Harwood, North Dakota, rejects data center restrictions in midterm vote

In Tuesday's midterm elections, Harwood, North Dakota, a town of 940 people, was the only jurisdiction among 45 U.S. ballot propositions to vote in favor of data centers, rejecting a measure requiring public hearings for future large-scale projects. The measure failed by a vote of 325 to 105, with opponents arguing its language was imprecise and financially burdensome. Mayor Blake Hankey, who signed an NDA with developer Applied Digital, said the decision was made quickly to beat neighboring Fargo for a $3 billion AI data center project. The existing data center, equal to 17 football fields, is under construction and will employ 200 people, about 20% of the town's population. Residents who supported the measure said they were "blindsided" by the project's rapid approval, which took just 21 days from announcement to construction.