2 weeks ago
Last summer, journalist turned comedian Charlie Berens started getting societal media messages from concerned Wisconsin residents astir plans for a monolithic datacenter field successful their state.
The developer, Vantage Data Centers, claimed nan $8 bn task would largely run connected zero-emission power resources for illustration solar, upwind and artillery storage. The institution said nan field would bring thousands of impermanent building jobs and perchance much than 1,000 imperishable jobs to Port Washington, a metropolis of 13,000 group astir a half-hour northbound of Milwaukee. Residents opposed nan task for what they said was deficiency of transparency and criticized nan lucrative taxation incentives offered to Vantage. They worried astir nan strain connected section h2o and power sources from an tremendous 1.3-gigawatt task that could yet span 1,900 acres.
Berens, who changeable to net fame pinch his “Manitowoc Minute” videos that play connected midwestern quirks and stereotypes, had his ain reservations astir nan artificial intelligence datacenter boom. A Milwaukee-area autochthonal who still lives successful nan city, he’d heard astir nan imaginable biology hazards, nan steep emergence successful power costs for neighbors and sound pollution, among different risks.
When he Googled, he recovered that lawmakers successful his authorities had paved nan measurement to make nan Port Washington task a reality. The woody betwixt Port Washington and Vantage gave an estimated $458m successful taxation breaks to nan developer complete 20 years to money infrastructure for nan project, with nan metropolis not seeing immoderate of that taxation gross during that period.
“It was shocking,” Berens said.
That’s erstwhile he decided to do thing he had seldom done before: talk authorities successful his videos. He utilized his level to reside 1 of nan much polarizing issues successful modern life: what AI portends for Americans.
In August 2025, Berens published his first “Manitowoc Minute” video connected AI datacenters. The two-minute skit matched nan emblematic style of Berens’s videos, wherever he intersperses facts pinch joke successful nan style of a TV news report. But he was remarkably nonstop successful his critique of large tech. Sporting a Green Bay Packers tie, he lambasted Silicon Valley CEOs, accusing them of utilizing Wisconsin arsenic a “dumping ground” for datacenters astatine nan disbursal of nan state’s cherished earthy resources while evading immoderate type of nationalist scrutiny.
“It is our civic work to make judge nan billionaires go trillionaires,” said Berens successful a satiric bit.
He channelled his outrage astatine lawmakers successful Port Washington, a historical metropolis connected nan banks of Lake Michigan and erstwhile location to thriving sportfishing and shipping industries. In a contentious ballot past August, officials location approved nan first $8bn datacenter field contempt beardown guidance from residents. (The task later expanded to a $15bn associated task pinch OpenAI and Oracle, 1 of nan Trump administration’s showcase “Stargate” megaprojects.)
“I was shocked astatine really galore group I saw speak against this [at nationalist meetings he watched online] and past to spot a unanimous ballot for it,” Berens said. “It conscionable felt for illustration an imbalance of democracy.”
The video went viral, garnering much than 2.5m views connected YouTube alone. Berens’s inbox was soon flooded pinch messages of support from Wisconsinites of each governmental stripes – self-declared Maga supporters, avowed socialists and everyone successful betwixt – sounding nan siren connected datacenters.
“It was 99% affirmative comments, which doesn’t hap connected thing these days,” said Berens. “From that point, I decided that I should do much because nobody’s negotiating for nan group here.”
Berens has since thrown himself into nan cause, routinely publishing videos and headlining well-attended events pinch section experts and anti-datacenter activists. He has quickly go nan astir celebrated look of a burgeoning activity successful Wisconsin, wherever guidance to these projects – Port Washington is conscionable 1 of 7 hyperscale datacenter projects crossed nan state – has risen dramatically successful nan past year. A March survey from Marquette University Law School recovered that astir 70% of registered voters successful Wisconsin opportunity nan costs of ample datacenters outweigh nan benefits they provide, a singular displacement from past October erstwhile that fig stood astatine 55%.
The attraction has placed nan comedian successful nan crosshairs of astir of nan state’s labour unions, pro-business groups and overmuch of its governmental establishment, who reason nan badger authorities cannot spend to beryllium near down successful nan AI arms race.
In a bid of interviews, Berens laid retired why he decided to jump head-first into nan movement; his lawsuit for really large tech destroyed nationalist spot done hard-armed, often secretive strategies to push guardant datacenters; and what he has learned arsenic he has crisscrossed nan authorities and toured nan country.
“Every measurement of nan way, nan much group look, they’re seeing that this is not really a adjacent conflict here,” said Berens.
‘Protecting nan people’
On a precocious wintertime evening successful March, hundreds of group packed a organization halfway successful Juneau, a mini agrarian municipality astir 45 miles north-east of nan authorities capital, Madison.
The crowd had assembled for a “people’s municipality hall” to reside a $1bn Meta datacenter that has pitted residents of adjacent Beaver Dam against their elected officials. The featured speakers ranged from organization activists to a erstwhile Meta employee. The main enactment was Berens, who squeezed successful nan quality betwixt stops successful Iowa and Vermont connected his standup drama tour.
“This is nan astir bipartisan rumor since beer,” he said successful opening remarks.
In his astir 15-minute speech, he called for much regularisation of AI, pointing retired that a beloved Wisconsin staple, bratwurst, was much heavy regulated than nan trillion-dollar industry. Berens warned nan assemblage of nan risks of AI technology, moving done a slideshow of news headlines that highlighted nan potential, and very real, harm to children. He besides addressed his critics.
“I will instrumentality to drama erstwhile our politicians instrumentality to argumentation and extremity protecting large tech and commencement protecting nan group that put them into office,” said Berens, to applause.
As he turned his attraction to nan task successful Beaver Dam, he attacked Meta’s use of a ammunition institution and nondisclosure disagreements (NDAs) that required secrecy from immoderate nationalist officials successful nan process of getting to an approval. In April 2025, a report recovered Meta was nan enigma tech institution down Degas LLC, nan listed corp connected nan development. By November, nan company acknowledged they were down nan project.
Meta’s practices successful Beaver Dam are portion of a larger shape crossed nan state, wherever datacenter projects person often been developed successful secrecy contempt their immense value tags and monolithic footprint connected communities. A caller investigation from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit news site, recovered that NDAs person been signed successful astatine slightest 5 cities successful Wisconsin wherever AI datacenters are projected aliases nether construction.
Another sheet speaker that nighttime was Maily Kocinski, a lifelong Beaver Dam resident whose workplace lies little than 2 miles from nan 700,000 sq ft datacenter field building site. Last June, she posted a TikTok video aft a creek that runs connected her spot had gone barren 1 morning. The h2o came back, but occasionally appeared milky achromatic and gave disconnected a toxic smell. Kocinski said she contacted nan state’s section of earthy resources connected respective occasions and was told nan agency collected h2o samples but were not ever capable to scope her spot successful clip earlier nan h2o cleared up again.
She personally commissioned a h2o analysis in February from a laboratory astatine nan University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, which found metallic levels successful her good h2o supra what was considered safe to drink, per recommendations from nan Wisconsin section of wellness services. She questions whether nan regular controlled blasts connected nan building tract led to disruptions successful her h2o supply. Meta commissioned its ain study successful response, denying immoderate link.
A spokesperson for nan Wisconsin section of earthy resources confirmed that nan section collected a h2o sample astatine Kocinski’s creek past November. The results, shared pinch nan Guardian, show elevated metallic levels but nan section did not estimate arsenic to nan imaginable cause.
“Without a tract circumstantial review, nan DNR cannot estimate connected nan domiciled of nan blasting connected nan aquifer and Ms. Kocinski’s backstage h2o supply,” nan spokesperson said successful a statement.
Kocinski, an simple schoolhouse teacher, said since past fall, she has spent up to 15 hours a week researching nan large-scale building of datacenters and nan imaginable biology harms they tin wreak successful a community. In March, she testified successful nan Wisconsin legislature successful favour of a datacenter oversight measure that yet grounded to scope a vote.
She said she had ne'er met Berens earlier nan arena successful Juneau but nan 2 had been successful regular interaction for months aft she cold-emailed him her story.
“Charlie has really put successful nan activity to understand this issue,” said Kocinski. “Most group came to Juneau astir apt because he was there, but they stayed and possibly learned a spot astir these things [datacenters] … That benignant of acquisition leads to action.”
The risks of speaking out
As Berens’s critiques of datacenter projects successful Wisconsin person gained traction pinch nan public, he has faced pushback from nan state’s waste and acquisition unions, who invited nan thousands of impermanent building jobs that typically travel pinch a project.
A awesome Wisconsin labour leader called retired Berens successful a December op-ed successful nan Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “For america successful nan building trades, information centers aren’t immoderate big, scary mystery,” wrote Emily Pritzkow, caput of nan Wisconsin Building Trades Council that represents astir 50,000 workers successful nan state. “They’re high-skill, semipermanent work. The benignant of activity that feeds families, pays mortgages, and sends kids to college.”
Local governments person weighed successful too. In Port Washington, metropolis officials posted a “fact sheet” online to “clarify immoderate lingering misconceptions” aft Berens posted a 2nd video urging residents to mobility officials astir nan datacenter task astatine an October assembly meeting.
Ted Neitzke, Port Washington’s mayor, expressed vexation pinch nan attraction that Berens’s videos had brought his city. He noted that much than 100 group began showing up astatine assembly meetings aft nan comedian published his first video past August, forcing nan metropolis to move them to a edifice convention halfway pinch an added constabulary presence.
“After Charlie Berens’s video, things escalated very rapidly, very contentiously, and our metropolis was besieged pinch group from extracurricular of our town,” said Neitzke. “Charlie Berens created chaos for us.”
Neitzke besides challenged immoderate claims Berens has made successful his videos, including those astir nan magnitude of jobs nan task would create, its biology effect and whether residents’ powerfulness bills would increase.
“I don’t cognize wherever nan statement gets drawn betwixt actual and embellishment for him,” said Neitzke. “There’s a very grey area betwixt nan intermezo and nan facts.”
Berens defended his videos and nan group who showed up to assembly meetings successful response, noting that a hyperscale datacenter affects not conscionable 1 metropolis but nan surrounding communities and “they merit a opportunity too”. He maintained that his videos were well-researched and cited news articles to backmost up his claims.
“I informed group astir a monolithic AI datacenter going up by adding immoderate punchlines,” said Berens. “If nan truth brings chaos, that seems for illustration thing nan politician would want to return accountability for.”
Neitzke met pinch Berens past autumn successful an effort to find communal ground. The politician described nan two-hour gathering arsenic cordial but some near successful disagreement. He has been nan project’s top champion, referring to it arsenic a “transformative” improvement for nan Rust Belt city, 1 that has nan imaginable to erstwhile again make Port Washington a hub successful nan midwest.
That stance has drawn immoderate fierce nationalist opposition, moreover starring to an attempted callback effort complete nan $458m taxation incremental finance, aliases TIF, territory pinch Vantage. Under nan deal, Vantage will salary upfront costs for nan improvement and nan metropolis will reimburse nan institution pinch caller spot taxation revenues complete a play up to 20 years. Neitzke said he was nary instrumentality of TIFs but called them a “necessary evil” successful negotiations to triumph nan statement complete different cities chasing awesome developments to boost revenue.
“This is simply a prevention our metropolis strategy,” said Neitzke. “[Berens is] doing what he does, and we’re going to do what we’re doing.”
Berens has besides faced disapproval online from those who opportunity nan comedian has built his profession connected tech platforms, while looking to adjacent nan doorway to their projects successful Wisconsin. He said he “understands nan irony” but wants to usage his sizable level to amended his assemblage connected these types of developments that could remake their communities.
Advertisers, too, person noticed his displacement to politics. Berens acknowledged that he mislaid a awesome marque woody pinch a institution that did not want to look alongside his anti-datacenter content, though he declined to sanction nan business.
“I’m asking for transparency. I’m asking for honesty. I’m asking for group to get informed,” said Berens. “I’m trying to facilitate that and if that astatine nan extremity of nan time intends I suffer everything, past truthful beryllium it.”
A individual improvement connected AI
Berens was not ever an AI pessimist.
A fewer years ago, he believed nan utopian imagination laid retired by AI luminaries for illustration OpenAI’s Sam Altman, who said of really nan exertion could beryllium utilized to cure societal ills, moreover to dainty intractable diseases. Berens thought possibly it could besides thief Wisconsin woody pinch its Pfas contamination issue. “My liking successful AI started pinch a batch of dream and optimism actually,” he said.
That sentiment yet turned to cynicism as, he claims, nan industry’s billionaire CEOs dispelled immoderate virtuous usage of nan exertion for nan societal bully successful favour of enriching themselves and their investors. He cited Altman’s caller efforts to create an Erotica characteristic successful OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot, contempt concerns moreover from nan company’s advisers that specified a instrumentality could create a “sexy termination coach”, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
“I thought this point was expected to cure cancer,” Berens said, referencing Altman’s past statements. “Is this what we’re giving our onshore for? Is that what we’re giving our h2o for? Is this what you’re asking to alteration our communities for?”
For him, nan “tip of nan iceberg” was nan golden unreserved to build hyperscale datacenters successful his authorities done secretive strategies and perchance exploitative agreements successful post-industrial cities longing for an economical revival.
“Wisconsin created an situation that would please nan billionaire tech companies,” said Berens of nan taxation incentives. “Billionaire tech companies took afloat advantage of that.”
Prescott Balch knows a spot astir those types of firm tactics. A erstwhile exertion executive astatine US Bank turned anti-datacenter activistic successful retirement, Balch was connected nan frontlines of nan successful effort to stop a awesome Microsoft AI datacenter project past autumn successful nan picturesque eastbound Wisconsin colony of Caledonia, wherever he lives. In April, he won a spot connected nan town’s colony board, beating an incumbent who supported nan datacenter. He views nan AI datacenter roar arsenic akin to nan dot-com bubble clang of nan early 2000s, different section successful nan boom-and-bust cycles of nan volatile tech industry.
“We sewage irrationally exuberant and built excessively overmuch stuff,” Balch said of nan dot-com period. “Maybe nan institution moving your datacenter will spell bankrupt. This large dollar magnitude that you’re chasing comes pinch important risk.”
Balch’s insider expertise successful nan wonky world of municipal subsidies has been basal for Berens. Balch factchecked galore of Berens’ videos connected nan issue, moreover appearing successful one wherever he methodically crunched nan numbers connected these developments, referring to nan Port Washington task arsenic “up and down a horrible deal”.
The 62-year-old is, successful galore ways, nan polar other of Berens. He is professorial successful demeanor and observant to constituent retired that he is not an AI alarmist. Where nan 2 work together is simply a belief that there’s been an accusation vacuum astir these projects, leaving nan nationalist mostly uninformed about their size and scope. That’s portion of nan connection they person taken connected nan road, appearing together astatine events successful Wisconsin and Illinois. Berens’s personage has been nan tie for group to move out.
“[He] gets group willing successful nan taxable and warms them up,” Balch said. “And I get to do nan barren transportation of nan financial perspective.”
Port Washington vote
On 7 April, Port Washington residents passed nan nation’s first anti-datacenter referendum. By a astir 2-1 margin, voters approved a measurement that would require metropolis officials to get support from voters earlier approving taxation incremental districts of much than $10m.
The effort came together aft a group of residents called Great Lakes Neighbors United gathered much than 1,000 signatures successful little than 2 weeks to get it connected nan ballot. The referendum does not extremity nan $15bn datacenter field nether construction, but would use to each early projects supra that $10m threshold. Industry advocates person warned nan ballot could group a vulnerable precedent for municipalities crossed nan country, perchance paralyzing AI datacenter developments.
Mayor Neitzke said nan referendum makes nan metropolis little competitory and puts it astatine a disadvantage to vie for early projects. For Berens, nan ballot reflected nan power he has seen connected nan crushed successful Port Washington and successful each area of nan state.
“The group who are nan heartbeat of this activity are for illustration group successful Great Lakes Neighbors United,” said Berens. “These are group from each different walks and each different governmental stripes, but they each attraction astir nan aforesaid thing: [that] their organization should person a voice.”
