Tuesday,April 7, 2026
Data Center Dilemma: How Kentucky communities are responding
Community members from Franklin, Kentucky and surrounding counties fill the Franklin Police Station’s conference room on Tuesday, March 3, 2026 to attend a planning and zoning commission meeting.After nearly four hours of debate, the board decided to approve the preliminary development plan. (Cayden Duncan)
Editor’s Note: This story was originally published in volume 101, issue 5 of the Herald magazine.
Warren County opened the door for potential data center construction when the planning commission amended its zoning regulations on March 19.
Data center developers are using rural Kentucky communities as a blueprint for their nationwide expansion, reaching into counties across the Commonwealth — some just 25 minutes down the road.
Poet Manny Grimaldi reads poems from his book “Riding Shotgun with the Mothman” during a guest reading presented by WKU’s English Department in Grise Hall on Monday, April 6, 2026. (Natasha Gomez)
Throughout his reading at Grise Hall Monday, Manny Grimaldi acted out the emotions behind his work, speaking in accents, shouting and walking barefoot through the audience.
Grimaldi has been writing poetry since 2019 and is also an author, father, musician and writer. Throughout his longest performance to date, he read for 30 minutes from his poetry collections and some of his unpublished work.
