Press Release: City of Menomonie, September 9, 2025

Hi Folks,

By now you’ve probably heard something about a data center being proposed to come to our area. The location being talked about is on approximately 320 acres directly East of Ellsworth Creamery, just off of County Road B.

The City of Menomonie was approached by the landowners to annex their property into the City. The City is then bound over by law to take their request to the city council for possible annexation. The land was approved to be annexed and was rezoned to allow for industrial use. Many uses of this land would then be applicable including a data center.

The use of this land for a data center has raised many concerns within the community and the region. Water usage, electricity usage, environmental impact, jobs ratio per acre, construction site, farm land now being used for a big tech industry, etc. The overall look of the region, and many other concerns that have been brought to my attention.

From a financial view for the city of Menomonie and the local tax entities, there is a significant gain. From the view of the general public, the question appears to be, at what cost. Currently, there are several steps that would still need to be taken before a data center can be totally approved. The biggest would be the developer’s agreement between the City of Menomonie and the data center people.

I’m not thrilled about the data center coming to our pristine area and farmland. There are many community concerns. The developers put together a pretty attractive sales pitch. However the community is speaking pretty loudly that they are not in favor of a data center. My personal opinion is we are elected by the people, and that’s who we need to represent. It is our duty to make the best decisions possible. I’m hopeful we can get through this with good decisions being made.

I’m asking for patience from the community while we work through a contentious issue.

Please send any comments or concerns to me at this email address: [email protected]. To set up a meeting, contact City Hall at 715-232-2221.

Sincerely,
Mayor Randy Knaack