Missouri Town Fires Council Over Data Center Deal

In a stunning display of civic action, residents of Festus, Missouri, have taken matters into their own hands, firing more than half of their city council members. The reason? A controversial $6 billion data center deal that many locals feel was pushed through without adequate community input. This pushback is becoming a familiar story in rural areas facing the rapid expansion of hyperscale data centers.

An Uprising Against the Data Center

The small town of Festus, located just south of St. Louis and home to about 12,000 people, saw a significant voter turnout for a recent election. The message was clear: residents were unhappy with the city council’s decision to approve the massive data center. Four elected officials who voted in favor of the project—Jim Tinnin, Jim Collier, Brian Wehner, and Bobby Venz—were removed from their positions.

Rick Belleville, who unseated Tinnin by a wide margin, stated, “I ran because I thought the city was not listening to people. It’s really the way the deal was handled that led to this kind of uprising.” The community’s anger stems from a lack of transparency, with unanswered questions about the data center’s operator and its potential impact on their town.

Beyond the Council: Recalls and Lawsuits

The residents of Festus aren’t stopping at the city council. They are actively gathering signatures for a recall petition targeting Mayor Sam Richards and the remaining four council members. A lawsuit has also been filed against the city and the developer, CRG, highlighting the community’s determination to halt or significantly alter the project.

Resident Sherman Boyle expressed frustration, saying, “This was so avoidable,” and urged future leaders to prioritize listening to their constituents. Lori Merriman, who started the grassroots group Wake Up JeffCo, is fighting data center projects in her area, concerned about the proximity of a new facility to her home. “This is going in almost next door to our house,” she said. “We just built it two years ago. It was supposed to be our forever home.”

A Growing National Trend

Festus’s situation is not unique. The Pew Research Center reports that over 1,500 new data centers are in development nationwide, with a significant concentration planned for the South and Midwest. In South Memphis, Tennessee, a data center operated by Elon Musk’s xAI has faced criticism for its reliance on natural gas, leading to concerns about increased air pollution and respiratory issues among residents.

As data centers proliferate, particularly in rural areas, communities are increasingly finding their voices to push back against projects that they believe threaten their environment and quality of life. The Festus residents’ actions demonstrate a powerful example of how local activism can challenge large-scale development.