North Dakota town serves as an example of the promise and perils of data centers for South Dakota

By: Makenzie Huber, Joshua Haiar

Outlets: South Dakota Searchlight

Published: January 30, 2026

Words: 2,077

Last Updated: 3 weeks, 2 days ago

Don Flaherty worries about the future of the data center industry “every single day.”

During his four years as mayor of Ellendale, North Dakota, the town has welcomed a growing data center campus from Dallas-based Applied Digital.

If the company goes belly up, so could the town.

“Could it blow up in my face?” Flaherty said. “Absolutely.”

A South Dakota Searchlight series examining the impact, barriers and concerns …

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