Missouri has always been a crossroads state — a place where rivers meet, where East meets West, where working people built something real from the land. Now, that land is being quietly handed over to some of the most powerful corporations on earth.
Data centers are spreading across Missouri. And the deals being cut to bring them here — tax abatements, water rights, energy guarantees — are being made far from public view.
What Data Centers Are Doing to Missouri
- They're draining Missouri's water. The Missouri River and its tributaries are already under pressure from agriculture, drought cycles, and aging infrastructure. A single large data center can consume millions of gallons of water per day for cooling. Missouri's water doesn't belong to Silicon Valley — it belongs to the farmers, families, and communities who have depended on it for generations.
- They're straining the power grid. Missouri's energy infrastructure was built to serve Missouri residents and businesses. Data centers are among the most power-hungry operations ever built. As they multiply, grid reliability decreases and utility rates rise — for everyone except the data centers, which negotiate preferential pricing.
- They deliver far fewer jobs than promised. A massive data center facility may permanently employ 30 to 50 people. The construction jobs are temporary and often filled by out-of-state contractors. Meanwhile, the tax incentives offered to attract these facilities cost Missouri communities millions in foregone revenue.
- They lock up land and infrastructure for decades. Once a data center is built, the surrounding land use, road networks, and utility capacity are effectively committed to that facility for 20–30 years. Communities lose flexibility to develop in ways that actually serve local needs.
- They operate with minimal transparency. Data center operators rarely disclose water usage, energy consumption, or the full terms of their agreements with local governments. Missouri residents are left in the dark about what's being extracted from their communities.
This Is Missouri's Land. Missouri's Water. Missouri's Future.
The corporations building these facilities will never live here. They will never send their kids to Missouri schools, drink Missouri water, or pay Missouri utility rates. They will extract value from this state and route the profits to shareholders thousands of miles away.
Missouri deserves an economy built on industries that invest in communities — not ones that drain them.
What You Can Do
- Find out what's happening in your county. Search your county assessor's records and planning commission minutes for data center permits and tax abatement agreements. What you find may surprise you.
- Contact your state legislators. Ask them to support transparency requirements for data center water usage and energy consumption, and to oppose tax incentives that don't include binding community benefit agreements.
- Talk to your neighbors. This issue cuts across political lines — conservatives who care about land rights and water sovereignty and progressives who care about environmental impact are natural allies here.
- Wear the movement. Every piece of Stop Data Centers gear is a conversation starter. Missouri needs more of those conversations. Shop the movement at stopdatacenters.myshopify.com.
Missouri has always fought for its people. This fight is no different.
Missouri stands.