Leavenworth Co. officials reverse course, slow down on data center proposed for site near Tonganoxie

Leavenworth County officials are reversing course on a proposed hyperscale data center, Project Bluestem, near Tonganoxie, Kansas. Following two county meetings, the Leavenworth County Commission plans to revisit a moratorium on data center applications in unincorporated areas until a new commission takes office in January.

Previously, a motion to extend a 90-day moratorium through January 31 failed on August 5, with Commissioners Vanessa Reid, Willie Dove, and Jeff Culbertson voting against it. However, Commissioner Mike Stieben successfully proposed a new motion at a subsequent meeting for the commission to consider a moratorium to prevent "lame-duck" decisions by the outgoing board members. Stieben's motion passed 4-1.

Project Bluestem, developed by Cloverleaf Infrastructure, is proposed as a 600-watt (potentially 1.2 gigawatt) data center on over 1,000 acres at Tailgate Ranch. Residents, organized as "Citizens Against Bluestem," have voiced strong opposition, citing concerns about noise and air pollution, health impacts, and strain on local infrastructure. No applications have yet been filed for the project.

Separately, county planning and zoning members voted 8-1 to defer making any regulation recommendations for data centers. They plan to hold a joint work session with the county commission before their next meeting in September, with public comment sessions also anticipated.