Dan Fiskum is a skilled, experienced attorney who can lead the fight against data centers in the campaign and at the Minnesota Senate. We are getting new information on data centers every day. The souls of our neighborhoods, communities, and the people of Wright County are at stake in a fight against globalist Republicans and developers like Blackstone, Brookfield Asset Management, and Apollo Global Management.
But we can respond to big money with Big Votes. The recent proposal the developer filed with the Monticello City Council is sleight of hand. It hides the true amount of ground water use as the proposed data center expands, which could be 3 million gallons of water per day or more. This will be devastating to Wright County farmers and families.
Now, there is only one conclusion that makes sense:
Data Centers need to be banned from Wright County. A moratorium only delays this decision. The physics of data centers will not change in 6 months.
When I talk to people about the proposed data center in Monticello, I hear the same concern again and again:
People believe the decision has already been made. They believe developers will get what they want and ordinary residents no longer have a meaningful voice.
I understand why people feel that way.
But I do not believe the future of our communities has already been written.
The Republican incumbent supports data centers because he says they bring jobs. This had been the position of Dan’s DFL opponent until he waffled. He flip-flopped. Now he says we need a “moratorium,” which means he still can’t get it right.
Dan’s primary opponent doesn’t understand that a moratorium is not the same as a ban. His approach is not that of a serious and thoughtful leader. It is the approach of someone who is running to seek personal validation.
This issue is not about whether technology is good or bad.
It is about whether industrial-scale developments belong next to neighborhoods, schools, parks, lakes, farms, and communities that families have spent decades building.
Developers talk about jobs.
Residents are asking different questions:
The people who live here deserve answers before decisions are made—not after.
When people hear the word “environment,” they often think of wilderness.
So do I.
I support protecting the Boundary Waters, the Gunflint Trail, our lakes, wetlands, wildlife habitat, and Minnesota’s outdoor heritage.
But our communities are part of our environment too.
The roads our children ride their bikes on. The parks where families gather. The neighborhoods where people have invested their savings. The farms, woods, wetlands, and open spaces that make Wright County unique. The ability to step outside at night and still see the stars.
Those things matter.
And once they are gone, they are very difficult to get back.
Some people believe there is nothing left to do.
That is not true.
The Minnesota Court of Appeals recently found that Faribault’s review of a proposed data center failed to adequately explain significant environmental impacts.
That decision reinforces an important principle: government must gather facts, explain its decisions, and not simply dismiss legitimate concerns about projects of this scale.
The Legislature also has the authority to act.
If elected to the Minnesota Senate, I will work to:
I am both a fiscal conservative and an environmental conservative.
That is why I oppose placing hyperscale data centers in Monticello, Buffalo, or anywhere adjacent to established residential neighborhoods in Senate District 29.
These facilities are industrial-scale developments with long-term impacts on infrastructure, land use, environmental resources, and community character.
They do not belong across the street from homes.
I am the only candidate on the District 29 Senate ballot who has publicly and unequivocally taken that position.
