Menomonie Data Center Campus

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. June 30, 2026

   Proposed
   Mayor Crowe: city still refining the I-4 ordinance, draft to be introduced Aug 3 2026; Balloonist retains the land Source: Menomonie Minute
2. January 6, 2026

   Proposed
   City Council adopted a new I-4 Data Center Industrial District ordinance with stricter parameters, effectively requiring Balloonist to reapply Source: WCFW
3. September 22, 2025

   Proposed
   Mayor Knaack declared the project 'on pause'; TID/development-agreement talks ended; Balloonist subsequently purchased the land Source: Wisconsin Public Radio
4. August 4, 2025

   Proposed
   Menomonie City Council approved annexation and I-1 rezoning 8-3; rezoning is not a building permit Source: Volume One
5. July 2025

   Proposed
   Balloonist LLC filed an annexation petition and I-1 rezoning for a ~324-acre site on County Highway B (Town of Red Cedar) Source: Menomonie News Net

Opposition and litigation at this site

Yes. Menomonie Data Center Campus in Menomonie, Dunn County, Wisconsin is contested. Hearings, public comment, petitions, or organized opposition are on record, and no lawsuit has been filed so far. Active opposition group 'Stop the Menomonie Data Center'; Mayor Knaack (Sept 2025) called it 'not a suitable fit'; the city administrator signed an NDA limiting transparency; residents built a national toolkit for similar proposals; the new mayor is continuing the I-4 ordinance process.

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.

Active opposition group 'Stop the Menomonie Data Center'; Mayor Knaack (Sept 2025) called it 'not a suitable fit'; the city administrator signed an NDA limiting transparency; residents built a national toolkit for similar proposals; the new mayor is continuing the I-4 ordinance process.

Power and water

Balloonist LLC confirmed working with Xcel Energy and the WI Public Service Commission on supply/grid; no MW load or substation figure disclosed.

Proposed closed-loop cooling requiring ~75,000 gallons/day of municipal water/wastewater - would rank as Menomonie's fifth-largest water user.

Notes on the record

End operator undisclosed behind Balloonist LLC (a Delaware foreign LLC). Multiple outlets note Balloonist's Delaware address and registered agent match prior Meta data-center SPV patterns, but NO source names Meta or any operator - recorded as undisclosed. A council member said the end user is 'one of the top tech giants' without naming them. Status corrected from the ledger's 'permitted' to 'proposed': the original I-1 rezoning was superseded by a January 2026 I-4 ordinance; no building permits were ever issued. Proposed investment up to $1.6B and 50-75 FTE jobs are developer projections (not recorded as firm fields). No MW capacity disclosed. Site: ~324 acres along County Highway B (annexed from Town of Red Cedar Aug 2025). Coordinates are the Menomonie centroid. aiClassification 'likely' rests on hyperscale scale + 'tech giant' attribution, not an explicit AI-workload statement.

Other sites within 30 miles

Distances are between recorded coordinates, many of which are a city or county centroid, so treat them as approximate. Cumulative load on one utility and one aquifer is the question a planning commission rarely asks.

• Metered Mining Hammond Bitcoin Mining Facility · Hammond · Metered Mining26 mi · Permitted · 6 MW · Contested

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