Leola Data Center

Timeline from the record

Newest first. Record entries come from the filings and reports the registry cites. Coverage entries are headlines from publisher feeds we monitor daily, linked to the outlet; last checked September 14, 2026.

1. December 2024

   Proposed
   McPherson County enacted a moratorium on data-center siting and a one-mile setback ordinance while continuing to review this application. Source: Aberdeen Insider
2. November 2024

   Proposed
   Original conditional use permit application filed with McPherson County for a 50 MW data center on 2 of 20 acres adjacent to MDU's Leola Substation. Source: McPherson County, SD (via South Dakota PUC docket EL24-027)

Opposition and litigation at this site

Yes. Leola Data Center in Leola, McPherson County, South Dakota is contested. Hearings, public comment, petitions, or organized opposition are on record, and no lawsuit has been filed so far. McPherson County's Board of Adjustment deferred action on Leola Data Center's conditional use permit application (confirmed via direct fetch of Aberdeen Insider's report, 2026-09-13; the site's own article text was largely paywalled so the exact hearing date could not be independently confirmed this run).

How the community has taken it

Reception is a sourced signal, not an editorial judgment: contested means active public debate is on record, with hearings, petitions, or organized opposition, without litigation.

McPherson County's Board of Adjustment deferred action on Leola Data Center's conditional use permit application (confirmed via direct fetch of Aberdeen Insider's report, 2026-09-13; the site's own article text was largely paywalled so the exact hearing date could not be independently confirmed this run). The county separately enacted a moratorium on data-center siting plus a one-mile setback from any church, school or residence, in county reporting tied explicitly to this application and dated to December 2024 (Aberdeen Insider, fetched 2026-09-13, also partially paywalled). Other press coverage surfaced by search but NOT independently fetched this run additionally describes a subsequent county ordinance permitting data centers as a conditional use, a July 2026 refiling of the application, an August 11, 2026 hearing, and a proposed $150,000/year payment to local emergency services -- these specific figures are flagged as unverified against a primary document this run.

Source: Aberdeen Insider

Power and water

McPherson County CUP supplemental filing (2024-11-07) describes a closed-loop, 30:70 glycol:water immersion cooling process, with the glycol:water solution itself air-cooled via low-noise fans -- a recirculating water circuit is present, so this is closed_loop under the schema's tie-breaker rule, not air.

Notes on the record

Site is legally described as Section 28 (part E1/2), Township 126N, Range 68W, McPherson County -- a 20-acre parcel adjacent to Montana-Dakota Utilities' Leola Substation, at the SW corner of 358th Avenue (Highway 17) and 116th Street, about 5 miles southwest of Leola. The CUP application itself lists 11641 358th Avenue, Leola, SD 57456 as the site's general area/street address, which is what was geocoded here (US Census geocoder); precision is approximate because this is a street-level geocode, not a confirmed parcel-corner survey point. As of 2026-09-13 no final CUP decision had been located in sources checked this run.

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