Moore and Crosby both want data center transparency after Stratos — but differ on MIDA
Utah congressional candidates Blake Moore and Peter Crosby said the controversial Stratos AI data center project in Box Elder County requires greater transparency and local involvement. They differed over the accountability of the Military Installation Development Authority and warned that data center growth could intensify Utah’s energy and water pressures.
At a debate in Logan, Utah, Republican Rep. Blake Moore and Democratic challenger Peter Crosby discussed the proposed Stratos AI data center campus in Box Elder County. Both candidates said residents and local officials need more information about the project’s community impacts, while Crosby criticized what he described as top-down pressure on county commissioners and advised them to vote "not yet."
Moore defended using military-related land and pointed to the Military Installation Development Authority’s Falcon Hill development near Hill Air Force Base as a model for limiting local impacts. Crosby called for reform of MIDA, arguing that its officials are not sufficiently accountable to voters. Both candidates also said future data center projects must address water and resource impacts, amid record-low Great Salt Lake levels and competing demands from agriculture and population growth.