data centers

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Kansas, are confronting a new data center proposal from Beale Infrastructure just weeks after a similar proposal was withdrawn.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.

One week after a controversial vote to approve rules for a CRG Clayco data center, anti-data center candidates ousted half of the Festus City Council.

Two of the five city councilmembers who supported major tax breaks for an AI data center were on the ballot Tuesday. Both were ousted in their respective elections by a large margin.

Kansas City’s 1% earning tax has won renewal once again, garnering overwhelming support from voters in Tuesday’s municipal elections. Meanwhile, data center supporters lost big in Independence, Missouri. KCUR reporters join Up To Date to discuss the tax and other key issues on ballots across the metro.

A judge sided with the city of Independence and denied residents’ efforts to put massive tax breaks for an AI data center up to voters.