Data Center triggers a small-town makeover as big cities fight to keep them out

WASHINGTON (AP) — For decades, Quincy, Washington, was known for exporting sweet corn and potatoes. Now, the small town’s biggest export is computing power, a shift residents and local leaders credit largely to Microsoft’s data center campus built there 20 years ago.

Since the company began developing the campus, Quincy — a town of about 9,000 — has seen major changes that supporters say have strengthened the local economy and improved public services.

“It’s changed it for the better and our poverty level has dropped immensely,” Quincy resident Nick Konen said.

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Local leaders said the data center helped expand the job base and drove property values higher, fueling new construction and public investment.

“New schools, new fire station, new police station, city hall,” Mike Stetner, whose watched his small business grow from three employees to 200 over the past two…