Pokagon Band, city of Dowagiac continue calls for data center transparency

DOWAGIAC, Mich. — The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Chairman, Matthew Wesaw, spoke with ABC57 Tuesday to discuss their support for the city of Dowagiac in their efforts to get more information on the potential expansion of Hyperscale Data.

The company and its subsidiary, Alliance Cloud Services, announced intentions to expand their already existing data center from 50 megawatts to 340 megawatts in July of last year.

Last month, Hyperscale announced an agreement to purchase 48.5 acres of land in southwest Michigan to expand their AI data center.

The city of Dowagiac responded by issuing an open letter to Hyperscale CEO, Will Horne, demanding plans be submitted to the city, placing a 45-day deadline on the issue.

Dowagiac City Manager, Kevin Anderson, confirmed with ABC57 Tuesday that they’ve received no contact from Hyperscale since the letter was released.

Anderson says the city has spent the last several months tightening their ordinances to ensure they can handle a larger data center should an expansion occur.

The Pokagon Band says they have no stance on data centers at this time, but are concerned about the potential for impact on local natural resources. Chairman Wesaw also said that they’ll look at each proposal on a case-by-case basis before making a decision on whether or not to support the development.

ABC57 reached out to Hyperscale multiple times on Tuesday but received no response.