The long road to consideration of a controversial Clinton ordinance regarding data centers will continue with a Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 1 at 5 p.m. at Eagle Point Lodge, 4101 N. 3rd St.
Several people spoke about concerns over a planned large data center in the city, at a City Council meeting Aug. 25. Spurred by interest from the international company QTS, which wants to build the new data center, a proposed city ordinance would regulate development of data centers in Clinton. It concerns siting, construction, expansion, operation, and continuing compliance of data centers.
QTS is proposing a 1,100-acre hyperscale data center (estimated to cost $10 billion) between Clinton Municipal Airport, Valley Oaks Golf Course and Branden Hills residential area, Highway 30 and tributaries of creeks leading to the Mississippi River. The area is across the highway from the Chemplex Site with PCE concentrations in wells.
A data center is a building that stores a large amount of digital data. This data – and the applications used to create, process and share it -- is housed in servers that reside within the data center, according to QTS. Data centers are vital hubs for businesses, governments and organizations that rely on technology.
On Aug. 25, 2026, two members of the Clintonians Against Data Centers (CADC) group attended a tour of the nearby QTS site in Cedar Rapids, which is currently under construction on 612 acres in the Big Cedar Industrial Center. The members included Stephen Figg, who has over a decade of experience with industrial Information Technologies, and Celeste Robbins, a steering committee member.
The tour was facilitated by Councilperson Conner Lee, who was also in attendance.
The tour featured a brief presentation, a tour of a non-operating building still in construction, a conversation with a neighbor of the site, and a Q and A.
A CADC release said the tour did not lead to increased optimism about the Clintin project and raised new concerns regarding the displacement of wildlife, the creation of new jobs for locals, the purpose of the center, and Clinton’s involvement in offering tax abatement and other financial incentives.
“There was hardly any wildlife in the vicinity of the center,” Robbins remarked following the tour. “In our entire time going to and from the gate, we only saw one bird. No rabbits, squirrels, and none of that natural ambient noise you hear in most farming areas.” Robbins further explained her concerns about local job generation: “On our way to the gate, we passed a gigantic parking lot with thousands of cars. Maybe 1 in 10 of them had Iowa plates,” she recalled. “Most of the plates were from Texas or Virginia.”
She also discussed concerns about apparent confusion concerning an offered tax abatement, and if the abatement was formally offered by Grow Clinton, a local chamber of commerce, or by city of Clinton officials. QTS did express to the small delegation that they will not be seeking or demanding any tax abatement as a contingency for building in Clinton, and that the lack thereof would not eliminate Clinton from consideration for a future site.
The tour ended with a meeting in an on-site conference room, in which QTS officials answered a litany of questions sourced directly from members, CADC said. The questions were all answered, although the specificity between answers varied greatly. Concerns about the amount of power used, the sudden and sharp increases in temporary workers overwhelming the housing market, the purpose of the center, water usage, and effects on wildlife were among those concerns which increased following the visit.
While CADC said it was grateful for the tour, time, and hospitality offered by QTS, their position remains aligned with their name: “Clintonians Against Data Centers.”
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has said of the QTS center in Cedar Rapids: “This facility represents a powerful endorsement of Iowa, our communities, and our potential. As the largest investment in our state’s history, this data center campus is a catalyst not only for prosperity in the present, but for a better and brighter future. We’re proud to begin building that future with QTS, one of the most innovative companies in the world.”
CADC also announced it appreciates the promotion and tremendous support of well-known activist Erin Brockovich and The Brockovich Report on Substack in bringing attention to the community’s concerns about the proposed 1,200-acre hyperscale data center.
Brockovich is a legendary advocate and environmental activist who built the case against Pacific Gas & Electric Company involving groundwater contamination in Hinkley, Calif.
You can read her Substack here -- https://substack.com/@erinbrockovich/note/c-319727529.
Brockovich (the subject of a 2000 film starring Julia Roberts) maintains a website on AI data centers, with a map of major data centers across the U.S. — operational, under construction, permitted, proposed and cancelled — overlaid with locations where community members have emailed in concerns.
“We are grateful to Erin Brockovich and The Brockovich Report for shining a light on what is happening in our community. Our residents deserve a voice in decisions that could have a lasting impact on Clinton. We invite everyone who shares these concerns to join us, sign the petition, and come together peacefully on September 13,” said Kevin Bradley, spokesperson for CADC, noting the date of a planned concert in Clinton to raise awareness of the issue.
The grassroots group is currently collecting signatures on petitions opposing the proposed development and encouraging area residents to learn more, get involved, and make their voices heard.
Debate before council members
During the regular council meeting Aug. 25, group members asked council members again for a moratorium to provide more time to go through the process. Concerns regarding the potential impact of additional demands on decommissioning, tax incentives, zoning and 2032 Comprehensive Plan, land, traffic, roads, safety, emergency responders, and other city infrastructure were shared.
"Our community deserves complete information about projected electricity consumption, tax incentives, ownership, environmental impacts, and emergency plans before any approval is granted,” said Theresa Edwards, a steering committee member of CADC. “Once a massive data center is built, its impacts can last for decades. We have one opportunity to make sure this decision serves our community—not just the company proposing the project. Enforceable commitments matter more than voluntary promises.”
“We really need to dig deeper into what we're doing to protect ourselves with this hyper-scale data center,” Bradley of CADC said at the Aug. 25 meeting. “There is so much importance with regards to what's going on for our own safety. We talked earlier, a few months back, talking about how it can slow down our internet and affect the people working from their homes.”
“It's been documented they've been in about a dozen of our states already,” he said. “We need to really start digging deeper as to what is the purpose of the hyperdata center, and is it going to affect us? We've got to look at the bigger picture. We have to. This is so important. We can't just sit there and rush into something. We have to take a breath, pause, and really do our due diligence on all the things we have to do to protect ourselves, not just on the front end, but on the back end and historically going forward.”
Bill Gerhard, former president of the Iowa State Building Construction Trades Council, spoke in support of data centers, stating they provide thousands of good construction jobs and permanent jobs.
He submitted a letter from Russ Trimble, the mayor of West Des Moines.
“And in that letter, he states many reasons why West Des Moines likes to have Microsoft data center there,” Gerhard said.
“And one of the phrases that sticks out in my mind, he says, having Microsoft in Des Moines has been a godsend. It's changed the city forever. They love, they love Microsoft there. We've had data centers in Des Moines for the past 10 years. Energy prices haven't gone up, nor has water prices.”
Dylan Gramlich of Newton, a member of Laborers International Union of North America, also supports the center construction.
“Virtually every union in the state of Iowa supports the responsible development of new data centers. These unions represent hundreds of thousands of men and women here in Iowa who are helping to build Iowa's infrastructure and keeping our economy strong,” he said. “Despite what you may hear, data centers can be built responsibly here in Iowa. What I've heard from potential data center operators and energy companies is that data center operators pay for their energy and water that they use.
“Data center operators pay for the infrastructure investments necessary to support their facility. Data centers have been operating in Iowa, specifically in the central and central western Iowa areas for some 10, 15 years now without leading to increases in energy or water rates or adversely impacting the environment,” Gramlich said.
“The technology on these things just keeps getting better and better, and our members are the best people to build them in the entire world. I believe that communities like Clinton and others stand to benefit from the construction of new data centers. Data centers represent billions of dollars in investment in Iowa.
“These dollars will flow into our local economy, local restaurants, hardware stores, hotels, and other local businesses to spur economic growth,” he said. “Investments will provide tens of millions of dollars in new property tax revenue to help local communities like Clinton invest in local priorities such as public safety, schools, hospitals, infrastructure, and more. I respectfully encourage the mayor and the city council to embrace an approach that allows for the construction of these projects so that the Clinton community can realize these benefits and not other surrounding communities.
"Moreover, I hope that any citizen committee that is created represents all viewpoints on this issue and are not those who are just opposed to the project.”
Major opposition
Carol McGuire of Clinton said many people are against the data center.
“They're worried, they're scared, they're mad about the impact your decision, especially those tax breaks and the abatements,” she told the council. “They believe that you 6, or maybe 7, should not make a decision for the rest of us. They want to V-O-T-E, vote. Do you know that in the last month, 600 data centers have been blocked due to, one, the uprise of local citizens, and two, get this, the lack of building supplies? Citizens are concerned about environmental and economic issues.
“Again, those tax breaks and abatements— I heard that over and over and over again— that are attached to your decision. One person even told me that we have a real David versus Goliath fight in our community now,” McGuire said. “We have to push back against some of the wealthiest companies in the world. They promise jobs. In practice, this is not what happens. The construction of data centers requires work typically by out-of-state labor. Once the data center is up and running, it requires very few people because it is not an office for software developers or product managers or marketing.
“It's a warehouse of servers. I want to leave you with this quote from President Teddy Roosevelt. People really don't care what you know, till they know if you care,” she added. “The citizens are asking, do you care what happens to us? Or is the money for a sports complex more important to you? Your vote has real consequences.”
Christine Voss said it’s “amazing how Clintonians have banded together to fight against a data center from coming into our town. People who I would have never met or became friends with have joined our movement, and we all have a common ground. We do not want a data center in our city.”
Sept. 13 concert to oppose center
She noted there’s lots of support from former Clintonians who don’t want a data center as well, including Robbie Bahr, the former owner of the Pigpen, who’s organized a free concert to be held Sept. 13 from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., including local and national acts.
“Their mission statement is, this concert is more than an event. It is a gathering of neighbors, families, farmers, workers, artists, and advocates who share a common belief: Clinton's future should be shaped by Clintonians,” Voss said. “We support a 500 to 600-day moratorium on a data center development, development not as a roadblock but as a responsible pause, allowing independent experts, local leaders, and citizens to understand the long-term impacts before irreversible decisions are made.
“Major decisions involving land use, water, electricity, and industrial expansion should not be made behind closed doors,” she added. “We believe the people of Clinton deserve a direct vote on whether a large-scale data center belongs in our community. We are not against technology, innovation, or progress. We are for transparency, accountability, and protecting what matters to our community. Our land, our water, our voice, our future.”
The free concert will be at the Riverview Bandshell in Clinton. To date, performers include 3 on the Tree's Pat Jones, Rock Pig's Sparky and Robbie Acoustic-Duo, Charlie Crider Factorytown, Haze Lee Finn Super Group Extravaganza, Wicked Liz & The Bellyswirls, Jaci & The Juice, and Lynn Allen.
“This event is a fun opportunity for people from our area to come together peacefully, share information, enjoy live music, and make our voices heard,” said Theresa Andrews of CADC. “We invite everyone who cares about the future of our community to join us.”
The group emphasizes that the Sept. 13 event will be peaceful and welcomes everyone who wants to learn more, participate in the discussion, and stand together in opposition to the proposed hyperscale data center.
Andrews, who lives adjacent to the data center proposed site, is concerned QTS wanted to cut the city’s planned 1,000-foot setback for buildings and major equipment near homes, to just 500 feet.
“They also ask to allow individual property owners to waive that setback with the waiver recorded against the property and binding future owners, removing the authority of the city. QTS also asks to delete the city's express authority to require even larger setbacks when conditions or impacts are justified,” she said.
“They propose moving important technical information, including detailed water, noise, emergency response, and other studies from the development plan to a later stage of review,” Andrews said. “It also proposes broader exemptions from the city noise limits when generators are operating. They ask the city council to completely delete provisions allowing financial securities for decommissioning and continuing guarantees involving infrastructure, water, and roads.”
She noted “QTS has every right to tell the city what would make its project easier to build. The citizens, however, have every right and have to have the expectation that our government will not be swayed by developer into decisions that put us at risk,” Andrews said. “The ordinance should not be written around what a developer needs to make its site plan work. The site plan should be designed to comply with protections this community believes are necessary.”
She wants the setback restored to 1,000 feet, and maintain city council discretion, requiring important studies before major approval decisions. “For those of us living closest to this project, these protections are not excessive. They are a minimum assurance that our homes matter too,” Andrews said.
Goals of data center ordinance
The proposed 15-page ordinance says: “The City finds that data centers may provide substantial economic development benefits, including tax base growth, construction activity, long-term employment, and significant private investment in real property and utility infrastructure. The City further finds that data centers may involve substantial demands upon public infrastructure and may create concerns relating to water use, electric demand, lighting, noise, vibration, emergency response, stormwater, roadway impacts, and compatibility with nearby land uses.”
The goals of the ordinance are to:
● Allow data centers as a principal use in appropriate industrial zoning districts within the city.
● Require adequate advance planning for utility demand, water use, stormwater management, mitigation, roadway buffering; impacts, emergency response.
● Protect the public health, safety, and welfare, surrounding properties, and city infrastructure.
● Provide a review process that is transparent and coordinated while not treating a data center as a special use unless otherwise expressly required by another provision of the city code.
● Preserve the city’s ability to require project-specific development agreements, road use agreements, utility agreements, water use agreements, and infrastructure-related protections where appropriate.
Ahead of a formal proposal from QTS, Clinton is trying to create its first data center ordinance, which has drawn fierce public resistance.
City attorney Patrick O’Connell presented a draft ordinance to Clinton’s Plan Commission on July 15, at a crowded public hearing, and the commission recommended the ordinance at its Aug. 5 meeting. He said it draws on similar measures adopted in other parts of eastern Iowa.
Clintonians Against Data Centers continues a petition drive requesting an 18-month moratorium on all approvals related to data centers of more than 50 contiguous acres and asking that a public vote be held prior to a data center being placed before the City Council for final approval. The group hopes to collect 5,000 signatures on petitions by Monday.
Members are reviewing documents that the city Plan Commission forwarded to City Council on Aug. 5, and are involved with research and efforts to amend the proposed city ordinance governing data center development.
“We remain committed to doing research, asking questions, and working collaboratively and constructively with our elected officials to make sure our community’s concerns are fully addressed and understood,” Bradley of CADC said. “We look forward to having meaningful conversations with City Council and working toward changes to the ordinance that protect the interests of our community, especially in regards to noise, lighting, air, property setbacks, electricity, decommissioning and surety bonds, environmental concerns, and health and safety.”
He said he was recently interviewed by a climate change reporter at The Financial Times in London, so the issue is gaining international attention.
Open Records requests involving the proposed data center and Project Saturday River, the project name given by Grow Clinton, may be found at: https://cityofclintoniowa.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/443944/
CADC is asking that representatives from the EPA, Iowa DNR, Iowa State Geologist, and Iowa State Archaeologist be invited to attend the Sept. 1 meeting or subsequent meetings.
“We also request that representatives from Iowa Sierra Club, Iowa Izaak Walton League, Clinton County Conservation Board, and tribal members of the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa (Meskwaki Nation) and other tribal nations who lived lightly on the land in Clinton be included in the ordinance process. Their expertise is important as the City Council and community members consider the potential environmental, geological, and archaeological impacts of the proposed QTS data center,” Bradley said.
Clintonians Against Data Centers said the participation of these state and federal experts would help provide the community and city officials with additional information and technical perspectives as discussion of the proposed data center ordinance moves forward.
After the Sept. 1 Committee of the Whole meeting, there will be a public hearing once the revised ordinance is drafted. Then the council will consider three readings of the ordinance, and in between, there may be additional public hearings.
You can watch the Aug. 25 Committee of the Whole meeting HERE.
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