Menomonie Data Center Plans Paused Amid Community Pushback

MENOMONIE, Wis. (WCFW / WSCM) – The Menomonie City Council has paused plans for a $1.6 billion data center following significant pushback from community members.

The city council approved annexing and rezoning a parcel of land from the town of Red Cedar in August for the proposed data center. The proposed land for the project sits between 650th and 690th Avenue to the north of I-94.

At the time, city officials advised residents that the vote only covered annexing and rezoning the land, not they will build there. They also assured residents that if plans developed for a data center they would conduct an environmental assessment before construction. The company behind the project, Balloonist LLC, also noted that they had no site plan yet and would not begin construction until at least 2027.

A number of area residents spoke against potential plans for the project, raising environmental concerns common with similar data center projects. Their most significant concern was the water usage of the site, with the proposed data center requiring about 75,000 gallons of water per day on average.

A group of residents began organizing their opposition to the proposed data center a few weeks later. At their first meeting, Menomonie Mayor Randy Knaack made an unexpected appearance and told residents that he believed the City Council had made a mistake in approving the annexation and rezoning of the land.

At a city council meeting earlier this week, Mayor Knaack announced he had drafted a memo to Balloonist LLC advising the company that the city is no longer interested in pursuing the project.