On Tuesday, Aug. 11, dozens of local residents packed the Cass County Board of Commissioners hearing room to testify in support of a moratorium on data center projects near their communities.
One testifier, identified as Mark from the village of Murray, held back emotion as he recalled when officials with Tenaska—a private energy company tied to the project—approached his family in 2024 with a high-dollar offer to purchase some of their land. He told them “not for sale.”
The Cass County Board ultimately voted unanimously for the moratorium, pausing data center development projects in the area for at least 12 months.
