data centers

Supporters say the $15 billion project in Montgomery County, Missouri, will bring jobs and tax revenue. Some residents say no one asked them

Google will operate the second data center in the New Florence area, which already has an Amazon Web Services data center in the works.

It's the latest in a series of retaliations against city officials in Festus, Missouri, who voted in favor of a proposed hyperscale data center.

Some Kansans are spooked by data centers as the likelihood of the state hosting more big tech facilities is rising. One positive to all the hullabaloo? Heightened civic engagement early in local proceedings.

Missouri lawmakers express interest in job and tax revenue that the data centers could bring. However, consumer advocates expressed concerns that residents would be charged for new power plants due to the increased energy needs.

Gardner city officials said Beale Infrastructure withdrew its proposal this week after being told the city would not provide any public incentives for it. More than 100 residents attended a city council meeting Monday about the plan.

Residents of a rural Johnson County community are confronting a new data center proposal from San Francisco-based Beale Infrastructure, just weeks after they blocked a similar proposal.

Kansas City students were welcomed by organizers with the Missouri Workers Center and Sunrise Movement KC to protest federal immigration enforcement and data centers.

Residents of Gardner, Kansas, are confronting a new data center proposal from Beale Infrastructure just weeks after a similar proposal was withdrawn. Members of the community are concerned about the impact on their environment, utilities, and noise levels.

In Festus, Missouri, opposition to a data center project has reshaped the city government. “Angry people make angry voters,” an attorney observed.

Anger over the data center boom has spilled into politics with voters unseating local politicians who support them — most recently in Independence, Missouri. It's become an issue hard to ignore in the midterm elections.

Kevin King, a former union leader, was elected as mayor of Independence on Tuesday over a city council member who supported an AI data center deal. King has never held political office before, and says he wants residents to be engaged and feel heard in city government.