Missouri farmers chanting "down with corporate vultures" stormed the state capitol while elected officials met secretly with data center insiders — and that's just where today's story begins.
🏘️ **COMMUNITY** — The No MO Dirty Data Center Coalition and Missouri Rural Crisis Center organized a rally at the Missouri state capitol rotunda on June 17, drawing residents from 15 counties to oppose the closed-door Missouri Data Center Summit. The summit at Capital Bluffs Event Center was open only to county officials and school board members — vendors, the press, and the public were explicitly barred. Olivia Stockman of the Rural Crisis Center warned the rapid push threatens farmland, water, and health. Speakers vowed: "We will remove them from office."
⚖️ **LEGAL** — Gage County, Nebraska's Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously on June 16 to impose an 18-month moratorium on new data centers, after more than two hours of public testimony at a packed courthouse. Residents cited a long-running drought — rivers that used to flood regularly now run dry — and warned a proposed Google campus in southeast Nebraska could strain the region's water and electricity beyond capacity. The moratorium goes to the county board of supervisors for final approval.
⚡ **POWER** — PJM Interconnection, America's largest power grid serving 65 million people across 13 states, received emergency DOE authorization in May 2026 to curtail data centers during hot weather. PJM's own projections show a 6 GW reliability shortfall beginning summer 2027, raising the risk of rolling blackouts. Data centers are adding 5–7 GW of demand annually while new power plant supply delivers only 2–3 GW per year.
🏗️ **NEW BUILD** — Microsoft broke ground June 17 on a $1 billion, 489-acre data center campus in LaPorte, Indiana. Microsoft Vice Chair Brad Smith told attendees: "This is the first day of the rest of our lives in Indiana." The 17-building campus will create 600+ permanent jobs, and the city committed 15% of campus tax revenue to LaPorte Community School Corporation.
💰 **INVESTMENT** — Senator Elizabeth Warren sent formal letters June 15 to KKR, BlackRock, Brookfield, and Blackstone demanding documentation on data center investments and utility ownership overlaps. A 2026 study projects average U.S. electricity costs could rise 6–29% by 2030 because of data center load growth — with Virginia potentially facing a 57% spike. Firms must respond by June 27.
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