The race to regulate data centers in Ida County is officially underway, and supervisors say they’re combing through every line of a 16‑page draft to make sure nothing slips through the cracks.
At last Wednesday’s public workshop, board of supervisors chair Devlun Whiteing says the group spent nearly an hour and a half going line‑by‑line through the county’s first draft ordinance — a document built from some of the strictest rules in Iowa. He says the draft came from studying ordinances in Linn County, Allamakee County and others.
Whiteing says the Sept. 9 workshop didn’t move as quickly as he hoped, largely because public comments took up much of the meeting. But he says the input matters — and the board is committed to transparency as it works through the draft.
He says the board is already looking at changes for the next workshop on Sept. 21 — including microphones, seating adjustments or even a different venue — after residents struggled to hear discussion inside the courtroom at the Ida County Courthouse in Ida Grove.
Whiteing also confirmed that PathOne Data Centers has been largely silent since its August meetings in Ida Grove and Arthur. He says one representative attended Wednesday’s workshop but did not address the board.
As the board continues its work, Whiteing says supervisors are not all aligned on the future of data centers in Ida County — and he stresses that his personal views do not represent the board as a whole. He says constituent input varies widely, and supervisors are hearing different things depending on where they live.
Whiteing says he personally remains cautious.
He says some supervisors believe data centers could help grow Ida County’s tax base and economy, especially as rural populations shrink. But Whiteing says he isn’t ready to support a project without more information.
He says PathOne’s presentations raised additional questions, including the company’s closed‑loop cooling system and the lack of verifiable operational examples nearby.
Whiteing says that’s why the ordinance must be strong enough to protect Ida County from unknowns — not just from PathOne, but from any future developer.
The draft ordinance includes strict zoning limits, a new exclusive‑use district, a 20‑megawatt cap, 1,000‑foot setbacks, closed‑loop cooling only, independent water studies, noise limits and mandatory agreements covering water, power, roads, emergency services and decommissioning. It also bans data centers on high‑quality farmland and requires developers to pay for all infrastructure upgrades.
Whiteing says the board will continue refining the draft before sending it to planning and zoning, which must hold its own public meeting. After that, the board of supervisors would need to pass three public readings before any ordinance becomes law — and before the county’s moratorium can be lifted.
PathOne Founding Partner and Co-Owner Gyles Uhlenhopp responded to Storm Lake Radio’s request for comment, saying the company remains committed to northwest Iowa and is pursuing a network of edge‑style data centers across the region. Uhlenhopp said no project can be considered in any county with a moratorium, but it is open to pursuing “reasonable projects” once responsible ordinances are in place.
The next Ida County data center workshop is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 21.
