MENOMONIE - A proposed 320-acre, $1.6 billion hyperscale AI data center brought hundreds of Menomonie residents into the tense national debate about risks to water and natural resources, transparency, and community decision-making. After months of organizing and public pushback, the development is paused, but with 12 proposed data centers in Wisconsin, locals across western Wisconsin are expanding their organizing instead of backing down.

On Saturday, June 13 in Eau Claire, hundreds of Wisconsin residents across the region will join comedian Charlie Berens for an event and community conversation they’re calling Uniting West Wisconsin: A Regional Response to Data Centers. Their goal: explore how Wisconsin communities can prepare for and respond to data center developments.

Berens, famous for his viral videos and Wisconsin humor, has emerged as a vocal critic of the sudden and often secretive nature of Silicon Valley-backed data center proposals. He joins local residents organizing the event alongside musicians, speakers, and community members from across western Wisconsin. 

Blaine Halverson, a Menomonie resident and mental health professional, is one of those organizing the June 13 event. Like many residents, he became involved after experiencing the Menomonie proposal firsthand. 

“At first I didn't know enough about data centers for that idea to cause concern.” Halverson said, “What activated me, almost immediately, was the seeming disregard for the will of the community that had been clearly expressed at the annexation and rezoning hearing in August. That and the extended amount of time that the whole project was hidden from the public.”

Halverson's experience reflects concerns that have surfaced in communities across Wisconsin as large technology companies explore new data center developments. Organizers say the goal of the June gathering is not only to share information, but also to help communities build relationships, strengthen local leadership, and prepare to organize.

Halverson says, “Rallying the masses AGAINST something or someone else is fine but it isn't adhesive. It doesn't stick. But people finding commonality over something they cherish, identify with, are moved to protect? That’s a glue that hardens and strengthens and lasts.”

Organizer Danny Akenson of GROWW (GrassRoots Organizing Western Wisconsin) is another event organizer. Akenson says communities across Wisconsin are beginning to ask many of the same questions Menomonie residents asked last year.
“With multiple massive data center proposals under consideration across Wisconsin, we all need the lessons from Menomonie,” Akenson said. “Communities are strongest when residents have information early, opportunities for public input, and the ability to shape decisions affecting their future. Big Tech wants us to believe that we’re powerless, but the truth is, when we band together and fight for the things we love, we’re more powerful than they could ever be.”
Uniting West Wisconsin is officially hosted by community organizations Great Lakes Neighbors United and GROWW. Headliner Berens will be joined by local musicians Soren Staff and Beau Janke of Them Coulee Boys, and Madilyn Bailey, a world-touring musician from Boyceville. The event will take place at High Country in the Eau Claire Event District. Doors will open at 5 p.m.; the program will begin at 6 p.m. 

Speakers will include Prescott Balch, a former technology executive who successfully resisted a data center proposal in his hometown of Caledonia; Sarah Zarling, a social and environmental justice advocate with over a decade of community organizing experience; Isaac Wold, a business developer and entrepreneur from Boyceville with a love for Wisconsin’s wilderness; and many others from across the region and state.

Food vendors at the event include Tasty Trolley, Live Great Food, Onyx Oven, and Potato Potahto. Attendance at the event is free to the public; however, donations will be accepted to help cover event costs.
The event will be followed the next day by a community conversation, called the West Wisconsin Neighborhood Chautauqua, at 1 p.m. Sunday, June 14 at Knappa Valley Venue in Knapp. The June 14 event will be an opportunity for community members and elected officials to come together and discuss how communities can work together to ensure transparency, local input, and protection of the resources that make western Wisconsin a place people are proud to call home.

Register for the Saturday, June 13 event with Charlie Berens and the Sunday, June 14 neighborhood chautauqua at unitingwestwisconsin.glnu.org

GROWW is a grassroots organization based in Western Wisconsin. Together, we work toward a future where we all make ends meet, live with dignity, and have a voice in shaping the decisions that impact us. To get connected or learn more about GROWW, visit us at GRO-WW.org, on Instagram at @GrowWisconsin, or on Facebook at Facebook.com/GROWWisconsin

Great Lakes Neighbors United (GLNU) is a Wisconsin-based grassroots organization working to educate, empower, and connect residents and local leaders responding to large-scale development issues affecting their communities. Through nonpartisan research, public engagement, and regional collaboration, GLNU advocates for transparency, accountability, and the protection of Wisconsin’s land, water, and neighborhoods for future generations. To get involved or learn more, visit GLNU.org.

Submitted by GROWW