Northern residents raise objections to a data center proposal. Then, police investigate racist flyers found in St. Paul. And Minnesota fights workplace discrimination.
—–Executive Producer: Victor Palomino Producer: Frankie FelegyAnchor: Grace Jacobson Reader scripting: Victor Palomino Fact checking: Joel Glaser, Victor Palomino Editorial support: Emily Krumberger Mixing & mastering: Chris Harwood
Transcript
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HOST: You're listening to North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live, a daily newscast about what it means to live in Minnesota.
ANCHOR: In today’s segment, police investigate racist flyers found in St. Paul. Then, northern residents raise objections to a data center proposal. And Minnesota fights workplace discrimination.
I'm Gracie J.
St. Paul Police are investigating after multiple racist flyers containing hate speech were discovered across the Merriam Park neighborhood. Officers met with a resident who found the flyers on Sherburne Avenue late last week. Similar materials were also recovered on other streets around St Paul. The flyers contained hateful language targeting the Black community. Union Park District Council President condemned the messages, calling them "directly opposed" to the community's values of diversity and inclusion.
Next, as Hermantown city official proposes building a data center just west of Duluth, residents are voicing growing opposition. Frankie Felegy reports.
Frankie Felegy: Around 100 people filled City Hall at Hermantown's most recent city council meeting. Attendees overflowed into the next room. There's conflict over a massive data center proposed on more than 400 acres of current forest and residential land. It would be run by an undisclosed, major national company. If approved, construction could start as early as spring, and the building process would last up to 10 years. The city touts the proposal as an economic boost for the area, but locals aren't convinced.
Nat sound: "We don't want this."
Frankie Felegy: Residents are expressing countless concerns about the potential data center’s water and energy usage, environmental impacts, health effects, and the lack of public information about the project.
Nat sound: "The amount of secrecy alone about this is very, very worrisome right away. I don't trust you, and I'm sorry I know some of you, it's the issue of water, electricity, clear, cutting our land, the noise, the destruction, the traffic. This is beyond comprehension to me, why anybody would even want to bring this into our community."
Frankie Felegy: Chad Ronchetti explains why. He's the city's economic development director. Ronchetti said the project would create 40 to 100 full-time jobs.
Chad Ronchetti: The project is expected to include high hundreds of millions of dollars in private investment, potentially reaching into billions of dollars in private investment.
Frankie Felegy: Councilors also highlighted the potential for hundreds of construction jobs during the eight to 10 years of building. Beyond those numbers, though, there's little information about what the data center would be, who would be involved, and how exactly environmental impacts would be handled.
A public document released by the city called an alternative urban area wide review highlights why residents are so concerned. Two trout streams and a river run through the site. They're part of 50 wetlands in the proposed parcel. It estimates the project would use 50,000 gallons of city water daily, though it wouldn't use water to cool the computers themselves. Waste wise, the report says the project would put out about as much carbon dioxide as 3400 homes annually. That's according to a US Environmental Protection Agency calculator.
Sarah Lofald: We like our trees, our forests, our streams, our animals.
Frankie Felegy: That's Hermantown resident Sarah Lofald at the meeting.
Sarah Lofald: We're going to be dealing with this for the rest of our lives, the rest of our children's lives. How would that affect our communities, our groundwater? We're talking about a million square feet of concrete in a forest.
Frankie Felegy: The city council will vote on whether or not to rezone the area to light industrial soon. For North Star Stories, I'm Frankie Felegy.
Frankie Felegy: Around 100 people filled City Hall at Hermantown's most recent city council meeting. Attendees overflowed into the next room. There's conflict over a massive data center proposed on more than 400 acres of current forest and residential land. It would be run by an undisclosed, major national company. If approved, construction could start as early as spring, and the building process would last up to 10 years. The city touts the proposal as an economic boost for the area, but locals aren't convinced.
Nat Sound: We don't want this.
Frankie Felegy: Residents are expressing countless concerns about the potential data center’s water and energy usage, environmental impacts, health effects, and the lack of public information about the project.
Nat Sound: The amount of secrecy alone about this is very, very worrisome right away. I don't trust you, and I'm sorry I know some of you, it's the issue of water, electricity, clear, cutting our land, the noise, the destruction, the traffic. This is beyond comprehension to me, why anybody would even want to bring this into our community.
Frankie Felegy: Chad Ronchetti explains why. He's the city's economic development director. Ronchetti said the project would create 40 to 100 full time jobs.
Chad Ronchetti: The project is expected to include high hundreds of millions of dollars in private investment, potentially reaching into billions of dollars in private investment.
Frankie Felegy: Councilors also highlighted the potential for hundreds of construction jobs during the eight to 10 years of building. Beyond those numbers, though, there's little information about what the data center would be, who would be involved, and how exactly environmental impacts would be handled.
A public document released by the city called an alternative urban area wide review highlights why residents are so concerned. Two trout streams and a river run through the site. They're part of 50 wetlands in the proposed parcel. It estimates the project would use 50,000 gallons of city water daily, though it wouldn't use water to cool the computers themselves. Waste wise, the report says the project would put out about as much carbon dioxide as 3400 homes annually. That's according to a US Environmental Protection Agency calculator.
Sarah Lofald: We like our trees, our forests, our streams, our animals.
Frankie Felegy: That's Hermantown resident Sarah Lofald at the meeting.
Sarah Lofald: We're going to be dealing with this for the rest of our lives, the rest of our children's lives. How would that affect our communities, our groundwater? We're talking about a million square feet of concrete in a forest.
Frankie Felegy: The city council will vote on whether or not to rezone the area to light industrial soon. For North Star Stories, I'm Frankie Felegy.
Anchor: You are listening to North Star Stories.
The Minnesota Department of Human Rights, or MDHR, has settled two cases involving blatant workplace sex discrimination. Investigators found that a company in Bemidji fired a woman truck driver, telling her that driving a concrete truck was not "women's work." In another case, a Thief River Falls business refused to hire a man as a flight attendant, claiming women were "better" for the job. The MDHR Commissioner says these cases demonstrate that while progress has been made, there is still work to be done to ensure all Minnesotans can work free from discrimination.
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HOST: North Star Stories is produced by AMPERS, diverse radio for Minnesota's communities, with support from the McKnight Foundation and the State of Minnesota. Online at ampers dot org.