As the City of Joplin continues moving forward with plans to annex part of Wildwood Ranch into the city and welcome a proposed data center onto the property, a couple of politicians have come out in favor of the project.
The Joplin Globe obtained letters opposing or supporting the projects. While most of the messages opposed the data center, Seventh District Congressman Eric Burlison and Rep. Cathy Jo Loy, R-Carthage, favor the plan.
Burlison wrote that data center projects such as the one proposed for Joplin “are increasingly important to American manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and national security.”
Loy expressed similar thoughts.
She said one of the benefits of the development is “allowing new large-scale energy users into the market that can help place downward pressure on rising utility rates we are facing today.”
The City Council will make its final decision on the annexation and the data center at its 6 p.m. Tuesday meeting in the Corley Auditorium at Missouri Southern State University.
At least Burlison and Loy are smart enough to know they and their voters need more intelligence.
ReplyDeleteThis is a Great Money Grab for Wildwood Ranch - But a lot of the Local Morons and Government Officials do not realize the overall impact it causes - The Larger Municipalities are finally figuring this out - while Datacenter Builders, like Amazon (AWS), Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Apple - are trying to bypass a lot of the Regulations and Build in Smaller Communities, who look the other way and have minimum knowledge or no understanding what "Bad Things" are caused and surround building Data Centers in their Communities and What is the True Cost of Water, Sewage, and Electricity and that the Locals will end up Paying for in the Increased Cost of all this Usage.
ReplyDeleteHere are Just a Few Things that will and does Impact your Local Resources and Pocket Books - -
Massive Water Consumption: Many centers, particularly those using water-based cooling, consume millions of gallons of water daily, straining local water supplies, especially in arid regions.
High Energy Demand & Emissions: Data centers are massive electricity consumers, often relying on fossil fuels for power, resulting in high
emissions and hindering climate goals.
Environmental & Resource Strain: They produce significant e-waste (hazardous materials like lead and mercury) and create, on average, 92 dB(A) noise levels that disrupt local communities.
Local Infrastructure & Utility Impact: Data centers can drive up electricity rates for residents, strain grid capacity, and cause shortages of, or long lead times for, critical electrical components.
Minimal Local Economic Benefit: Despite large investments, they often provide few long-term jobs after the initial construction phase.
Security Risks: Being high-value targets, they are vulnerable to cyberattacks, ransomware, and physical threats.
Water Contamination: The massive cooling processes can create large amounts of wastewater, which can lead to increased pollution.
2:11 you are 100% correct. Lots of small communities that have had these data centers built, are running in to major issues with their infrastructure and the enormous raise of utilities rates. Water tables have fallen to where home owners own wells are now going dry. Not to mention the drop in home values near these data centers. Numerous people are complaining about the smell that are being generated from these data centers also. Joplin has not made the wisest decisions for our community since the tornado. I’m not sure they will again, this time.
DeleteIs there one example of a data center causing odor in the community or running wells dry? I thought I heard the water company say that wouldn’t be the case here.
Delete4:12 keep in mind they are selling water, they are also selling you the idea that it won’t affect you, we all know how this works, just a different form of a used car salesman. Don’t be fooled folks
DeleteThey told our parents and grandparents that electricity would be "too cheap to meter."
Delete4:12 the giant data center built in Memphis Tennessee by Elon Musk is using giant gas turbines in addition to electricity to generate enough power to run his new data center. Apparently, these gas turbines are putting off offensive rotten egg smells, that are blanketing the entire community in these offensive smells.
DeleteIt's not just offensive smells. It's pollution that kills.
Delete7:27 you are absolutely correct. Pollution can cause harmful emissions that can and do create extensive health problems that can also kill. Especially with the EPA being sidelined.
DeletePoliticians will always show who they really represent in these decisions. Hint: it’s not working class people
ReplyDeleteYou magats voted for this. Even YOUR local representative don't respect you.
ReplyDeleteJoy is a wannabe butt kisser. Just a leaf in the wind.
ReplyDeleteThe next half of the data center scheme is to build lots (as in thousands!) of a new kind of small nuclear reactor to generate the needed electricity.
ReplyDeleteNuclear Reactors in Your Backyard? Data Centers Were Just the Beginning Jan 21, 2026 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVsoAOigxhM
Good news! Now with less regulation and more secrecy!
NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO:
"The Trump administration has secretly rewritten nuclear safety rules Updated January 28, 2026
"The Trump administration has overhauled a set of nuclear safety directives and shared them with the companies it is charged with regulating, without making the new rules available to the public, according to documents obtained exclusively by NPR.
The sweeping changes were made to accelerate development of a new generation of nuclear reactor designs. They occurred over the fall and winter at the Department of Energy, which is currently overseeing a program to build at least three new experimental commercial nuclear reactors by July 4 of this year." https://www.npr.org/2026/01/28/nx-s1-5677187/nuclear-safety-rules-rewritten-trump
Not in my backyard? WRONG!
WORLD NUCLEAR NEWS:
"Kansas site selected for underground reactor demo
Friday, 5 December 2025
California-based startup Deep Fission has chosen Great Plains Industrial Park in Parsons, Kansas, for its pilot project and plans to build a full-scale commercial plant there following the test reactor demonstration.
The company said it intends to break ground for the demonstration project on 9 December, and - subject to authorisation from the US Department of Energy (DOE) - achieve criticality by 4 July 2026. It has signed a letter of intent with the Great Plains Development Authority outlining their collaboration on the pilot and the parties' intention to develop a full-scale commercial project at the same site." https://world-nuclear-news.org/articles/kansas-site-selected-for-underground-reactor-demo
Article on one of the new companies making cheap safe nuclear power:
Deletehttps://www.utahinvestigative.org/who-is-valar-atomics/
Read the part about the guys who got burned when one of them threw diesel fuel into a wood stove that had a fire in it.
"The officers quickly took control of the scene and checked on the victims. One man, Elijah Froh, was sent to the hospital with serious burns on his torso. His employer, Kip Mock, also received a less severe burn on his arm.
Mock said he took “sole responsibility” and explained that he put “old diesel” into a wood-burning stove.
“When the old diesel went onto the fire, not exactly sure how it happened but the wood stove… it blew back,” Mock said."
https://www.utahinvestigative.org/who-is-valar-atomics/
"Mock’s most recent gig? Since 2024 he’s listed himself as head of operations for Valar Atomics, the company that has signed a deal with Utah to explore developing an advanced nuclear test reactor by 2026. Mock is leading the company’s efforts to build a reactor for the company in the Philippines to avoid the regulatory delays of being licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission."
https://www.utahinvestigative.org/who-is-valar-atomics/
This is not just Democrats vs Republicans, understanding the dynamics and requirements and the overall impact that Data Centers have and being informed about them is a must. I am in favor of Technology, but not if it impacts overrule the betterment of mankind - these companies have to store massive amounts of Data at these Data Centers just to keep up with the Social Media Crap that all you people want to utilize to store your 15-Minutes of online fame that no one will look at or be interested in another couple of years -
ReplyDeleteA loud minority of people are trying to trash this. They couldn’t get the few signatures for a petition. The “opposition” comes from out of the city.
ReplyDeleteLocate the little nuclear reactor next to this fool's house!
Delete(we have not been told who the data center owner is--NDAs by many signed) This from Grok:
ReplyDelete'Major Hyperscalers Building Data Centers
These companies are pouring hundreds of billions into new U.S. facilities, often self-built for scale and control:
Amazon Web Services (AWS) — Leading hyperscaler with massive investments (e.g., $10B+ in regions like North Carolina and ongoing expansions across states).
Microsoft (Azure) — Heavy focus on AI-ready centers, with commitments exceeding $80B in recent years for U.S. capacity.
Google (Alphabet) — Building extensively for AI and cloud, with large capex (e.g., $75B+ planned in peak years) in states like Virginia, Nevada, and others.
Meta — Constructing high-density AI campuses (e.g., multi-gigawatt plans in places like Texas).
Others like Oracle, CoreWeave, and partnerships (e.g., OpenAI-related projects) are also expanding rapidly.
Major Colocation/Wholesale Developers and Operators
These specialize in building large-scale, multi-tenant data centers:
Equinix — One of the largest global providers, with extensive U.S. footprint and interconnection focus.
Digital Realty — Preeminent U.S. operator, with hundreds of facilities and major development pipelines.
Vantage Data Centers — Builds flexible, scalable campuses (often 64MW to 1GW+) for hyperscalers and enterprises.
CyrusOne — Strong in enterprise and colocation, with ongoing U.S. builds.
QTS Realty Trust (now part of Blackstone) — Major player in hyperscale and enterprise facilities.
Others include CoreSite (American Tower), STACK Infrastructure, DataBank, and Flexential.'
Mind your own business!
DeleteYou don't need to know.
increasingly important to national security... just like the completely incompetent and worthless TSA.
ReplyDeleteAI is needed to better search for and keep track of "domestic terrorists", and by "domestic terrorists" they mean anyone on the right that is displeased with the government. They don't have to worry about the left, that problem takes care of itself lol.