'We're pretty quiet': Village of Nehawka puts indefinite ban on data centers
The Village of Nehawka, Nebraska, a small community of fewer than 200 people, has enacted an indefinite ban on data centers, making it the first municipality in the state to do so. This decision, driven by local residents' anxiety about the large scale of hyperscale data centers and their desire to maintain a quiet community, follows a recent moratorium in Cass County.
The Village of Nehawka, Nebraska, a community of fewer than 200 residents, has enacted an indefinite ban on data centers, becoming the first municipality in the state to do so. The decision, which goes into effect in two weeks, was driven by local concerns that such massive structures would not fit with the village's quiet, low-profile way of life.
The ban in Nehawka follows a broader trend in Nebraska, where the state previously removed incentives for data centers. Cass County, where Nehawka is located, had also recently issued a moratorium on data center development. Jayden Speed, who lives in Nehawka and started the Cass County Data Center Watch Coalition, noted that residents were more concerned with local amenities like getting their bar and grill back up and running.
One primary concern among locals is the sheer size of data centers, particularly hyperscale projects that can occupy thousands of acres, often exceeding the land area of the village itself. Residents expressed anxiety about protecting their community from such large-scale industrial development. Max Williams, reporting for 3 News Now, highlighted that outright bans by individual cities remain relatively rare across the Midwest.