Festus voters oust four city council members amid backlash over data center plans

Residents of Festus, Missouri, expressed their strong disapproval of a large data center project slated for construction near a local subdivision by electing four new city council members who ran on platforms opposing the development. The election results saw incumbents Jim Collier (Ward 1), Brian Wehner (Ward 2), Bobby Venz (Ward 3), and Jim Tinnin (Ward 4) unseated by Karl Weekley, Allen Joseph McCarthy, Dan Moore, and Rick Belleville, respectively. Three of the defeated incumbents had previously voted in favor of the controversial data center agreement. New council member Dan Moore criticized the deal as being mismanaged and conducted "behind closed doors." The new council members, set to be sworn in by the end of the month, plan to immediately address options to halt the data center project, which involves real estate firm CRG. In addition to the electoral shakeup, residents like Lori Merriman and Sherman Doyle are actively involved in grassroots efforts, including circulating recall petitions for other sitting council members and the mayor, aiming for a complete overhaul of the local government.