Folks, Iowans shouldn’t be on the hook to pay for data centers. Full stop.

Anyone building in Iowa should be contributing to Iowa, not extracting from us. They should be paying full freight and carrying their own weight, not raising your costs for anything, and respecting those who were already here.

I’ve got a plan to make sure that Iowans aren’t crushed under the weight of these new data centers, and I broke it down below.

But before we get too deep into the weeds: If you agree that Iowans shouldn’t be stuck with higher bills to subsidize data centers, please add your name to my petition calling for transparency, accountability, and for data centers to cover their own costs.

Major corporations should be paying full freight and carrying their own weight, not raising Iowans' costs for anything, and they must respect the communities they move to.

• Make them cover 100% of their own costs: That includes covering any increase in costs on utilities so that Iowans’ bills don’t go up one cent.
• End tax breaks for data centers: We need to end tax breaks for these huge corporations and make sure the needs of Iowa taxpayers are being put first.
• Enact strong consumer protections: I’ve got a plan that will require the companies that own the data centers pay 100% of the costs of any and all infrastructure upgrades, energy usage, and other costs.
• Stop data centers from eroding our natural resources and utilities: Right now, these data centers have planted their roots with no clear monitoring of how they use our water and energy.
• Require investments in Iowa’s workforce: New construction of data centers should be built by Iowa union workers that uphold job site quality standards, offer good wages for workers, and make investments in local workforce development.
• Demand accountability and transparency over new data centers: Too often these agreements are done in backrooms and under the shadow of NDAs that hide the process from regular Iowans.
• Require open public hearings and town halls on the creation of new data centers, and support local control. If Iowans don’t want these data centers in their communities, they should have the opportunity to make their voices heard.
• Setback Requirements: No existing Iowa homes should have to hear a data center humming or have any lighting disrupt their enjoyment of their property.

Iowa should be for Iowans, and any corporations building data centers need to understand that — and be held accountable when they need reminding.

If you agree with me, and you’d like to see more transparency and accountability in how data centers are affecting our communities, please add your name to my petition. If we can get 10k signatures in 48 hours, it will show partisan insiders that our state isn’t for sale!

Thanks,

Rob Sand