Voters Hate Data Centers. Do MN Politicians?

Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of important, overlooked, and/or interesting Minnesota news stories.

Could Data Center Haters Be the Next Big Voting Bloc?

A recent poll found that the majority of Minnesotans don’t want a data center in their neighborhood. Who can blame them? Date centers are notoriously noisy, pollute the environment, and, despite big claims from advocates, don’t create a significant number of long-term jobs.

“This is the new single-issue voter,” Pine Island activist/recent RacketCast guest Aubree Derksen tells Brian Arola of MinnPost. “It’s not going to be abortion or LGBTQ or immigration issues. I think it’s going to be data centers, and I think that’s something both parties are going to have to reckon with.” 

While residents are mobilizing to stop big data from setting up shop in their towns, some lawmakers are scrambling to pass legislation that would regulate them, while others roll out the welcome mat with tax incentives. In an urgent band-aid fix, Minneapolis City Council could enforce a six-month moratorium (the measure passed 5-1 in committee Tuesday morning), while Wright County already has a moratorium in place. Politicians who sign NDAs and blindside constituents with development projects may also face a reckoning come election time.

“[Data Centers] represent a fundamental change to a community’s character and landscape,” Arola writes. “People who might not agree on much else find themselves up in arms on the same team when they sense a risk to what makes home feel like home.”

How’d That Target Field Concessions Strike Go?

Pretty well! According to this account from Max Nesterak at Minnesota Reformer, there were high-fives from fans and higher-than-usual attendance at Monday night’s Twins vs. Dodgers game, which means more visibility for picketing concession workers. (Thank you, comrade Shohei Ohtani.) After contract negotiations stalled with Delaware North earlier this month, 81% of the cooks, bartenders, servers, and other Target Field employees repped by Unite Here Local 17 voted on enacting a one-day strike. 

“The union is seeking a $20 an hour wage floor or $3 an hour raises for higher-paid workers, while Delaware North has offered 25 cent raises for workers currently making minimum wage and 60 cent raises for others,” Nesterak writes. Workers, many of whom work year-round at various venues, are also seeking employer-funded health insurance—a critical move considering MNSure insurers are angling for double-digit rate increases next year. 

North Minneapolis Riverfront Is About to Become Most Awesome

That’s Bill Lindeke’s opinion in this MinnPost piece, and he’s probably right. While both Minneapolis and St. Paul have historically prioritized industrial commerce over public recreation along the Mississippi River, a series of projects on Minneapolis’s North Side are coming to fruition, and are set to increase public accessibility to the river. This includes the Upper Harbor Terminal, a massive development that will include a 50-acre park, mixed-use commercial and residential properties, and a First Avenue/Minnesota Orchestra-backed amphitheater set to host over 50 events a year.

While we’ll have to wait until next summer for some aspects of that plan to be up and running, river enjoyers can already bike along the new bike and pedestrian trail through Ole Olson Park, connecting to trails that will take you downtown and beyond. Lindeke’s review of the new route is pretty great: “It’s barely possible to bike along the trail these days without shooing dozens of pre-teen waterfowl out of the way, mother geese hissing intimidatingly nearby. Promise you it’s a great deal of fun.”

Chimborazo OK After Fire

Racket’s Em Cassel once wrote that Ecuadorian restaurant Chimborazo “might quietly be one of the best restaurants in Minneapolis,” and I agree. But things got a little too hot last night at their 2851 Central Ave. location after a fire started in the basement.   

“Thankfully, everyone is safe, but we are currently working hard to clean up and restore our space,” the Chimborazo crew writes via Facebook. Amazingly, the place isn't closed. While indoor seating is currently limited, the patio is open. Whew!