Replay of live stream of AI data center protest at State Capitol JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Hundreds of Missourians from across the state met at the Capitol rotunda Wednesday afternoon in support of placing a moratorium on data centers until state regulations are in place. "Now they are buildi ng one within a mile of our house, it's taking up good cropland, In fact, my two sons lost 500 acres." Montgomery County Farmer Bob Ridgley said. This rally comes after months of community pushback against an Amazon data center in Montgomery County that officially broke ground in June. Water use is one complaint shared by residents at public meetings for the project. Other complaints include the high power loads required by data centers and the use of productive farmland for the project. According to Data Center Map, there are at least 95 data centers in the state. "Everything's been so hush-hush and quiet about it. And first thing you know, they just kind of dump on you," Ridgley said. Residents have other demands, including health and environmental protections, transparency with local residents and shared prosperity between data centers and the community. The group also wants guarantees that data companies cover all energy costs and that they would not receive tax incentives. Groups involved included NoMo Data Centers, The Missouri Rural Crisis Center and the Missouri Workers Center. "We want a moratorium because there's nothing in place right now, there's no one in Missouri that can oversee these sites," Franklin County Farmer Patricia Schuba said. The Missouri Department of Economic Development clarified with ABC 17 News that state statutes regulate utility costs. Adding that the creation of data centers are up to local leaders and their citizens. "State statute contains consumer protections for electrical infrastructure costs associated with projects like data centers, ensuring that companies, not residents, pay for one hundred percent of the power data centers use and any new infrastructure costs that are directly driven by operations," The MDEC said in a statement. Ridgley adds that he did not feel like he had a say in local development. We need more information," Ridgley said. "We're going to need it [AI], but not the way they're trying to push it on us, is what they're doing." Governor Mike Kehoe has been a vocal supporter of data centers, praising the projects for their economic benefits to small communities, which many protesters pushed back on. "The small town will be overwhelmed, so they'll try to ramp up, maybe more motels, maybe more restaurants, whatever," Eric Vimont, a farmer from Lawrence County, said. "Those workers will then finish the job and go home, and what do the little towns have? No employment surge whatsoever." Vimont added that he has concerns about privacy. "There's no good that will come from them anyway, we want none of them," Vimont said. "If the data centers and the whole AI technology thing ever gets in place, that will be the mechanism that they use to steal all the rest of the freedoms that we have." Before the rally, State Rep. Colin Wellenkamp (R-St. Charles) announced plans to lead legislation in regulating AI data centers and placing guardrails on companies. "Protections are especially needed to secure water and power resources while also requiring transparency and prohibiting increased utility costs from being passed to Missourians that only benefits private AI companies," Wellenkamp said in a statement. State Sen. Joe Nicola (R-Grain Valley) similarly has supported legislation that regulated AI. "Senator Nicola is very concerned about both data centers and Ai. He believes Missouri needs some common sense guardrails in place and plans on filing legislation for the upcoming session," Jodi Widhalm, Nicola's Chief of Staff said in a statement. There are now discussions about a proposed data center development in Callaway County. Local officials describe the multi-billion-dollar development as the largest private investment in Callaway County history. The project includes two data center buildings of about 800,000 square feet each, creating a sizable new industrial and technology footprint in what is now a rural area. According to Crusoe Director of Economic Development Morgan Alu, each building would have about 204 megawatts of power, with the entire campus capped at 500 megawatts. Following the rally, the group began a protest in downtown Jefferson City to the Governor's Mansion. On the way, one 31-year-old Kansas City man was arrested by police. The Jefferson City Police Department claimed in a statement that the man failed to use the sidewalk during the protest. "The demonstration was organized and remained peaceful. However, the group did not haveauthorization or a permit to occupy the roadway, resulting in the obstruction of vehicular traffic.Officers with the Jefferson City Police Department responded to the area and observed the groupwalking eastbound on Capitol Street from Jefferson Street. Several verbal warnings were issuedadvising demonstrators that occupying the roadway was unlawful and directing them to use theavailable sidewalks," JCPD Lieutenant Curtis Finke said in a statement. The post Hundreds of Missourians rally for pause of data center development, man arrested appeared first on ABC17NEWS. ...read more read less