Mandan Data center pushback

[Obi-Wan]

Right, that is the correct way to prevent this. But just saying "me no want" is not effective, not effective at all.

whether or not true, I heard that the commissioners for Oliver County signed NDA's with the Data Center company and then voted to approve the zoning change against the wishes of many of the residents for the one going up W of Center ND

 

[Duckslayer100]

so many emotional responses when it comes to datacenters. That piece of land in mandan is pretty big, it wont all be industrial buildings, likely they bought enough land intentionally to provide a buffer to reduce sound pollution to neighboring residents. They could easily require them to plant enough trees etc to make it aesthetically pleasing for residents, or even maintain/donate part of the grounds as park/natural areas for people to enjoy.

I think where the emotion comes in is how exceedingly and uniquely FAST these data centers occur. They are massive, multi-billion-dollar projects that, in the construction world, move at lightning speed.

The one in Harwood is a good example. We heard about it publicly in, what, June/July of last year? And they were breaking ground already in September! That's the part that is crazy. There were LOADS of closed-door meetings to line everything up, and by the time we the public hear about it, it's too late. There was no stopping it. The public comment period was a joke. It was signed, sealed and delivered.

In the meantime, there are giant milking operations proposed in Hillsboro and Wahpeton that have been talked about for over two years at this point, and are STILL going through permitting and whatnot to start construction.

Whether you like data centers or hate them, you can't deny that they embody the definition of being "rammed down your throat" when compared to other similar projects.

And until we have a real say in it, and signed certainty (as in a signed contract) stating we will NOT be impacted with increased utility bills, etc., I will remain highly, highly skeptical.

 

[ndlongshot]

Whos the end customer? It has to be the government. I hope you all love a surveillance state.

There is no way the private sector is funding this amount of capital infrastructure with no obvious customer base.

 

[Jiffy]

Elon himself is the main one funding the debacle/eyesore down in E-town.

He’s been in town a couple times.

Or so I’ve heard. I’d say he probably could swing it if he wanted

 

[Wally World]

Elon himself is the main one funding the debacle/eyesore down in E-town.

He’s been in town a couple times.

Or so I’ve heard. I’d say he probably could swing it if he wanted

The proposed data center project near Mandan, North Dakota, is being driven by the developer Sagebrush Infrastructure Partners LLC, which secured exclusive options to buy land from three local property owners. In June 2026, the Israeli energy firm Stark Power Ltd. (traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange) reached a definitive agreement to outright buy Sagebrush Infrastructure Partners. [1]

Project Details

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• • Current Status: The land deals are currently option agreements (giving the developer exclusive rights to purchase the land within a year, with options to extend), and a formal application has not yet been filed with the city. [1, 2]
  • Local Regulation: The proposed site falls within Mandan's extraterritorial jurisdiction, and city officials have scheduled a public hearing for August 24, 2026, to discuss stricter acoustic, environmental, and zoning rules for data center developments. [1, 2, 3]
  • Scope: Sagebrush has been working on multiple large data center campuses across the central U.S. tied to on-site natural gas power generation
  *** While 60-70 Billion dollars and much of our military armament has been going straight to Isreal to fight their enemies, the Zionists are repaying us with numerous hyperscale data centers which 70% of the people do NOT want. Wonder how much they had to pay out for grease money?

 

[Lycanthrope]

I think where the emotion comes in is how exceedingly and uniquely FAST these data centers occur. They are massive, multi-billion-dollar projects that, in the construction world, move at lightning speed.

The one in Harwood is a good example. We heard about it publicly in, what, June/July of last year? And they were breaking ground already in September! That's the part that is crazy. There were LOADS of closed-door meetings to line everything up, and by the time we the public hear about it, it's too late. There was no stopping it. The public comment period was a joke. It was signed, sealed and delivered.

In the meantime, there are giant milking operations proposed in Hillsboro and Wahpeton that have been talked about for over two years at this point, and are STILL going through permitting and whatnot to start construction.

Whether you like data centers or hate them, you can't deny that they embody the definition of being "rammed down your throat" when compared to other similar projects.

And until we have a real say in it, and signed certainty (as in a signed contract) stating we will NOT be impacted with increased utility bills, etc., I will remain highly, highly skeptical.

AI companies have massive amounts of money to spend right now, because our economy is crap and much of the capitol is betting hard on AI right now. Also with the speed its developing, they cant afford to wait months, let alone years to build. Im guessing those dairy operations dont have billions to spend... The communities that are locking out datacenters are just hurting themselves in the long run, because they bring massive capitol and investment with them. It amazes me that people who willingly or even enthusiastically took experimental vaccinations just a few years ago are now freaking out about a company building a building in their community, which will have massive upsides to offset the likely minor negatives.

 

[Lycanthrope]

Whos the end customer? It has to be the government. I hope you all love a surveillance state.

There is no way the private sector is funding this amount of capital infrastructure with no obvious customer base.

 

[ndlongshot]

Seems like a front to me. Its all govt back door to your data. All of it. Just like flock cameras. Its all intertwined. Every keystroke you make or page you read, including this, will be saved and searchable long past the time your gone. They will also project crimes you may or may not, likely or not to commit in the future. Will help squash the next rebellion real quick! As we all said. Covid was a test run. Exposed total controls weakness’. And here we are….

These ai models will tell you with accuracy who you will become twenty years from now. With or without your approval.

 

[jake57]

I have a question, with the massive amounts of tax revenue that is beening proposed for Mandan , Morton Co. Mandan Schools and Parks, why isn't Sioux Co. proposing land spots to build this data-center. We all know they don't have very many businesses to produce much tax base. Why build soooo close to schools and residential

 

[SupressYourself]

... which will have massive upsides to offset the likely minor negatives.

So how much money do you have in AI stocks anyway?

 

[Browneye]

There is so many things that don't stand up to much scrutiny, thus the mad rush to get them done before people find out what they are really for. After covid we were told how the commercial rental building market was collapsing do to many jobs moved some times permantly remotely. They claim vast swaths of empty commercial/warehouse buildings all sitting empty in the biggest cities. Would make sense to me that these would be a much better place put them since they tell us there is no downside to being near one, noise and what not. We lose way to much agricultural rural land every year to urban sprawl getting covered with asphalt and cement. But no they tell us that valuable land that feeds us is the perfect spot to put these surveilence centers. And don't kid yourself thats what they are for not so you can have faster internet.

 

[Browneye]

Wouldn't you think the bigger cities would also love to get this windfall of tax revenues they tell us we are going to get. Nice of them to leave it all for us.

 

[Fly Carpin]

massive upsides to offset the likely minor negatives.

Data centers consumed about 4.4% of all U.S. electricity in 2023 — roughly 176 terawatt-hours, up from 58 TWh in 2014 — and projected that share could climb to between 6.7% and 12% by 2028 -https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-releases-new-report-evaluating-increase-electricity-demand-data-centers

U.S. data centers directly consumed about 17 billion gallons of water for cooling in 2023, with consumption projected to double or even quadruple by 2028. The MOST Policy Initiative, a nonpartisan science-policy group, puts the 2023 figure at 17.4 billion gallons — about what 160,000 American households use in a year.

Data centers consumed an additional 211 billion gallons indirectly in 2023 through the power plants that generate their electricity — roughly twelve times the cooling figure.

Over 500 of these facilities are slated to be built in the next few years in areas that are currently in moderate to severe droughts.

In one widely reported case, an AI data center project drew roughly 29 million gallons over 15 months before residents complaining about low water pressure uncovered it.

Independent analyses put most hyperscale campuses at 50 to 200 permanent staff, regardless of how massive the buildings are.

So. AI making society as a whole dumber by removing the desire to learn for the people that use it the most. The environmental effects are numerous and well documented. People who live near them say all the promises made were worthless. They are loud, intrusive, and ugly. And for what? So dipshits on facebook can prompt up photos of bigfoot saving a puppy?

It's not real art. It's not real music. It's not real knowledge. Its digital piracy of the hard work of others, used to pacify the already mush brained masses. And if you think the old "but we gotta be on the cutting edge so China doesn't win" argument holds water, it does not. We lost that battle a long time ago.