Menomonie Data Center, Menomonie, Wisconsin

Balloonist LLC's proposed 324-acre data center along County Highway B in Dunn County, Wisconsin, cannot be built until the City of Menomonie finishes a new I-4 data center zoning district and Balloonist applies to rezone its land to it. The City Council read the draft I-4 ordinance, covering light and noise limits, water use, equipment setbacks and landscaping, on August 3, 2026 without a vote; it still must go to the Plan Commission and back to the council before Balloonist can apply.

Mayor Matthew Crowe said in June 2026 that Balloonist had twice asked to meet him and that he had declined, so as not to be "unduly influenced regarding the project" before the council adopts the new zoning. Crowe has said the city cannot legally ban an industry, and the timeline depends on whether and when Balloonist applies.

The land lies between 650th and 690th Avenue and was owned by the Town of Red Cedar; the city annexed and rezoned it for industry in August 2025 on an 8-3 council vote after the Plan Commission recommended it unanimously. Balloonist's renderings showed two data halls, an office building and a warehouse, and the city's FAQ put the investment at $1.6 billion in two phases over four to seven years.

The city estimated the data center would use about 75,000 gallons of water a day, which would make it the fifth-largest user in the area. Few details about Balloonist are public; it was registered in 2024, a month before City Administrator Eric Atkinson signed a nondisclosure agreement on the project, and a council member said its end user was "one of the top tech giants."

Residents say they learned of the project too late. A Facebook group, Stop the Menomonie Data Center, has more than 10,000 members, and many residents objected to the nondisclosure agreements and the secrecy. In September 2025 Mayor Randy Knaack told the council he would not negotiate a development agreement or tax increment district, and the city halted those talks, though Balloonist went on to buy the land days later.

"For now, I'm not willing to negotiate a development agreement or TID district information," Knaack said then, while Ward 9 council member Sydney Brennan said the move gives "a big middle finger to companies that we are closed for business." Derek DeGross, who lives a couple of miles away, doubts the new rules will stop it: "that developer will be able to just cross off the checklist one by one, and then still build it."

In January 2026 the council unanimously created a separate definition for data centers, with larger lot and setback requirements than a warehouse, meaning Balloonist would have to start its application over. "To Balloonist, if you want to be here and participate in my community honestly and truthfully, you are a data center, not a warehouse," resident Charles Warner told the council. An attorney for Balloonist, Douglas Buck, had urged the council to "please reengage with Balloonist."