{"id":47796,"date":"2026-04-11T17:02:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T17:02:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=47796"},"modified":"2026-04-11T17:02:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T17:02:01","slug":"after-missouri-city-approves-6b-data-center-angry-voters-get-revenge-at-the-polls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=47796","title":{"rendered":"After Missouri city approves $6B data center, angry voters get revenge at the polls"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Voters in a small Missouri town booted four city council members who backed a $6 billion data center <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stlpr.org\/government-politics-issues\/2026-02-27\/festus-leaders-next-step-approving-proposed-data-center\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-nyp-affiliate=\"true\">despite fierce local opposition.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Irate residents of Festus \u2014 a city of about 14,000 roughly 35 miles south of St. Louis \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.livevoterturnout.com\/ENR\/jeffersonmoenr\/25\/en\/Index_25.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">voted out four council members<\/a> just days after they approved the controversial project.<\/p>\n<p>Local opposition to the data center, which was set to be built on some 360 acres of land by investment firm CRG Clayco, had been building in the weeks<a href=\"https:\/\/fox2now.com\/news\/missouri\/festus-city-council-approves-data-center-plan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> leading up to the March 30 special meeting.<\/a><\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Residents of Festus, Mo., hold signs opposing a proposed data center, warning of environmental risks and impacts on property values. <span class=\"credit\">FOX 2<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>At the meeting, council members voted 6-2 to approve an infrastructure, development and funding agreement for the $6 billion project.<\/p>\n<p>While city leaders touted the project\u2019s economic benefits, key details \u2014 including who would ultimately operate the facility and how it would impact local resources \u2014 were unclear, fueling frustration among residents.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Locals have fiercely opposed the project, raising concerns about its environmental impact, property values and the prospect of a massive industrial facility being built near homes.<\/p>\n<p>Many also argued city officials ignored public input and rushed the approval process despite widespread backlash.<\/p>\n<p>Four incumbent council members \u2014 Jim Collier in Ward 1, Brian Wehner in Ward 2, Robert \u201cBobby\u201d Venz in Ward 3 and Jim Tinnin in Ward 4 \u2014 were voted out, each losing to challengers who ran on anti-data center and pro-transparency platforms, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kcur.org\/politics-elections-and-government\/2026-04-09\/festus-missouri-data-center-election-city-council\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-nyp-affiliate=\"true\">according to St. Louis Public Radio.<\/a><\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Four members of the Festus City Council who voted to back the data center project lost their respective bids for re-election. <span class=\"credit\">FOX 2<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Festus residents framed the election as a political reckoning, with one newly elected council member, Dan Moore, saying the data center fight \u201cstruck this community to the core\u201d and \u201cignited a community-driven effort.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have been ignored for way too long,\u201d said Moore, who defeated Venz in Ward 3.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt has been a problem in Festus for quite some time. I think this has just brought it to the surface.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Festus Mayor Sam Richards \u2014 who supported the data center project \u2014 could be next.<\/p>\n<div class=\"single__inline-module inline-module inline-module--newsletter aligncenter inline-module--nypostbusinessunit aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-newsletter\" data-source-unit=\"Inline Newsletter Module Morning Report\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__title-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__unsubmitted-title-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<p class=\"inline-module__cta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Residents have already begun collecting signatures to trigger a recall effort against him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am not against growth,\u201d resident Lauren Albers said during a heated council meeting in late March.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m against putting data centers between homes. I am against rushing into development before residents get real information, real answers and a real voice,\u201d she was quoted as saying by St. Louis Public Radio.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The proposed data center \u2014 a $6 billion, 360-acre hyperscale facility being developed by CRG Acquisition, the data center arm of Clayco \u2014 has sparked fierce backlash from residents. <span class=\"credit\">FOX 2<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Opposition to data centers is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.multistate.us\/insider\/2026\/3\/3\/state-data-center-water-usage-legislation-gains-momentum\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">mounting across the country <\/a>as communities grapple with the heavy demands the facilities place on local resources \u2014 particularly water and electricity.<\/p>\n<p>In water-strapped regions like Nevada, the concerns are especially acute.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese data centers \u2026 consume around 250 million gallons of water in a year,\u201d Christopher Lee, a partner at Foresight Strategic Advisors, told The Post, adding that while they aren\u2019t solely responsible for shortages, \u201cthey are kind of accelerating the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That strain is fueling backlash at the local level.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Festus, a city of about 14,000 residents located roughly 35 miles south of St. Louis, has become the center of a growing backlash over a proposed data center. <span class=\"credit\">FOX 2<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Residents worry that companies are \u201cjust grabbing all the water they can and \u2026 leaving us with nothing,\u201d Lee said, underscoring why transparency and community engagement have become flashpoints.<\/p>\n<p>In Nevada, <a href=\"https:\/\/news3lv.com\/news\/local\/proposed-data-center-in-eldorado-valley-draws-backlash-from-boulder-city-residents\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-nyp-affiliate=\"true\">residents in Boulder City have pushed back<\/a> against a proposed facility, while officials in Reno have clashed over approvals and even floated moratoriums.<\/p>\n<p>Elsewhere,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.boisestatepublicradio.org\/2026-03-27\/some-mountain-west-counties-impose-moratoriums-on-data-centers-as-national-pause-is-proposed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-nyp-affiliate=\"true\"> local governments in Idaho<\/a> and Colorado have imposed temporary bans to study impacts, and cities like Denver are weighing similar moves.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the pushback, companies continue to aggressively pursue new projects, drawn by tax incentives and massive demand for cloud computing and AI infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>The facilities are viewed as critical to powering the digital economy \u2014 but Lee warned that developers ignore community concerns at their peril.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAny elected official that engages with that \u2026 is going to pay that price,\u201d he said, pointing to growing political risks for leaders who back projects without public buy-in.<\/p>\n<p>The Post has sought comment from Richards and CRG Clayco. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/10\/business\/after-missouri-city-approves-6b-data-center-angry-voters-get-revenge-at-the-polls\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Voters in a small Missouri town booted four city council members who backed a $6 billion data center despite fierce local opposition. Irate residents of Festus&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47797,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/47797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}