Rural Ohioans are trying to put the future of hyper-scale data centers on the ballot, and they’re gaining momentum
Published
July 9, 2026 6:30AM (EDT)
A data center on July 24, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio spans 256,000 square feet with 50 MW of power across three data halls. (Photo by Eli Hiller/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Growing up in Brown County, Ohio, Karley Baurichter learned to appreciate the land her family descended from. Her grandfather, whom she affectionately called “Papaw,” would take her to nearby paylakes and teach her how to catch and clean fish. He’d tell stories of shooting possum and digging for frogs when he didn’t have any other food, his grandfather who played the fiddle and rode the rails, and how the family’s milk and moonshine business allowed them to buy the 100 acres in Brown County Baurichter would spend Christmases and Easters on.
