Discussion about the proposed data center south of Maryville at the Nodaway County Commission meeting Thursday focused on the controversial J-turn that the Missouri Department of Transportation is building near the proposed site as well as the toll that opponents fear it will take on their livestock.
Wayne Beatty said that anyone who owns livestock should be concerned about the proposed project. “Whose going to pay for all the stillborn calves we get,” he asked. “Every time I try to ask questions, I get no answers.” Mr. Beatty said that he talked to people in other counties about data centers, including people from Montgomery County, where two projects worth a combined total of $25 billion are a done deal. “85% of them are against it, and there is a lawsuit underway,” Mr. Beatty said, noting that an incumbent commissioner there got beat. “You guys need to get answers and quit burning daylight. Whose going to pay for my dead calves? Whose going to pay for my lost crops when it doesn’t rain?”
Susie Strauch said that the J-turn going in on Route 71 was making a dangerous traffic situation even worse. She said there were cars coming at over 70 miles per hour. “It’s an accident waiting to happen,” she said. She said she talked to a representative of the DOT and asked about putting in a speed limit during construction of the J-turn. She said she was told, “It’s not in the plan.” “Someone’s going to get killed,” agreed Commissioner Scott Walk.
Scott Wilson reported on a recent Rural Water District meeting he attended, where Evergy, as quoted by Mr. Wilson, requested 150 gallons per minute from the Rural Water District, or 216,000 gallons per day for its electrical substation. He called on the commissioners to get answers. In a previous meeting, Dean Adwell, Board President of the Rural Water District, said that as a public utility, they cannot deny anyone water service if they have the capacity to provide it.
Commissioner Bill Walker said that the zoning board envisioned by the commission would be set at 5 people to make it easier for there to be a quorum. He said he was still hearing from people interested in serving on such a board. The commission recently passed a moratorium on data centers to investigate zoning for the county. White Cloud Township is not waiting for the county but is seeking to pass its own zoning measure on November 3rd.
A supporter of the proposed data center project, Chiya Dawoudi, said that the project and others like it are necessary for national defense. He said that from 1840 to 1940, the Industrial Revolution made America a world power and allowed it to fight two wars in the Atlantic and Pacific. “And then, we stopped building in the 1970’s,” said Mr. Dawoudi. The result, he said, was situations like six years ago during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when people couldn’t buy toilet paper. “Artificial Intelligence is the Industrial Revolution 2.0,” said Mr. Dawoudi. “We can either go with it or let China and India get ahead and take over.” Once everything is made in China, he said, “We’ll be fully run by a foreign country.”
“I get it,” said Mr. Dawoudi. “But I’ll sacrifice my water. This isn’t going anywhere. You have a choice. Do you want these facilities in Nodaway County or Andrew County? Missouri or Nebraska?” He said that the unpopularity of data centers didn’t matter. “70% of people were against going to the moon in 1960, yet we did it, and we got satellites and technology as a result.” He called on the commission to do what was best for the people even if it was unpopular. “Without food or water, we’ll be dead,” responded Rhonda Beatty.
Rena Puckett said that she had lived near where the proposed facility would be. “I live where I do because it’s safe,” she said. “If this comes in, I won’t be safe anymore. There would be all these people coming and going, and we don’t know who they are.” “We already have gobs of data centers,” said Susie Strauch. She said if this one goes in, “Our kids are going to miss more days of school.”
Donna Tompkins said that she had talked with a friend who was a nuclear engineer who told her that all of the data centers currently in place would soon be obsolete. “That’s why they’re rushing to get in before the crash,” she said.
Rhonda Beatty said that much of the funding for these data centers comes from other countries. “The fact that it would be located here will not matter,” she said. “This is taking a lot of land out of production. One of these days, who is going to feed us,” asked Susie Strauch. “We don’t need to be destroying land. Nobody gives a hoot about us; we’re disposable.”
Ms. Tompkins asked how the data center would keep the noise level at under 50 decibels. “That’s what they’ve promised us from the beginning,” said Commissioner Walk. “It would have to done by an independent monitor. Ms. Strauch said it wouldn’t include the highway traffic. “You should hear the noise from the highway right now,” she said.
Commissioner Walker said that he had talked to many people with different opinions about the proposed center. “I’ve heard from just as many people who are begging for it to come,” he said. “They’re welcome to come to the meetings,” responded Scott Wilson. “Very few support this. But if they had a meeting, I’d come and listen.” Rhonda Beatty said that an online petition generated a few months ago yielded over 7,000 signatures, many from Nodaway County and many others with ties. “Would that sway your opinions,” she asked.
“I want you to fight for us,” said Wayne Beatty. “If 85% of people in Nodaway County were against this center, would that be enough?” “We’ve got to listen to all sides,” said Commissioner Walker. “I wish it would come up for a vote, but we can’t legally do that.”
Pushing back on concerns about noise from data centers and fertility in cattle, Nodaway County Assistant Economic Developer Kim Mildward said, “There are no peer reviewed studies that have linked data centers and low cattle fertility.”
While studies have not looked at noise from data centers specifically, noise has long been documented as a stressor on cattle. A peer-reviewed study by the Annals of Animal Science, from 2023, found that sudden, high intermittent sounds causes fright reaction in cattle, although they can gradually get used to them. When given the appropriate opportunity, animals learn to escape these noises. Some noises can be beneficial. For instance, the article found that cattle show less stress and spend more time resting and chewing when listening to classical music. One study quoted by the article found that Indian instrumental music can increase milk yield by up to 12.64%. On the other hand, fast, heavy, and rhythmic music can cause a negative reaction in cattle, increases stress, and disturbs glucose metabolism and insulin secretion.
The August 20th Maryville Forum reported on a report that Tom Patterson, administrator of the Nodaway County Health Department, gave to the commissioners on August 18th. In it, as quoted by the Forum, Mr. Patterson reported that 70-75 decibels is where cattle start to have negative health reactions. Mr. Patterson, quoting Department of Transportation statistics, said that noise from traffic already averages between 45 and 69 decibels. The data center developer has been doing baseline studies to determine the current noise level for themselves. The addition of a data center to the area would likely push the baseline sound levels well over the threshold where cattle in the area would have negative health reactions.
Mr. Dawoudi said that anyone who cares about national security should get behind the data centers. “This is coming straight from the White House,” he said. He noted that Taiwan provides much of our technology. “If China decides to bomb them, we’re screwed,” he said. China has claimed Taiwan belongs to them for decades and has threatened war if Taiwan declares independence. Mr. Dawoudi said that the reason that the US is no longer building things is because of too many regulations. “Tesla can’t even get a car factory built in Texas, because they have too many regulations,” he said.
For many opponents of the data center, it comes down to a lack of trust. Commissioners got questions about how many jobs the center would create and if they would be in Nodaway County. “I’ve always been told 100+ jobs by them,” said Commissioner Walk. “I can’t assume they’re lying; I can’t assume you’re lying. We’ve been asking for transparency ever since this started. As a commissioner, I have to look at both sides. I will keep trying to get answers.”
