MONTICELLO, Minn. — When Dennis Dufrane learned five days ago that a private developer had proposed a 550-acre data center across the street from his house in Monticello, he immediately started reaching out to his neighbors.

He even struck up a few conversations with strangers at Walmart.

"This is one of those times where, it doesn't matter our political affiliation or feeling," Dufrane said. "We can all agree this is a bad idea."

Through social media posts and petitions, Dufrane and many others in town have started forming organized opposition to the idea of data centers coming to Monticello, plunging this city of 15,000 into a national debate over the role of these facilities and where they should be built. Data centers essentially serve as technology warehouses for large electronic

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