More than a hundred people gathered at the Salix Community Park Monday evening to protest against data centers.
The rally follows a Salix City Council meeting where a MidAmerican representative had confirmed the company is involved with a proposed development of a data center. In April, the city council approved the annexation of about 950 acres of land into Salix.
People from the tri-state area turned up to the event, including Iowa State Senator Kevin Alons, former congressman Steve King, and Woodbury County supervisor Dan Bittinger. However, none of the city council members were in attendance.
During the rally, Supervisor Bittinger mentioned that the Board of Supervisors will hold an informational meeting on Tuesday to hear from the public.
He said the board of supervisors is in the dark as well and that the board will hold anyone accountable to the law to make sure everything is done correctly.
When community members asked if the city council members had signed non-disclosure agreements, Alons responded they had not.
Alons said he went to the previous council meeting; when he had asked a question about the data center, he did not receive an answer, saying it was a red flag.
Janet Yanak, a concerned resident, told Siouxland Public Media she has been attending city council meetings since annexation of land was on the agenda.
Yanak said she had requested to be placed on the agenda, but the request was denied.
She mentioned the proposed location for the data center is across from her house, adding she visited a data center in Papillion.
Yanak said the vibration and sounds are very noticeable and will be detrimental to residents’ health.
A few tribal members were also in attendance recommending that the people reach out to the Winnebago and Omaha Tribal Nations to be included in the conversations.
Charles White Eagle Parker, an Omaha Tribal member, told Siouxland Public Media he went to the Salix rally to educate himself about the data center.
He said that more indigenous relatives should be involved in the conversation.
Some concerns White Eagle had were how a data center would impact the Winnebago and Omaha Tribal nations and how it would impact their water sources.
Residents of Salix have attended multiple city council meetings since April to find answers about why so much land has been annexed by the city. However, they would leave the meetings empty-handed and with mixed emotions.
Throughout the city council meetings Kevin Nelson, mayor of Salix, has said there have not been any requests to rezone the land.
