$6 Billion data center lands in Festus, Missouri after residents said no. Now the fun begins?

Photo above – NOT Festus, Missouri. Fred and Doris Ziffle (Green Acres) react to the news that a $6 billion data center has been approved for Hooterville. (Screencap courtesy of Desilu and Filmways studios)

Festus, Missouri. Midway between the hamlets of Arnold and Farmington. Named in 1883 when a preacher opened his bible and pointed to the name Festus. (Festus is a Roman governor who figures prominently in the trial of the Apostle Paul). 5.9 square miles. Much of that is farmland, and devoted to hay. Soybeans and corn are a distant 2nd and 3rd. Population 12,700. Per capita income? $30,000-ish.

One could be forgiven for thinking that a $6 billion data center would a godsend to Hooterville – I mean Festus. That’s a $500,000 corporate investment for every town resident. Except this windfall won’t land on everyone equally.

I’m guessing the big winners in this sitcom are the long-time landowners squatting on thousands of acres which only produce hay. An acre of land average 70 (small) bales of per year, worth about $11 each. Welcome to farming in rural America. Possibly the city council-persons are among the longtime landowners. Or possibly the long-time landowners simply are on friendly terms with their long-time city council members. This could explain how a $6 billion data center – with a decade of future no-tax guarantees – gets approved in the middle of the night.

And this may also be why voters immediately threw 4 city council members out of office and are now trying to recall the mayor and rest of the city council. (see link below). This does sound like an episode of Green Acres, no?

The data center permit was awarded to “Clayco”, a private construction firm. The company isn’t saying who they're building the Festus data center for. Clayco’s existing customers include Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Google.

The newly elected Festus council members promise a slew of reforms. First among them are publicly published council phone numbers known to town residents. The people of Festus appear poised to get a future without sky high electric rates and depletion of their freshwater.

Almost everybody is happy, except possibly the handful of hayfield farmers who didn’t become overnight millionaires.

I’m just sayin’ . . .




https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/13/missouri-city-council-data-center-00867259?fbclid=IwY2xjawRRhH9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwzNTA2ODU1MzE3MjgAAR7vT9oJsjoKaQDioYWHcLPjozEhNXIzqCgZuk74ehc0AX7HfGAEeWz0dUI4Pw_aem_By2zQ34u9E69WE_5uv6McA&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=dlvr.it

Missouri town fires half its city council over data center deal - POLITICO