82-year-old Kentucky woman refuses $26 million data center offer to keep family farm

An 82-year-old Kentucky woman refused a $26 million offer to sell her family’s farmland for a proposed data center, saying no amount of money justified losing land held for over 200 years. Ida Huddleston and her daughter, Delsia Bare, were offered up to $60,000 and $48,000 per acre, far above farmland rates. Bare briefly signed a contract but withdrew, citing fears of eminent domain and distrust of developers. The project is proceeding with land from other owners, and rezoning for over 2,000 acres was approved. Similar data-center disputes are arising across rural America.