Big Data, Great Lakes
A Journalism Workshop Exploring Data Centers in Southeastern Wisconsin
March 15 - 18, 2026
Milwaukee
The United States currently has the largest data center footprint in the world and there are no signs development will slow down. The Great Lakes region is home to nearly 20 percent of U.S. data centers and hundreds more are being planned or under construction. While the tech industry races to keep up with the computing demands of things like artificial intelligence (AI), streaming and cloud storage, local communities struggle to balance environmental and energy concerns with the potential economic boost of what some are calling an “AI gold rush.”
In March 2026, the Institute for Journalism & Natural Resources conducted a workshop that helped journalists get up to speed on this emerging issue. Participants went into the field to meet the people shaping the data center discourse in the Great Lakes. Set in and around Milwaukee, the workshop explored what data center development may mean for states and communities in this water-rich region. Participants spoke with local municipal leaders, tech industry representatives, state regulators, environmental groups and more as they learned about new developments for companies like Meta and Microsoft, construction moratoriums, the increasing demand for energy, growing water concerns and future projections for a “freshwater economy.”
Participants gained sources, build their background knowledge and collected story ideas as they got a first-hand look at the different ways data centers are shaping local communities as well as the way those communities are attempting to regulate and shape data center development.
This workshop was made possible by the support of the Joyce Foundation, Fund for Lake Michigan, the Brookby Foundation and the Brico Fund.
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Power Dynamics: The Rural Data Center Boom - Julia Tilton, The Daily Yonder
The ‘time-consuming’ permits dozens of data centers are skipping - Miranda Willson, Politico
Port Washington Resident Speaks Out After Selling Home to Data Center Project - Trisha Young, Wisconsin Watch
In Florida, an Agricultural Town in Need of an Economic Boost Eyes Hyperscale Data Centers - Amy Green, Inside Climate News
Local workers, educators and union leaders say data centers could bring long-term jobs and investment to Janesville - Kylie Balk-Yaatenen, The Gazette
How easily could a big data center set up in northern Michigan? - Vivian La, Interlochen Public Radio
“Extreme demand shock”: Data center boom raises electrical grid reliability questions - Kylie Balk-Yaatenen, The Gazette
We Mapped Rural Data Center Development – and Opposition. Here’s What We Found. - Julia Tilton, The Daily Yonder
Water use is a key data center issue. This will get you caught up. - Caitlin Looby, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Wisconsin data center boom will demand massive water, energy resources - Caitlin Looby, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Port Washington voters pass referendum fueled by concerns about data center project - Joe Schulz, Wisconsin Public Radio
Data center deep dive: Special report on why tech companies are focusing on Wisconsin - Adam Rife, CBS58 News Milwaukee
No one wanted to redevelop this polluted property. Then came AI. - Miranda Wilson, E&E News/POLITICO
Illinois Is Taking a Close Look at the Potential Effects of the Data Center Boom - Julia Tilton, The Daily Yonder
Microsoft to stop using NDAs with local governments for data center development - Joe Shulz, WPR
Legislation Aims to Protect Floridians From Data Center Costs, but Will It? - Amy Green, Inside Climate News
The fight over Illinois’s data center boom is coming to a head - Siri Chilukuri, Chicago Reader (assigned/edited by Fellow Shawn Mulcahy)
Data center tour: Janesville a stop in journalists' statewide look at emerging issue - Kylie Balk-Yaatenen, Janesville Gazette
Meet the Fellows of the Big Data, Great Lakes Workshop:
