Sioux Falls, in Minnehaha County, South Dakota, adopted a data-center zoning exclusion on December 1, 2025. Its status in this snapshot is enacted.
The record reads: "Gemini Capital proposed a $1.9B, 500 MW hyperscale data center on 164 acres in eastern Sioux Falls. The City Council voted 7-0 on Jan. 6, 2026 to rezone the farmland for light industrial use, despite 200+ people attending in opposition… (datacentertracker.org)."
Details
| Action | Class | Status | Date | MW threshold | Scope | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoning exclusion | restriction | enacted | December 1, 2025 | not county-wide | datacentertracker.org |
Jurisdiction type: municipality. County: Minnehaha County. Dataset: datacentertracker. Snapshot August 15, 2026; documented actions, not a census.
South Dakota context
South Dakota has 3 documented local actions across 2 jurisdictions in this snapshot. At the state level, the state has a ratepayer-protection law (enacted).
A town that says no to a data center gives up local tax revenue, not jobs: one large campus pays $2M to $90M a year depending on the tax regime, against roughly 50 permanent jobs. The parent piece prices it and lists the conditions that beat a ban.