Simple Mining data center, Cascade, Iowa

Simple Mining, a bitcoin company based in Cedar Falls, plans to put about 40 crypto mining containers on roughly four acres of the Cascade Industrial Park in Cascade, Iowa, a town of 2,386 people that lies partly in Dubuque County and partly in Jones County. "Simple Mining is not putting in a data center," Ken McDermott, president of the Cascade Economic Development Corporation, said, though the Telegraph Herald later reported the company had bought 15 acres in the park, about a third of it for the mining facility, with six to eight jobs. The corporation has called a public forum on the project for Thursday, October 1, 2026, from 6 to 7:30 pm at the KC Hall in Cascade, with questions to be sent in by September 25.

Each container would be about 160 square feet on a concrete pad, self-cooled to use less water and power, and an agreement caps noise leaving the property at the level of a normal conversation and requires Simple Mining to disclose the project's maximum possible electricity use before the land sale closes. Joan Hoffmann, who lives next to the park in the Oak Hill neighborhood, said she worries about the water and power the project would use: "I spend a lot of my time in the summer out on the porch and I love the sound of the birds and the kids playing at the park nearby. I hope that wouldn't interfere with that." At a May 26, 2026 council meeting, resident Mireille Gudenkauf said, "Should the center be built, it's my understanding that it's not going to just affect the people that live on Oak Hill, but the other people in Cascade," and asked when the promised community meeting would happen.

The Telegraph Herald obtained the development agreement, filed in redacted form at the Dubuque County Recorder's Office, which shows the economic development corporation would get financial incentives if Simple Mining builds; Cascade's mayor has said the financial details are not public. The Cascade City Council passed a 12-month data center moratorium in June 2026 while the town writes rules, and a resident's letter to the Telegraph Herald argued the deal's 60-decibel noise cap at the property line is far louder than the 30 to 45 decibels normally heard in Oak Hill. Simple Mining says it runs five mining sites with 100 megawatts of power under management and is aiming for 500 megawatts by the end of 2026; its larger plan in Cedar Falls failed when that city council unanimously rejected the zoning changes it needed on May 18, 2026.