Harwood Voters Buck National Trend, Reject Data Center Restrictions
Forty-four communities across the country voted this year to restrict or block data center construction. Harwood, North Dakota, population 940, went the other way.
Voters here rejected a ballot measure Tuesday that would have required independent reviews and public hearings for large industrial projects. The count wasn’t close — roughly 75 percent of the 430 ballots cast opposed the charter amendment, known locally as Measure 2 or Article X.
The measure would not have stopped the $3 billion Applied Digital campus already rising on 900 acres at the city’s edge. Ground broke in September 2025, less than a month after most residents learned the project existed. Oracle Corp. is lined up as the anchor tenant for the 280-megawatt AI factory, scheduled for initial operations in 2026 and full capacity by early 2027.
Mayor Blake Hankey campaigned hard against the measure. He argued its language was vague and compliance would cost a city this size money it doesn’t have. More bluntly, he said the council moved fast to secure the project before neighboring Fargo could annex the land and capture the tax base. Fargo tried exactly that, then withdrew its annexation effort in December 2025.
Michael Swartz, a senior software developer who lives in Harwood, led the opposition. His group, Voices of Harwood, formed after construction equipment appeared practically overnight. Residents cited noise — an elementary school sits nearby — water consumption, and the likelihood of higher utility bills. Both Hankey and then-Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney had signed non-disclosure agreements with Applied Digital in July 2025, a detail that fueled demands for transparency.
The Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce distributed literature opposing the measure. Councilman Chris Higgins warned that passing it might prompt Applied Digital to de-annex, taking the promised tax revenue with it. North Dakota sweetens the deal with sales and use tax exemptions for qualified data centers.
Hankey dismisses concerns about power costs. He says the CEO of Cass County Electric Cooperative assured him rates won’t rise and that Applied Digital agreed to cover infrastructure expansion. The company also projects more than 200 full-time jobs.
Whether those jobs materialize on schedule, and whether the tax revenue offsets the strains on water, roads, and schools, won’t be clear for years. The vote settled the immediate fight. The longer argument over what this city becomes is just starting.
