By Brian Tabick
Publication Date: 2026-04-17 01:44:00
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – New documents are adding clarity to the timeline of Google’s decision to drop plans to build a data center in rural Linn County and instead work with the city of Palo.
The proposed project is set to sit just south of the Duane Arnold Nuclear Power Plant near Palo. Linn County had been working with Google for months when Google walked away from the county and turned to Palo. Millions of dollars are on the line, along with concerns about the impact on water resources.
Google wants the city of Palo to grow by annexing a piece of Linn County where Google would build a data center, fueled by the nuclear power plant that’s in the process of coming back online. All the tax benefits and incentives from Google would go to Palo, not Linn County, unless the two municipalities worked together.
County proposed 50-50 split with Palo
The new documents don’t reveal exactly what happened during a closed session meeting, but the county went back to Palo asking to work…
