Ryan Knudson

They created a Facebook group to organize opposition.

And they also filed public records requests to try and learn more about the city's plans.

And the documents they got back made the residents furious.

Olive Garden is pretty good.

It reminds me of Hillary Clinton's infamous line, basket of deplorables.

Or in this case, I guess it'd be a red basket of deplorables.

Yeah, yeah.

So it sounds like they started out on a pretty bad foot.

The outrage was profound.

Residents took to city council meetings.

Will met with a handful of Festus residents to talk through their worries about the data center.

Gathered around a kitchen table, one of the residents laid out satellite images.

They showed Will just how close some of their homes are to the proposed site.

Will says there's no definitive research about how data centers impact home prices.

The developer is offering to buy out a dozen Festus homeowners whose houses are near the proposed site.

Some residents say the amount they're being offered isn't enough.

But for many of the homeowners Will spoke to, it's not just about the money.

We're very drought prone.

And I know from your research, these things guzzle water.

They're also worried that the data center could increase utility costs for locals, something that's happened near other data centers.