minneapolis Planning Commission meeting on October 13, 2026 (Hennepin County)

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KARE11 reports…

Less than a week after a data center developer from Virginia backed out of a plan to build one in Minneapolis’ North Loop neighborhood, other residents are preparing for any future proposals.

“I really hope to see a momentum established and committed to concrete action in ensuring the safety and livability of our community,” said Marshall Terrace Neighborhood Organization (MTNO) Greenspace & Ecology Coordinator Amy Pond.

Pond and MTNO Board Chair Lexi Clendenen hosted a data center discussion in the northeast part of the city Monday night for people to learn, ask questions and be part of a united community, according to a press release.

While I learned in an earlier post that the rules are not always the same for folks in and outside of the seven-county metro area, this still may be a topic that connects rural, urban and suburban communities. For folks in Minneapolis…

Some representatives of varying groups will likely be at the Minneapolis Planning Commission meeting on October 13. Public comment is expected as the city shapes new zoning ordinances for possible future data centers.

Earlier this year, the city council approved a temporary moratorium on data centers in most of the city to give councilors time to create these new standards. To learn more about their goals and next steps, click here.

 

Harmony resident speaks out against data center at City Council meeting (Fillmore County)

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The Fillmore County Journal reports…

During the public forum portion of the September 8 Harmony City Council meeting, Harmony resident Ann Lyons spoke about the recent joint planning session at which community feedback was discussed in regards to the proposed data center ordinance. “I find it very disingenuous that residents were not able to speak at the meeting,” Lyons stated. She noted that a lifelong friend of hers, who works on the regulatory side of data centers, cautions the city not to sign anything as the proper regulations aren’t in place yet for data centers since they’re so new.

EVENT Sep 29: Future Data Center Zoning Ordinance Options in Farmington (Dakota County)

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Sun This Week reports…

Farmington residents can attend a special meeting “Future Data Center Zoning Ordinance Options” at 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 29 in the banquet room at the Rambling River Center, 325 Oak St., in downtown Farmington.

Farmington Mayor Nick Lien requested this special Farmington City Council work session that will serve as a listening session and  informational meeting.

“As the large zoning update project which started in 2024 begins to wrap up, the City of Farmington is now looking to address potential changes for an independent section of zoning code around data centers,” according to a city news release.

City staff will provide an update on how the city ordinance is currently written and residents can share their thoughts.

The work session will also provide residents information about the data center zoning ordinance update and what it could look like, the city said.

If residents are unable to attend the Sept. 29 public meeting, an online feedback form will be available after the city meeting.

Community survey in Pine Island shows 75 percent oppose data center (Goodhue County)

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The Post Bulletin reports…

Now a community survey conducted by an area resident has landed like a hand grenade in the middle of the fray — and may shed light on that question. The survey suggests broad opposition to the data center with 75.8% of respondents opposing it and 19.2% supporting it.

“Do residents of Pine Island city and nearby townships support the proposal to build a hyperscale data center in Pine Island. The majority answer is: No,” concludes the summary of the 73-page “Pine Island Sentiment Survey” authored by Susanne Blazek.

Blazek has a doctorate in social psychology with a minor in statistics from the University of Minnesota. More to the point, she has spent the last 15 years of her career conducting sentiment polls and large-scale public research, she says. Blazek makes no bones that she opposes the data center.

More on the survey…

One reason Blazek thinks the survey’s conclusions are valid is that the findings are in line with national polls, which show a strong backlash toward data centers. Surveys from organizations like Gallup, NBC News, and YouGov show roughly 65% to 70% of Americans opposing constructing a data center in their local area.

Blazek said the survey’s findings are based on 656 verified responses from people in the Pine Island city and surrounding areas. The survey reached 4,000 people through flyers and online messages for a 16% response rate, “which is considered OK.”

Minneapolis’ North Loop residents respond to proposed data center bowing out

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CBS News TV reports…

The future of a property in Minneapolis’ North Loop is suddenly wide open. A data center developer is walking away from a deal to purchase the old Star Tribune printing facility. Ubah Ali heard reactions from residents in the neighborhood.

Plymouth City Council Approves One-Year Moratorium on New Data Centers (Hennepin County)

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CCX Media reports...

The Plymouth City Council unanimously approved a moratorium on new data centers, which have come under increasing scrutiny in cities across the country.

The approval came at its Sept. 8 council meeting.

Grant Fernelius, the city’s community and economic development director, acknowledged a company recently contacted the city about building a data center of “fairly significant” size.

No official proposal has come forward, but the incident led city leaders to take action.

Plymouth’s moratorium will last one year and impacts data center proposals of at least 50,000 square feet.

The city council initially considered starting with at least 75,000 square feet, which is approximately the size of a Cub grocery store in Plymouth, but opted for the smaller building footprint.

The moratorium would not apply to existing businesses.

Data center developers withdraws deal proposed for Star Tribune building in Minneapolis (Hennepin County)

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MPR reports…

A Virginia-based developer has withdrawn from a deal to transform the former Star Tribune printing facility in Minneapolis into a data center. The proposal drew heavy criticism from residents of the city’s North Loop neighborhood.

Minneapolis spokesperson Jess Olstad confirmed that Legacy Investing withdrew a land use application for the proposed facility, which would have included a 20-megawatt data center as well as other developments at nearby parcels.

More info…

Legacy did not respond to requests for comment. Emails to the company bounced back. Legacy previously developed a slightly larger data center in the Sleep Number building in downtown Minneapolis.

The proposed data center drew strong opposition at neighborhood forums last month from hundreds of city residents, who questioned the environmental impacts of the facility. Residents also doubted the facility would bring lasting jobs to the city.

Representatives for Legacy argued that the facility would only use as much water as two residential homes and that the facility would kickstart other nearby developments.

Iron Range’s Aaron Brown offers perspectives on data centers

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Iron Range’s Aaron Brown offers perspectives on data centers

The Star Tribune publishes a column from Iron Range journalist, Aaron Brown, on data centers. He talks about many aspects of the issue and gets to some conclusions…

Opposition to data centers contains nuances. Gallup shows that people generally see the economic benefits of data centers, and many of us have begun using AI — some begrudgingly, some with enthusiasm.

What if we right-sized the data center debate? What if we acknowledge the need for computing power without giving a blank check to companies who consume resources with reckless abandon?

Minnesota already has more than 73 enterprise data centers, mostly housed in government and corporate facilities. The controversy surrounds so-called hyperscale data centers of 10,000 square feet or more. Only one such facility, a 715,000-square foot campus in Rosemount, is currently under construction in this state. Several more, including Google proposals in Hermantown and Pine Island, are navigating the regulatory process and growing local opposition.

Brown offers a recommendation…

Building up existing infrastructure with sustainability in mind should be our public priority. We must establish goals for the public good, not just for those investing billions in the most expensive technology that most people still don’t want.

Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce responds to losing members over support of data center (St Louis County)

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FOX21 Duluth reports…

The Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce is responding to backlash – and the loss of multiple business memberships – after they announced their support of the proposed data center in Hermantown.

In a letter sent to members of the Chamber, they reiterated their reasoning behind their support.

They also restated that two of the main concerns being expressed locally come from other projects across the country and they are negated by the specifics of this project.

This letter comes after Zenith Bookstore, Townline Farms, and Loban Dental announced they have ended their membership as a result of this decision.

6 questions (and answers) on the IronGate data centers in Woodbury (Washington County)

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Woddbury News Net reports…

IronGate Data Centers runs two data centers along Bielenberg Drive in Woodbury. Data Center Map places IronGate Twin Cities East at 401 Bielenberg Drive and IronGate Twin Cities West at 500 Bielenberg Drive. On its website, IronGate calls them MSP 01 and MSP 02, respectively.

Though data centers operate outside public view, their electricity, cooling and backup systems can raise questions about power use, city water and future expansion.

The publication asks and answers a series of pragmatic questions about the data centers:

  1. What Is A Data Center?
  2. What Do The Listings Say About Each Facility?
  3. How Are The Facilities Cooled?
  4. How Much Electricity Could The Facilities Use?
  5. What Does This Mean For Woodbury’s Water?
  6. What About Noise And Backup Power?

While the article will be of most interest to folks in Woodbury, there are some nuggets for everyone. For example…

Under Minnesota law, the Public Utilities Commission must consider making very large electric customers cover the costs that utilities incur to serve them while protecting other customers from stranded costs.

Map of 81 data centers operating (or in planning stage) in Minnesota

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Y105FK out of Rochester reports…

According to Data Center Map, Minnesota already has 81 data centers operating or in the planning phase across the state. The majority of the data centers are in the Minneapolis Market. The next biggest market for Data Centers is Duluth, with 6.

Others (KADOA, Aterio and others) have done counts and Data Center Map count falls the same ballpark.

  • Minneapolis – 63 Data Centers (Hennepin County
  • Duluth – 6 Data Centers (St Louis County)
  • St. Paul – 3 Data Centers (Ramsey County)
  • St. Cloud – 1 Data Center (Stearns County)
  • Braham – 1 Data Center (Isanti and Kanabec Counties)
  • Rochester – 1 Data Center (Olmsted County)
  • Bemidji – 1 Data Center (Beltrami County)
  • Cambridge – 1 Data Center (Isanti County)
  • Alexandria – 1 Data Center (Douglas County)
  • Mankato – 1 Data Center (Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur Counties)
  • Blue Earth – 1 Data Center (Faribault County
  • Cannon Falls – 1 Data Center (Goodhue County)

Local poll on Pine Island data center project funds 76 percent did not support it (Goodhue and Olmsted Counties)

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KAAL TV reports…

A new poll is looking to answer the question of how much support there is in the Pine Island community for the data center project.

The person behind the poll, who shared the results with ABC 6 News, said it only counted people who have addresses within 55963 area code. It should also be noted that the author has publicly pushed back on the data center project.

Of the over 650 people who responded to the poll, just over 19% said they support the project while nearly 76% said they did not support it. 4.4% said they were not sure.

These numbers track with broader results, including a recent KSTP/SurveyUSA poll that found 60% of Minnesotans oppose data centers in their area, 27% are in favor, and the remainder were uncertain.

The article includes the full report.

Heated data center debate in Hermantown city council meeting but they move forward to fund support to guide decisions (St Louis County)

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Northern News Now reports…

Community members on both sides of the Google data center debate spoke out at Tuesday’s Hermantown City Council meeting, with some voicing disappointment that the planned environmental review was not on the agenda.

No one spoke specifically on the consulting resolution during public comment. Community members on both sides of the data center debate used the time to address the broader project.

Some expressed disappointment that the Alternative Urban Areawide Review, or AUAR, the planned environmental review, was not part of Tuesday’s agenda.

The meeting was paused but in the end continued…

Public comment during the meeting became heated, and shouts from attendees prompted a brief recess. The meeting resumed afterward.

The Hermantown City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved funding of no more than $20,000 for a consulting service to help guide discussions with tribal governments as part of the Google data center proposal.

The consultant will act as a liaison between the city and tribal governments throughout the environmental research and permitting process.

Coalition for Responsible Data Center Development withdraws lawsuit due in Farmington to litigation costs (Dakota County)

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Sun This Week (Dakota County) reports…

The Coalition for Responsible Data Center Development in Farmington will halt its lawsuit today against the city of Farmington, the Farmington School District, and Tract Land Development of Colorado due to the increasing costs of the litigation.

“The merits of the lawsuit are valid, but the ongoing high costs of litigation are no longer sustainable by the few residents who have personally shouldered the legal costs to keep the lawsuit alive,” said Cathy Johnson, chair of the CRDCD.

The Coalition is a group of residents opposed to the 2.5 million-square-foot data center concept that has been proposed to be built near residential neighborhoods.

The Coalition’s decision to withdraw from the lawsuit does not affect the Castle Rock Township’s companion lawsuit against Farmington that challenges the breach of the Orderly Annexation Agreement.

More information on the Castle Rock Township’s lawsuit…

The Farmington City Council approved in December 2024 a final planned unit development with Tract to build up to 12 data center buildings in a $5 billion project. The data center end user has not yet been identified.

Castle Rock Township Board voted unanimously to sue the city of Farmington on Jan. 14, 2025, accusing the city of violating the orderly annexation agreement when it granted the approval. Castle Rock’s move followed a Dakota County judge’s November 2024 approval of an injunction that halted the technology park project.

The article goes on with greater detail.

St. Cloud Planning Commission delays vote on data center (Stearns, Benton and Sherburne Counties)

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KNSI radio reports…

St. Cloud’s rulebook does not say the words “data center,” and the city will take at least another month to fix that.

The St. Cloud Planning Commission voted 5 to 1 Tuesday night to postpone action on the city’s first data center rules, sending staff back for more research before a possible vote in October.

The delay matters because the current code is not silent by design. It never contemplated these buildings, so the city treats them as communications facilities, a use already allowed in its planned industrial parks. The door is technically open right now, with no standards attached to it.

I wrote about the meeting earlier (before the meeting). This was their goal…

The St. Cloud Planning Commission holds a public hearing Tuesday evening at 6:00 at city hall on draft amendments to the Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code that would, for the first time, define what a data center is in St. Cloud and specify where the largest ones could go.

The city itself is the applicant. In a September 1st memo, Community Development Director Matt Glaesman writes that the city’s current position leans on general industrial language and “a dated zoning definition with no specific site design standards.” Acting now, before a site-specific proposal lands, is “the best practice to establish appropriate standards based on community goals,” he writes.

The drafts split data centers into two categories. Enterprise or on-site facilities, the kind that have quietly operated inside businesses for years, are capped at 2,000 servers, 10,000 square feet and 50 megawatts of peak electrical use. Anything bigger is considered hyper-scale.