The Hermantown, Minn., City Council will try again Friday to take final local votes on Google's proposed data center in the city's southwest corner. Its Monday, Oct. 26 meeting ended without action after a protest filled the council chambers. A make-up session set for Tuesday was then cancelled.

The council had a dedicated meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday to consider six resolutions advancing the project. The most important was a special use permit. About two hours after the meeting started, Police Chief Jim Crace declared an unlawful assembly and gave people in the room 10 minutes to leave, the Duluth News Tribune reported. The council then gaveled in and adjourned to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. City assistant administrator Joe Wicklund told MPR News the meeting was postponed because safety could not be guaranteed.

The Tuesday session never happened. The city cancelled it because early voting was taking place in the council chambers until 7 p.m. on Oct. 27, according to a city statement quoted by FOX 9. The meeting has been rescheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, at City Hall, the News Tribune reported.

What the council is being asked to approve

The Friday agenda, posted on the city's CivicClerk portal, lists six resolutions. FOX 9 reported they are the same six items as on the cancelled Tuesday agenda:

  • 2026-132: rejecting a citizen petition for an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) for the Harmony Group Data Center Project.
  • 2026-133: approving, with conditions, a special use permit for a Communication Services Facility (Data Center) in a Business and Light Manufacturing zoning district.
  • 2026-134: approving the preliminary and final plat of Hermantown Industrial Addition.
  • 2026-135: approving a development agreement and memorandum of understanding with Harmony Group LLC for the Hermantown Data Center Project.
  • 2026-136: a cooperative agreement between St. Louis County and the city for roadway and utility improvements.
  • 2026-137: approving a reuse and decommissioning agreement with Harmony Group LLC and Google LLC.

The News Tribune reported that the plat would reconfigure 22 properties into three lots. In an Oct. 14 release, the city said the Planning and Zoning Commission would hear the permit and plat on Oct. 20. It described the commission as a recommending body and said the permit goes to the council whatever the commission recommends (city release, via mirror).

The project, by the numbers

The News Tribune describes the facility as 1.66 million square feet. MPR News puts it at about 1.7 million. According to the site plan as reported by the News Tribune, the campus would have:

  • three 375,000-square-foot data buildings, about 33 feet tall;
  • three 150,000-square-foot mechanical buildings;
  • a two-story, 60,000-square-foot office;
  • a 30,000-square-foot fire-suppression structure.

The site covers 234 acres near Midway and Morris Thomas roads. A city memo cited by the News Tribune says the land was rezoned last year for business and light manufacturing, and that data centers are allowed there by special use permit. FOX 9 reported that the council voted 4-0 in October 2025 to rezone more than 200 acres for the project.

MPR News reported that the first phase is estimated at $650 million and could take up to eight years to build. MPR also said the project is expected to use about 500 megawatts of power.

On taxes, the city said in an Oct. 14 release that Google is no longer seeking a property tax abatement (city release, via mirror). MPR News reported that the abandoned request was worth up to $80 million. The city estimates the project will generate more than $240 million in property taxes for the region over the 20 years after completion. That total includes nearly $90 million for Hermantown and more than $120 million for St. Louis County. MPR News reported city estimates of about $3 million a year for the city and about $4 million a year for the county. The release quoted Mayor Wayne Boucher and City Administrator John Mulder. It said Google is exploring gifts to Hermantown Community Schools instead of an abatement.

MPR News reported that Google has agreed to groundwater monitoring, new water supplies for landowners whose wells are affected, and a decommissioning plan. After the Monday meeting, council member Andy Hjelle posted a public statement criticizing the disruption. FOX 9 reported that he said the council had negotiated protections for residential wells and long-term site cleanup.

Litigation and process disputes

Three parties have filed lawsuits over the project, according to MPR News: the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA), Stop the Hermantown Data Center, and a private landowner. MPR reported that a hearing in one case, which challenges the environmental review, was scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 27.

The News Tribune reported that opponents criticized the timing of the Monday meeting, which fell less than 14 hours before a court hearing. In that proceeding, MCEA and Stop the Hermantown Data Center are asking the court to hold the city in contempt for allegedly violating a notice agreement. The groups say residents had only days to review 232 pages of material. The Monday meeting also came three weeks after the council approved an updated Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR), the environmental review document for the area. The council approved a transmission line permit for the project on Oct. 20, the News Tribune reported.

The Friday meeting has drawn its own dispute. The fire department has capped in-person attendance at the first 85 visitors, with a virtual option, the News Tribune reported. Stop the Hermantown Data Center alleges that holding the meeting in the chambers rather than a larger venue violates Minnesota's Open Meeting Law. FOX 9 noted that local leaders had previously been criticized for signing nondisclosure agreements.

The heads of the Duluth Building Trades Council and the Hermantown Chamber of Commerce issued a joint statement condemning the disruption, MPR News reported.

How Friday's meeting will run

According to the agenda, the meeting will be held both in person and virtually under Minn. Stat. 13D.02. In-person seating is limited to the first 85 seats in the council chambers, per the fire department. The agenda has one public comment period. After it, the council takes up the resolutions with no further comment. The News Tribune reported that only people attending in person can give public comment. The city will accept written comments until noon on Oct. 30.

What Happens Next

The council is scheduled to meet at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, at Hermantown City Hall to take up Resolutions 2026-132 through 2026-137, including the special use permit, the plat, the development agreement and the decommissioning agreement, according to the posted agenda. Written comments are due by noon that day.

Local approval is not the last step. MPR News reported that the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission must still approve the electric supply agreement between Google and Minnesota Power, with a vote expected early next year. The lawsuits from MCEA, Stop the Hermantown Data Center and a private landowner are still pending. MPR News also noted a Hermantown City Council election the following week.

Sources