Hunters Protest New Data Center
Data centers are being built across the U.S. to create computing capacity for the AI boom. There was a recent announcement that one was going to be built in Brandon, and now there are plans to build one in Valley County. These data centers are huge facilities that occupy many acres of land, and they also require massive amounts of energy and water. Many people are excited about the AI centers and the jobs they’ll create, but many people are not happy about the data centers. Most of the detractors are local residents that are concerned that their power and water bills will increase substantially because of the data centers.
Now, you can add another group of people that is not happy about the data center coming to Valley County- hunters. The data center in Valley County will be built on land off Hwy. 31 that is adjacent to the Riverbend Hunting Club. The proposed data center will occupy approximately 150 acres in total. There will be an estimated 900 construction related jobs during the building phase, and there will be an estimated 50 permanent jobs once the data center is completed.
Riverbend Hunting Club and their members are incensed about the new data center. Club President, Buck Tynes said, “Our club has been here since 1958, and we have prime deer and turkey hunting habitat. This data center is going to permanently alter our land and wildlife, and we’re not going to sit back and let it happen. We organized a protest on Tuesday at the Valley County Courthouse at 3:00 pm, and we had a huge crowd. We had around 500 Valleyans show up to let their voices be heard, and we hope BoomAI and our county leaders were listening. It wasn’t just hunters; we had people from all walks of life that voiced their concerns.”
BoomAI, the new data center owner, is excited about the data center, and they’re excited about the construction jobs and permanent jobs that it will create. Spokesperson Algoh Rhithm said, “We strategically selected The Valley to build this data center, and we’re excited about the jobs that it will create for Valleyans. I know there are some concerns, but we feel the pros will far outweigh the cons in the long run.”
I attended the protest, and I spoke to multiple protesters. One hunter said, “Look, I’m all about progress and creating jobs, but don’t mess with my hunting land. This is prime hunting land along the river, and they’re gonna totally screw it up forever. I’m mad at BoomAI, but I’m really ticked at our county leaders. One of them is in our hunting club, and he’s acting like it’s no big deal. I bet he’s getting paid off; he has to be. We’re not happy, and we’re gonna fight this tooth and nail.”
Another protester said, “I’m ticked about the fact that my power and water bills will probably more than double. That’s a bunch of crap, but I can deal with it. But look, don’t screw around with us hunters. I’m more ticked about the how this is going to affect our hunting club. We can forget about any deer and turkeys being on the west side of our land now; they’re gonna be gone. It’s a real slap in the face to our way of life. Couldn’t they find somewhere else in Valley County to build this monstrosity? We’re gonna fight it and fight it hard.”
The protesters that I spoke with said they are not backing down. They’re planning another protest this coming Tuesday at the same time and place. They’re expecting even more people to attend this one. Construction on the new data center is expected to start within the next 4 weeks. Will these protests be enough to sway the minds of county leaders to halt the project? We shall see.
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