MidAmerican Data Center, Salix, Iowa

MidAmerican Energy holds options, through its affiliate Midwest Capital Group, on about 900 acres of farmland at Salix, Iowa, that the city annexed from Woodbury County in April 2026, bounded by Old Highway 75, 260th Street and Charles Avenue, to sell on to a data center customer. On August 3, 2026, MidAmerican named that customer as Google, which it said had expressed interest in exploring a data center in the Salix area.

Salix has about 300 people and sits south of Sioux City. MidAmerican first told the council in a letter of June 8 that the site was "being evaluated for possible development as a data center site," and that any customer would be "required to pay the full cost of the infrastructure needed to serve its load."

Council minutes from June 10 record that residents "have many concerns of a data center coming in," many of them with homes near the annexed land. A petition against the plan had more than 540 signatures by the end of June.

Woodbury County supervisors passed a 12 month moratorium 5 to 0 on June 23, 2026, but it covers only unincorporated land and so does not reach the annexed site. Supervisor Matthew Ung questioned how Salix handled the annexation, saying the city never set a time to consult the county.

Woodbury County is challenging the annexation in court, arguing that Salix failed to notify residents properly and took in land that does not border the city. On August 6 three residents also asked a judge to declare the annexation void because they were given no notice; the city has moved to dismiss, saying they missed a 30 day deadline.

Google's Trent Fellers told residents the company would not seek local property tax abatements or rebates: "All property tax revenue will go directly to the city of Salix, Woodbury County, local school districts and all other local taxing entities." A council meeting set for August 12 to vote on a one year moratorium was postponed after death and terroristic threats against the city government were posted on social media, and Mayor Kevin Nelson said the sheriff was investigating.

On August 20 the council voted 3 to 2 against the moratorium. Council member Gene Monk, who backed the pause, said: "It's too big of a decision for us five people [on the council]." Keely Bassette Purscell of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, which owns land nearby and opposes hyperscale data centers near its reservation, told the council: "Whatever you guys do will affect us." The land would still need rezoning for a data center.

On September 9, after Nelson had three people removed under new decorum rules, the council agreed to have the regional planning agency SIMPCO draft a data center ordinance for public comment. Supervisors tabled a memorandum of understanding until October 14, 2026.