Leola Data Center
A data center project in Leola is undergoing permitting, with McPherson County postponing approval of a conditional use permit and state regulators and the county board set to decide its fate, while a potential settlement over powering the facility was reported. It is reported, as reported September 2, 2026.
How much power it needs, how much water it would use and who would use it have not been disclosed.
How to read this page. Every fact links to the source it rests on; a number in brackets is its place in the source list. A figure no source gives reads Not disclosed, and nothing is estimated. Where sources give different figures, each is shown with who gave it, and another source's figure never stands in for the record's own. Entries are added and never overwritten; corrections are listed under What happened.
What is known
Each figure as its source gave it. The number in brackets is its place in the source list.
- Land
- Not disclosed
- Power it would draw
- Not disclosed
- Water
- Not disclosed
- Who leads it
- Not disclosed
- Who would use it
- Not disclosed
- Jobs once it runs
- Not disclosed
- Tax each year
- Not disclosed
Every field, with who said it and when (Researcher view)
Impact figures
| Field | Value | Who says so | Source | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How much power it needs | Not disclosed | |||
| How much water it would use | Not disclosed | |||
| How loud it would be | Not disclosed | |||
| Jobs once it runs | Not disclosed | |||
| Tax it would pay each year | Not disclosed |
The record's fields
| Field | Value | Who says so | Source | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who is building it | Not disclosed | |||
| Who is constructing it | Not disclosed | |||
| How much land | Not disclosed | |||
| Where its power comes from | Not disclosed | |||
| Grid connection | Not disclosed | |||
| How it is cooled | Not disclosed |
The developer's figure is what the company said; what a permit allows is the ceiling a permit sets; measured means observed. Water is in gallons a day or a year, whichever the source stated; a tax claim given as a range shows both ends, each linked to the source that gave it.
Still not public, and where it would show up
The record adds each the day a source gives it. Why these documents.
- Water useA state water right filing or a water supply agreement.
- Who would use itA lease announcement or a tenant named in a filing.
- Power the campus would drawA utility or public service commission docket, an interconnection filing, or an air permit for an on site plant.
- Who is behind itA land record, a zoning application or a company's own announcement.
- Jobs and taxAn incentive agreement, a county's economic development filing or a fiscal note.
What was decided
Acts of McPherson County and Leola about data centers, on the record with their source. A rule about the area is not a decision about this record.
| Date | Who | Decision | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| McPherson County | McPherson County Commission, acting as county Board of Adjustment, will decide on conditional use permit for Leola Data Center | yahoo.com | |
| McPherson County | McPherson County Planning and Zoning Commission voted to postpone a decision following an executive session at a special meeting | dakotanewsnow.com |
What happened
-
(source date; the content gives no date of its own)
In 2023, South Dakota PUC approved Montana Dakota Utilities request to establish new rate available to data center type facilities housing high density computer processing technology [1]
-
(source date; the content gives no date of its own)
Montana Dakota Utilities would provide electricity to Leola Data Center in second half of 2027 [1]
-
(source date; the content gives no date of its own)
Construction could start this fall after conditional use permit received [1]
-
· Status: rumored (source date; the content gives no date of its own)
Leola Data Center is a 50 megawatt facility proposed in a one story building 120 feet wide by 400 feet long at 116th Street and 358th Avenue, about four miles west of Leola [1]
The full Leola Data Center timeline, in order
14 corrections to this record
Every correction, with its reason
-
· the status of a projects row
The stage was set by timeline entries that were returned to draft on 2026-09-17 (they had been published onto the record while it was still a draft skeleton). With no published entry behind it the record reads rumored until one is approved. The old and new text.
-
· the kind of source of a history entry
The source was labeled with the Google News search that found it; it now carries its outlet's tier (the record's rules of 2026-09-23). The link did not change. The day's label corrections.
-
· the kind of source of a history entry
The source was labeled with the Google News search that found it; it now carries its outlet's tier (the record's rules of 2026-09-23). The link did not change. The day's label corrections.
-
· the kind of source of a history entry
The source was labeled with the Google News search that found it; it now carries its outlet's tier (the record's rules of 2026-09-23). The link did not change. The day's label corrections.
-
· the kind of source of a history entry
The source was labeled with the Google News search that found it; it now carries its outlet's tier (the record's rules of 2026-09-23). The link did not change. The day's label corrections.
-
· the kind of source of a history entry
The source was labeled with the Google News search that found it; it now carries its outlet's tier (the record's rules of 2026-09-23). The link did not change. The day's label corrections.
-
· the draft of a status history row
Published on a project that was still a draft skeleton and still short of the record's skeleton minimum rule; returned to draft on 2026-09-17 pending the project meeting the rule or a person's approval. The old and new text.
-
· the draft of a status history row
Published on a project that was still a draft skeleton and still short of the record's skeleton minimum rule; returned to draft on 2026-09-17 pending the project meeting the rule or a person's approval. The old and new text.
-
· the draft of a status history row
Published on a project that was still a draft skeleton and still short of the record's skeleton minimum rule; returned to draft on 2026-09-17 pending the project meeting the rule or a person's approval. The old and new text.
-
· the draft of a status history row
Published on a project that was still a draft skeleton and still short of the record's skeleton minimum rule; returned to draft on 2026-09-17 pending the project meeting the rule or a person's approval. The old and new text.
-
· the draft of a status history row
Published on a project that was still a draft skeleton and still short of the record's skeleton minimum rule; returned to draft on 2026-09-17 pending the project meeting the rule or a person's approval. The old and new text.
-
· the draft of a status history row
Published on a project that was still a draft skeleton and still short of the record's skeleton minimum rule; returned to draft on 2026-09-17 pending the project meeting the rule or a person's approval. The old and new text.
-
· the draft of a status history row
Published on a project that was still a draft skeleton and still short of the record's skeleton minimum rule; returned to draft on 2026-09-17 pending the project meeting the rule or a person's approval. The old and new text.
-
· the draft of a status history row
Published on a project that was still a draft skeleton and still short of the record's skeleton minimum rule; returned to draft on 2026-09-17 pending the project meeting the rule or a person's approval. The old and new text.
Every correction on the record is on the corrections page.
What was said
Democratic candidates and PUC candidate Frank Kloucek called for one year moratorium on new data centers
Every statement about data centers in South Dakota, by speaker
The site
Where in McPherson County is not in the public record. The pin marks the county seat, not a building, and the outline is the county.
Tap a pin for the data center, the parcel for its record
- This record: Proposed, ringed
- data center
- Dashed edge: the exact site is not in the public record
- Smaller pins: 2 other published records in South Dakota
Details
- this record's location, ringed
- parcel outline, from the county parcel record
- city limits, U.S. Census Bureau, on a town level record
- county boundary
The other pins are the published projects in the same state, each in its stage color. The imagery beneath is the USGS national orthoimagery, public domain, shown so the land around the site can be read.
- Where
- Leola, McPherson County, South Dakota
- How exactly it is located
- County level, the county seat
- The parcel
- No parcel outline in the public record
- Nearest homes
- Not computed for a record placed at a place center
- Nearest records
- Nearest records are not computed for a record placed at a county seat.
Questions about this project
4 questions answered from the record
Who is building Leola Data Center?
-
Not disclosed. No source on file names the developer. The sources read for this record are listed under Sources.
How much power and water does Leola Data Center say it needs?
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Power: not disclosed by any source on file. Water: not disclosed by any source on file.
Where does Leola Data Center stand today?
-
It is reported, as reported September 2, 2026. The newest entry, reported September 2, 2026: In 2023, South Dakota PUC approved Montana Dakota Utilities request to establish new rate available to data center type facilities housing high density computer processing technology [1].
What has Leola or McPherson County decided about it?
-
McPherson County (rated case by case): McPherson County Commission, acting as county Board of Adjustment, will decide on conditional use permit for Leola Data Center (reported September 2, 2026, source); and McPherson County: McPherson County Planning and Zoning Commission voted to postpone a decision following an executive session at a special meeting (reported August 11, 2026, source). 2 events are on the county's rows; a rule about the area is not a decision about this record.
Sources
Reporting
- State regulators, county board to decide Leola Data Center’s fate - Yahoo, Yahoo, September 2, 2026, local outlet
- Leola Data Center electricity to be served by MDU; next faces county permitting, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, September 9, 2026, local outlet
- McPherson County Postpones Approval Of Leola Data Center Conditional Use Permit - Aberdeen Insider, Aberdeen Insider, September 4, 2026, local outlet
- Potential Settlement Reached Over Powering McPherson County Data Center - Dakota News Network, Dakota News Network, September 3, 2026, local outlet
- State regulators, county board to decide Leola data center’s fate - KELOLAND.com, KELOLAND.com, September 2, 2026, local outlet
- McPherson County officials want legal assurances on data center pledges - The Dakota Scout, The Dakota Scout, September 7, 2026, local outlet
- Leola Data Center, Senate Candidates on Wounded Knee Medals | Sept. 9 - SDPB, SDPB, September 9, 2026, local outlet
7 sources on file.
Cite this record
Data Center Record, "Leola Data Center", https://datacenterrecord.org/projects/leola-data-center-sd, last verified September 17, 2026.
Cite this page
Data Center Record, "Leola Data Center", https://datacenterrecord.org/projects/leola-data-center-sd. Data: Data Center Record, datacenterrecord.org, CC BY 4.0.
The structured rows are CC BY 4.0. Link to this page; that is what turns a reuse into a citation. Prose stays under copyright.
For researchers
- Slug
- leola-data-center-sd
- Status value
- rumored
- Stage
- Proposed
- Tier
- skeleton
- Tags
- skeleton
- Place id
- us/sd/mcpherson-county/leola
- Coordinates
- 45.72111, -98.93861
- Location precision
- county
- Location source
- County seat (Leola), Wikidata, placed at county level
- Coordinate source
- wikidata county seat
- Location source number
- Not disclosed
- Location last verified
- September 16, 2026
- EPA registry id
- Not disclosed
- Use type values
- not_disclosed
- Tenancy value
- not_disclosed
- Cooling type value
- not_disclosed
- Capacity basis
- not_disclosed
- Water basis
- not_disclosed, gallons_per_day
- Acreage basis
- Not disclosed
- Interconnection value
- not_disclosed
- Capacity, if disclosed
- Not disclosed
- Rating of the county's rows
- Case by case
- Published
- 2026-09-05
- Last verified
- 2026-09-17