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Data center discussion is misleading

Councilor Nichols' comments during the Nov. 9 city council meeting were misleading. As reported by the TR, the Councilor held up his cell phone during that meeting and claimed that anyone using their cell phone apps were using data centers and implied that therefore we shouldn't be objecting to local data center construction. Intentionally or not, he is misleading us. The US already has more than enough data centers to handle our nation's everyday internet usage. In fact, the US has 10x the number of data centers than any other country so there's little risk of being "left behind." Data ...

Library protocols

As a member of Planned Parenthood and the ACLU, I get newsletters that are very informative with news that would be valuable to a wider audience. I would like to donate my copies of my newsletters free to the Marshalltown Public Library. But I cannot. The American Library Association recommends that periodicals that are published for private memberships such as the NRA, PP, and ACLU cannot be shelved at public libraries. They are intended for the people who join those memberships. A periodical that is not shelved because of protocol doesn't count as censorship. If they take NRA, they ...

MPL Boardroom Antics pt. 12

Editor, The first YouTube livestreamed MPL TRUSTee meeting occurred Tues. Oct 20. It is archived and accessible on the Marshalltown YouTube channel. Watching it will reveal the hostile TRUSTee’s silent refusal to account for their recent and ongoing policy deviation. The silence tool was employed to deviate from policy procedure concerning the offer of a free subscription to a Spanish language newspaper of MPLs choice. Evidently, a stipulation that The Epoch Times had to be displayed next to it was too much to bear. TRUSTees win; patrons lose. That offer wasn’t the only rejected ...

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 ...