In the city of Peculiar, a Kansas City suburb, a mayor and a city administrator were forced from their jobs over plans for a data center. In Festus, south of St. Louis, residents thronged city council meetings, leading police to escort out a former council member. And in St. Charles, a St. Louis suburb, local officials enacted an outright ban on data center construction.
The rapid expansion of hyperscale data centers is far outstripping efforts to regulate them in Missouri and other states.
As a result, communities are responding with hastily called moratoriums and divisive local elections to address the massive industrial facilities popping up across America…