Hermantown City Council Approves Google Data Center Agreements Amid Public Opposition and Pending Legal Challenges

The Hermantown City Council voted unanimously Friday night to approve a development agreement, a special use permit and decommissioning provisions for a proposed Google data center, advancing one of Minnesota's largest planned data center developments past its most significant local regulatory hurdle. The decision, reached after roughly four hours of public testimony and another hour of deliberation, concluded shortly before midnight and followed a week of postponed meetings, public protests and