KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne reports on stories in Overland Park, Johnson County and topics about government accountability. She's been covering data centers extensively since 2024 in the ongoing series, Data, Dollars and Demand. Share your story idea with Isabella.
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May Day rallies were held across the country on Friday, including several events in the Kansas City area. May 1st marks International Workers Day. The day of action included walkouts, protests and boycotts.
A theme that stood out locally was people pushing back against data centers. Anti-data center protests were held in downtown Kansas City and Independence, with dozens of people protesting the massive developments.
While many protests typically see people gathering with the same political beliefs, the issue of data centers has been bringing people together from all sides of the political spectrum. Whether residents are opposed to or for the massive buildings, more people are getting involved in the conversation and getting involved in civic engagement.
Across the Kansas City metro, more people have been speaking out against data center development.
"They have to pay their fair share," Andrea Ingram, a Kansas City resident, said. "They take up so [many] resources."
Across the country, both red and blue cities are passing data center moratoriums.
Jackson County has proposed a 120-day temporary pause on data center developments.
"It doesn't matter what side of the political spectrum you're on, it's a universal issue," Kenneth Weatherly said.
Independence City Council meetings were once attended on a regular basis by only a few dozen people. But recently, those meetings have been full of people using their three-to-five minutes allowed for public comment.
"Hundreds [of people]," Robert Hollinger, an Independence resident, said. "It was standing room only."
Hollinger has lived in Independence for what he said feels like a short while.
"I'm only 88!" Hollinger laughed.
But like many other neighbors, he recently started paying attention to council meetings and using his voice to call on city officials because of the data center debate.
"We select them to go represent us," Hollinger said. "They shouldn't be doing stuff behind our backs."
Not everyone is opposed to the Independence data center, but most agree the issue brought more people to the polls in the most recent election.
"This is a way for us to get our bus service back, this is a really good thing for our community," Jason White, an Independence resident, said. "It has created, I think, a different dynamic both in the folks that oppose it and the folks that support it."
At the federal level, the data center debate doesn't seem to lean toward one side or the other. Senator Josh Hawley and Senator Bernie Sanders, elected officials on opposite sides of the aisle, have both proposed bills related to data center and energy regulation.
"I want [officials] to say, [data centers who] come here, you're going to pay," Ingram said. "You're not going to come here tax free."
It seems like there's not much the community comes together to agree on these days, but the debate on data centers could be one of them.
"It's an everybody issue," Independence resident Rebecca Eslin said. "It's definitely a citywide issue, a statewide issue and a countrywide issue."
KSHB 41 News reporter Isabella Ledonne has reported extensively on data center's water consumption, energy usage and tax incentives. You can find those stories here.
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