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Data centers

We've spent months hearing every reason to ban data centers. Developers know where the community stands on water, power, noise and AI as a whole. I believe AI companies need regulation. But recent council votes suggest the majority is headed toward regulating data centers, not prohibiting them. So why aren't we having an equally serious conversation about how Marshalltown gets paid? Property taxes alone won't cut it, since Iowa exempts much of the equipment that makes up most of a data center's value. Here in Iowa, Waukee's agreement with Apple calls for $500,000 per data center ...

Thank you for celebrating with us

What an incredible weekend for our community. As we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Martha-Ellen Tye Foundation and the grand reopening of the Martha-Ellen Tye Playhouse, we were filled with gratitude and pride. Seeing so many people come together to honor our past and celebrate our future made this milestone truly unforgettable. For 50 years, the Foundation has been inspired by Martha-Ellen Tye's vision of investing in the strength and vitality of our community. The excitement and support shown during this celebration remind us that her legacy continues to thrive. The newly ...

Data center and TIF location

I would like to address the concern that locating a data center within an existing Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district automatically qualifies it to receive TIF funds or tax breaks. Simply being situated in a TIF district does not grant a development eligibility for assistance. First and foremost, a developer must file a formal application and a Financial Pro Forma to satisfy the legal "But For" test—proving definitively that the project is financially unfeasible without public intervention. That is clearly not the case with a data center. Furthermore, the potential buyer’s ...

Everything is for sale in Marshalltown

Well, it seems that it's all but certain Marshalltown is getting a data center. Nevermind that these "closed loop" systems use forever chemicals that have to be cleaned out every few years. Nevermind that our mayor says everyone should be on city water because its "safer" any ways (you know, so they can have another control over your basic necessities). Everything is for sale in this country. Our health, our peace of mind, our way of life, everything for the right price and its absolutely disgusting. There are virtually no federal regulations surrounding data centers currently so its the ...

When a data center is built

When a data center is built, its property valuation spikes by tens of millions of dollars. If that development sits outside a TIF area, those new property tax dollars immediately flow to where they are needed most: our local schools, our county services, and our city's general fund to pay for police, fire, and parks. But if you place it inside a TIF boundary, 100% of that new tax revenue is legally trapped inside the TIF allocation fund. We would be intentionally starving our school district and essential county services of a massive windfall they should be receiving on day one." A TIF ...

Bible passages that befuddle

There are many verses in Scripture that cause us to research the message so we can understand the text. One of these places is Judges, chapter nineteen. If you let the words settle in your mind, it is a gory, heartless scene full of the most cruel things one can do against another. In this story, to protect himself, a traveling Priest offers up his concubine for the sexual pleasure of evil men. Then, he cut up the woman when she died from the ravaging. He sent the flesh and bones to all twelve Israelite tribes. The point of this story is that all tribes were guilty in the killing of ...