The Small Wisconsin City That Defeated a Giant Data Center

Residents of Menomonie, Wisconsin, achieved a significant victory by organizing against a proposed $1.6 billion hyperscale data center from Balloonist, LLC. The development, which had involved closed-door meetings and nondisclosure agreements with city officials, faced strong community opposition over concerns about minimal job creation, water depletion, increased electricity costs, noise, light, and air pollution. Despite the Menomonie City Council initially voting to annex and rezone land for the project, sustained pressure from local campaigners, including the "Stop the Menomonie Data Center" Facebook group, led Mayor Randy Knaack to announce in September 2025 that the city would not proceed with a development agreement. In January, the City Council unanimously approved additional regulations on data center projects, and is considering 42 further recommendations from a community town hall. Inspired by their success, organizers like Blaine Halverson and Sarah Zarling collaborated with Healthy Climate Wisconsin to form a statewide coalition and develop the "Big Tech Unchecked Toolkit" to assist other Wisconsin communities. State Representative Clint Moses has since introduced a bill to prohibit nondisclosure agreements for data center proposals, and activists are advocating for a statewide moratorium on data center construction to ensure environmental and community protections.