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Dubuque County Imposes 12-Month Data Center Moratorium
Coverage from Mankato Free Press, KEYC, and others
Articles
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Active Days
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The Topic
Cities and counties in Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, and California are slowing or reshaping data center development through moratoriums, zoning rules, public studies, and project appeals. Officials are weighing economic benefits against concerns about water use, electrical and public infrastructure, environmental impacts, emergency response, land use, and renewable-energy compliance. The direction is toward more site-specific review and stronger conditions, but several projects remain subject to unresolved appeals, legal challenges, or pending rule changes.
First Article: 05/19/26
Latest Article: 07/28/26
Summary
- Linn County, Iowa, imposed an 18-month pause on new rezoning applications in unincorporated areas while it studies cumulative effects and reviews its planning rules.
- Imperial County, California, halted pending and future data center projects for at least 45 days, with a possible extension after an ad hoc committee report.
- St. Louis advanced its first data center rules, including distance, roof, and renewable-power requirements, but then sent the bill back for amendments.
- A proposed waiver in St. Louis could delay or ease compliance with a 10-year path to 100% renewable energy, prompting opposition from some aldermen.
- The $3 billion, 120-megawatt Midtown St. Louis project remains under appeal, and whether new rules can apply to it is unresolved.
- Mankato, Minnesota, is using a year-long moratorium to give officials and residents more time to assess data center effects and inform local policy.
- Economic development arguments remain in tension with concerns about water, grid capacity, public services, environmental effects, and community impacts.
History
This topic is new, but as new articles are added to it this area will summarize shifts, changes and expansions of the issues.
Featured
07-26-2026
More than 70 people attended a Mankato, Minnesota community forum in 2024-style hearing format to question public health and environmental effects of proposed large-scale data centers.
07-20-2026
Southcentral Minnesota Clean Energy Council holds a July 25 community event in Mankato, Minnesota to discuss data-center impacts during a year-long city moratorium.
07-18-2026
Iowa Colony City Council will consider a July 20 resolution opposing data centers after Brazoria County adopted strict conditional development requirements addressing water, electricity, and community impacts.
Timeline: 71 Days
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Additional Articles
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Superior, Wisconsin approved a one-year data center moratorium in 2024 while city officials study zoning and utility impacts after local concerns about health, water, and energy use.
Karis contacted the City of Dubuque in preparation for a possible data center near Dubuque Regional Airport, but no application filed and county moratorium delays City Council action.
Miriam Keller and the St. Louis Planning Commission advanced stricter city data center regulations on Wednesday, including lower megawatt thresholds and a 50 percent renewable requirement at operation.
St. Louis advanced Board Bill 49 regulating large data centers, including siting distance, cool or green roofs, and 10-year renewable power, amid NAACP opposition and ongoing appeals of a Midtown 120-megawatt project.
Peosta, Iowa City Council passed a six-month moratorium on data center development on June 23, 2026, expiring December 20, 2026.
Woodbury County, Iowa, plans a one-year moratorium for unincorporated-area data center projects after resident opposition to a MidAmerican Energy site considered for development near Salix.
Imperial County supervisors imposed a 45-day urgency ordinance moratorium on data center projects after community opposition and pending an ad hoc committee report.
Linn County, Iowa Board approves an 18-month moratorium on EU-3 rezoning applications for large-scale data centers in unincorporated areas, effective immediately.
Linn County, Iowa, approved a moratorium effective immediately through January 1, 2028 on EU-3 large-scale data center rezoning applications in unincorporated areas.
Linn County, Iowa, began July 20 public input on an EU-2 zoning amendment to allow nuclear-linked data centers while an EU-3 rezoning moratorium remains in force.
July 29 Board of Adjustment appeals will review conditional approval for a 120-megawatt data center planned for the former Famous-Barr warehouse in Midtown St. Louis.
St. Louis aldermen advanced amendments to Board Bill 49 for data center zoning after contentious debate over renewable-energy waivers and land-use exemptions.
St. Louis City approved a conditional use permit for a data center at The Armory on April 21, 2026 after rejecting a data center moratorium and advancing zoning regulations in 2025-2026.
North Mankato, Minnesota, City Council will consider a 12-month moratorium on new data centers after months of community debate over water and energy impacts.
St. Louis aldermen advanced amended data-center zoning rules on July committee action Tuesday, with added water, energy, and noise conditions prompting developer and environmental group disputes.
St. Charles, Missouri city council approved a 7-1 ordinance amendment on May 19 banning data center proposals.
Independence, Missouri approved a 180-day moratorium on new data centers and BESS projects after resident pressure, excluding ongoing Nebius and Patmos applications.
Marshalltown, Iowa, Planning and Zoning Commission scheduled work sessions, a community roundtable, and public hearings to develop data-center zoning rules after a four-month moratorium.
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Salix, Iowa residents protested a proposed 900-acre data center on July 18, ahead of a City Council vote on a moratorium for new data centers.
Dubuque County, Iowa held a first public town hall on a data-center ordinance in Peosta after a 12-month development halt, amid concerns about water quality and utilities.
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement says statewide residents are pushing for county moratoriums on new data centers due to water, energy, farmland, and subsidy impacts.
Dubuque County, Iowa officials prepared a 120-day moratorium on data center development after zoning meetings and petition-driven opposition near Dubuque Regional Airport.
Dubuque County supervisors in Iowa approved a 12-month moratorium on data center development applications and approvals after resident opposition during a special meeting Tuesday.
Linn County, Iowa supervisors voted 2-1 to impose an 18-month moratorium on new data center development in unincorporated areas while newly adopted zoning water rules are evaluated.
St. Charles County Council introduced a six-month moratorium on large-scale data centers in Missouri while health and infrastructure impact studies are conducted.
DeKalb County commissioners extended a data center application moratorium by 100 days through end-of-September after resident requests for additional health, environmental, and water studies.
Winnebago County, Wisconsin, proposed a 12-month moratorium on hyperscale AI data center permitting after concerns about power demand, water use, and local infrastructure strain.
The Advisory Committee on Data Centers met in Dane County, Wisconsin on June 9, 2026 to consider a moratorium on zoning permit applications for data center siting.
Lee County supervisors in Iowa discussed seeking legal counsel for a possible six-month moratorium on new data center construction during a Tuesday work session.
Boone County commissioners in Indiana approved a one-year moratorium on new unincorporated data center development on June 15, 2026 to reassess land use and infrastructure impacts.
Brown County, Wisconsin committee members on June 2 declined a proposed countywide moratorium on data centers, citing lack of zoning authority over independent municipal rules.
St. Louis Planning Commission delayed a data center zoning rules vote in Midtown, Missouri, after public comment and proposed changes to megawatt thresholds and renewable energy timelines.
St. Charles, Missouri city council voted 7-1 on Aug. 14 to make a data center moratorium permanent by disallowing data centers under city zoning.
St. Louis Planning Commission sent finalized data-center zoning rules to the Board of Aldermen after public comment and amendments addressing siting, size limits, and renewable energy requirements.
Woodbury County, Iowa supervisors planned a one-year data center moratorium after Salix annexed farmland, while MidAmerican Energy confirmed a potential site under consideration within Salix limits.
Mayor Jill Shudak sought a up to one-year moratorium on new data center projects in Council Bluffs, Iowa, to review infrastructure and ordinances amid water and power concerns.
Ida County Board of Supervisors voted in late June to impose an indefinite moratorium on new data center development in Iowa.
Mankato City Council approved a one-year moratorium on data centers and high-impact utility consumers on July 13 while staff study local zoning, water, and health impacts.
St. Charles County Council in Missouri introduced a six-month moratorium on large-scale data center proposals and expansions to conduct local impact studies.
Dubuque, Iowa scheduled two July public input meetings and a resident survey to help shape a future data center ordinance.
Marshalltown City Council approved a four-month moratorium on data center construction, directing public rulemaking for Planning and Zoning Commission regulations in Iowa.
Seminole County commissioners discussed a potential data center moratorium in Florida, citing a county code review and new July 1 authority for regulating large load customers.
Plymouth County supervisors approved a one-year revocable moratorium on data center and industrial battery storage construction in Iowa on Tuesday, citing rulemaking needs for water, power, and noise.
Sioux County Board of Supervisors planned an informational session on a Hull, Iowa data center proposal after a one-year moratorium on new data centers.
PathOne Data Centers and Sunstone Investments appeared before Sioux County supervisors in Iowa in response to a new data center moratorium after stating an end user was secured before the pause.
Dubuque County, Iowa approved a 12-month data center moratorium on Tuesday to draft zoning rules amid resident concerns and city water-connection review requirements.
Dubuque County supervisors agreed to seek county attorney permission to hire a consultant to explore a data center ban while the zoning ordinance moves forward, after airport and economic impact presentations.
Dane County Executive Melissa Agard signed an 18-month moratorium on hyperscale data centers in Wisconsin after unanimous county board approval.
Scott Nelson criticized Dubuque County's one-year data center development moratorium as legally weak after supervisors voted to pause projects while drafting an ordinance.
Dubuque County considers data center rules in 2024 as a 420-acre site near Dubuque Regional Airport faces airport hazard-zone zoning requirements.
Dubuque County zoning officials discussed a data center ordinance in a work session Thursday, citing zoning, land suitability, and electric transmission map constraints.
St. Charles city council voted 7-1 to permanently ban new data center construction on Tuesday night using zoning-based permitting and conditional use prohibitions.
A Las Vegas developer seeks final city approval for a 120 MW Midtown St. Louis data center after conditional use permitting and resident concerns over water, air, noise, and power grid impacts.
Dubuque County Zoning Commission recommended a moratorium on new data-center development to county supervisors after large resident turnout and opposition at a Tuesday meeting.
Jason White and Dubuque County Board of Supervisors candidates discussed July 13, 2026 data center economic forecasts for Dubuque County, Iowa.
A former Marshall County development director urges Marshalltown, Iowa to delay a two-year data center moratorium and instead coordinate with Alliant Energy and Marshalltown Water Works.