Local Tech Battles Are Pushing Leaders to Tears and Fits of Mania

Big Tech has come to Small Town, USA and is not exactly receiving the type of hospitality you’d expect. Across the country, city council meetings that are typically dominated by hyper-local issues have become battlegrounds for broader political and ethical debates, spurred by the encroaching tentacles of tech giants. City council members are increasingly under the microscope as they debate these issues, and some are straight up not having a good time. Take Saline Township, Michigan, a rural midwestern town that was pegged to serve as the home of Oracle and OpenAI’s Stargate initiative. The $16 billion project received significant pushback from the nearly 3,000 residents of the town, and they pushed the town’s board to deny zoning to the companies trying to build the huge CPU farm. Related Digital, spearheading the data center, opted to sue the town instead of taking the hint and leaving, and the town relented instead of going to court. They took a settlement and allowed the project to move forward. Ever since then, the townspeople have been trying to push their representatives out, including town treasurer Jennifer Zink. According to 404 Media, Zink announced that she was resigning

May 23, 2026 → May 30, 2026