Minnesota

Farmington residents push back against massive data center projected to double city’s water use

Published

2 months ago

February 11, 2026

Farmington residents push back against massive data center projected to double city’s water use

A group of Dakota County residents is pushing back on plans for a massive data center, and it’s one of many such campaigns in communities across Minnesota.

In Farmington, developers received local approval for a 2.5 million square foot “hyperscale” data center on land once reserved for a new school, as well as a former golf course.

“If we don’t pay attention to what’s going on and advocate for ourselves, no one else is going to,” said Kathy Johnson, a Farmington resident and founder of the Coalition for Responsible Data Center Development. “I think money is driving this and quality of life is not being considered. We have to do that. Quality of life matters to the people that live here and it matters to me.”

Data centers aren’t new to Minnesota; a 2011 law passed by state lawmakers created incentives for major tech companies to move servers here. Their footprints, however, aren’t nearly as large as what’s being proposed in Farmington.

Even Meta’s $800 million project in Rosemount, at roughly 700,000 square feet, pales in comparison.

Mo Feshami, another Farmington resident who works in tech, said he first supported the idea of bringing a new data center to Dakota County.

“I thought if a data center comes in there won’t be as many houses or cars or strain on the school system – until I realized this is a hyperscale data center,” he lamented. “The data centers I used to work in, at most they used 10 megawatts. This is 708 megawatts. We used to have it in one or two floors of a large commercial building. This has its own 340-plus acres facility.”

Hyperscale data centers are currently on the table in nearly a dozen other sites in Minnesota: Hermantown, Bemidji, Monticello, Lakeville, North Mankato, Faribault and Pine Island.

The group of residents in Farmington have filed suit to block construction, first on technical grounds but later added to the complaint with concerns about the environment.

The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy has likewise filed suits on behalf of five other communities, as well as becoming a party to the Farmington case.

“I think there is a place for data centers in Minnesota,” Feshami added. “Putting it in the middle of a residential neighborhood is not the right place for it.”

According to court documents, the City of Farmington’s current water use is around 2.14 million gallons of water a day, and the hyperscale data center would more than double that demand.

The machines, moreover, would need 700 megawatts of energy to keep running, and most power plants in Minnesota don’t even produce that capacity in a day.

“It is going to affect the wells. It’s going to affect the air quality, the sound quality, or our entire end of this community,” Kathy Johnson lamented.

Managers at Tract, the Denver-based land development company pushing the Farmington project, did not return WCCO’s calls or emails. A spokesman for the city said officials can’t comment amid ongoing litigation.

At a city council session last summer, a Tract executive promised the data center could bring up to 300 permanent jobs to Farmington, as well as an extra $16 million in property taxes.

A judge in November denied Farmington’s motion to dismiss the case. There is no timetable yet for the next steps in the process.

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Minnesota

Driver who fatally struck bicyclist in Minneapolis may have been impaired, police say

Published

4 hours ago

April 21, 2026

Press Room

Driver who fatally struck bicyclist in Minneapolis may have been impaired, police say

Minneapolis police suspect a driver was under the influence when he hit and killed a bicyclist on the city’s southside early Monday morning.

Officers responded to the crash at the intersection of Hiawatha Avenue and East 35th Street around 3 a.m., according to the Minneapolis Police Department.

Upon arrival, police found a man in his 50s suffering from apparent life-threatening injuries. Officers provided immediate medical aid, including CPR, before the man was transported to Hennepin Healthcare, where he later died.

The Minneapolis Police Department says that preliminary information indicates the driver, a 23-year-old man, had been traveling south on Hiawatha Avenue in a Ford Edge when he struck the bicyclist.

Officers arrested the driver and took him to the hospital, where police say “a search warrant for evidence collection was carried out.” Police later booked the driver into Hennepin County Jail on suspicion of criminal vehicular homicide.

The incident is still under investigation.

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Minnesota

I-94 rest area in Minnesota closed until Independence Day for $2.9M improvement project

Published

16 hours ago

April 20, 2026

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I-94 rest area in Minnesota closed until Independence Day for .9M improvement project

A rest area along Interstate 94 in Minnesota has been closed to trucks until about Independence Day to accommodate an almost $3 million improvement project.

The eastbound I-94 Enfield rest area between St. Cloud, Minnesota and the Twin Cities between Wright County Road 8 and Highway 25 is now closed to cars and commercial vehicles as crews resurface the entrance and exit ramps, and update nearby sidewalks.

According to KNSI, the full closure is just the first phase of the project. The rest area will reopen to passenger vehicles only the week of May 11th. During that time, the truck parking area will remain closed as crews repave the lot.

The truck parking lot will reopen the week of June 30th, right around Independence Day. During that time, the passenger vehicle area will be shut down to allow for the resurfacing of the lot. The Minnesota DOT expects the rest area to be fully open by late July. The entire project is expected to cost $2.9 million.

Drivers heading east on I-94 are encouraged to use the Big Spunk Lake rest area near Avon, or to drive a little farther out to the Elm Creek rest area.

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Minnesota

UCLA baseball remains perfect in Big Ten by beating Minnesota

Published

1 day ago

April 20, 2026

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UCLA baseball remains perfect in Big Ten by beating Minnesota

Could a UCLA baseball team that’s perfect in Big Ten play get better?

Bruins coach John Savage thinks so, which is a frightening prospect for the rest of a seemingly overmatched conference.

While Savage’s top-ranked Bruins completed a three-game sweep of Minnesota on Sunday with a 5-2 victory at Jackie Robinson Stadium — stretching their Big Ten winning streak to 21 games — he said there’s more upside to be realized.

UCLA’s Payton Brennan and his teammates are still undefeated in Big Ten play this season after sweeping Minnesota on Sunday. Ross Turteltaub

“Offensively, we just really couldn’t get a lot going,” Savage said after his team went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and stranded six baserunners. “We just weren’t able to put a lot together, but when that pitching and defense shows up every day, it gives yourself a chance to win, and that’s kind of what we did all three games, really.”

Those elements were so good Sunday that they overshadowed Roman Martin’s solo homer in the third inning and Will Gasparino’s two-run shot in the sixth.

Bruins left fielder Dean West made three superb catches — two leaping and one diving — and four relievers combined to give up only one run in 4 ⅔ innings. Closer Easton Hawk needed only six pitches to record a 1-2-3 ninth inning while notching his third save in as many days.

Savage credited Minnesota’s pitching after the Golden Gophers (22-17 overall, 5-13 Big Ten) held the Bruins (36-3) to an average of five runs during the series and said many of his team’s offensive struggles were situational.

“We have very, very good offensive players — some of them are in … little ruts right now, but that’s OK,” Savage said. “These guys play a lot and get a lot of at-bats; there’s a lot of ups and downs.”

When it comes to UCLA’s conference record, it’s all been up.

What it means

UCLA’s sweep is further evidence that the Bruins aren’t getting complacent because of their record.

“This culture is really solid, and these guys truly believe in one another and they’re playing for the team,” Savage said. “We’re very fortunate to have this group, and so they love playing together, so there’s no complacency and there’s no reason to because we haven’t done anything; I mean, you’re 36-3, that’s great, but at the end of the day it’s about getting better and playing your best baseball the next 75 days.”

Turning point

Spotting a dominant team an early lead is never a good idea.

That’s what happened when the Bruins struck for two runs in the bottom of the first inning.

West led off with a single to center field, took third on Roch Cholowsky’s double to left and scored on a balk. With one out, Martin hit an RBI infield single off the pitcher’s glove. UCLA was up 2-0, and the Golden Gophers could never catch up.

Did you see that?

Minnesota did not like it when Gasparino admired his home run by lingering in the batter’s box before commencing his trot around the bases.

There was consensus in both dugouts because Savage also didn’t care for it.

“I thought he probably stayed in the box a little too long for me,” Savage said. “That’s kind of not who we are, and they didn’t like that; I wouldn’t like that either, really.”