As the City of Joplin continues moving forward with plans to annex part of Wildwood Ranch into the city and welcome a proposed data center onto the property, a couple of politicians have come out in favor of the project.
The Joplin Globe obtained letters opposing or supporting the projects. While most of the messages opposed the data center, Seventh District Congressman Eric Burlison and Rep. Cathy Jo Loy, R-Carthage, favor the plan.
Burlison wrote that data center projects such as the one proposed for Joplin “are increasingly important to American manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and national security.”
Loy expressed similar thoughts.
She said one of the benefits of the development is “allowing new large-scale energy users into the market that can help place downward pressure on rising utility rates we are facing today.”
The City Council will make its final decision on the annexation and the data center at its 6 p.m. Tuesday meeting in the Corley Auditorium at Missouri Southern State University.