A portion of a data center owned by Big Watt Digital north of Pierre, pictured on Dec. 23, 2025. (Photo by Meghan O’Brien/South Dakota Searchlight)
Citizens crowded county commission meetings and city council rooms in recent months, expressing concerns about potential data centers near Sioux Falls and the small South Dakota town of Toronto.
Three years ago, residents of Sully County did the same when a 30 megawatt data center was proposed near the hydroelectric power generated by the Oahe Dam on the Missouri River, Sully County Planning and Zoning Board Chair Austin Gross told state lawmakers last winter…