{"id":2588717,"date":"2026-04-08T21:05:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T01:05:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/missouri-incumbents-voted-out-a-week-after-ignoring-public-pressure-on-data-center\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T21:08:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T01:08:06","slug":"missouri-incumbents-voted-out-a-week-after-ignoring-public-pressure-on-data-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/missouri-incumbents-voted-out-a-week-after-ignoring-public-pressure-on-data-center\/","title":{"rendered":"Missouri Incumbents Voted Out a Week After Ignoring Public Pressure on Data Center"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmissouri-incumbents-voted-out-a-week-after-ignoring-public-pressure-on-data-center%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2588717&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In Festus, Missouri, a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >broad voter backlash reshaped<\/a> the city\u2019s leadership after a heated debate over a proposed data center.Four incumbent city council members who were up for re-election were decisively defeated, replacing half of the eight-seat council. The election followed the council\u2019s decision to move forward with CRG Clayco\u2019s planned data center project despite notable resident opposition.<\/p>\n<p>New voices emerged, including Dan Moore, who won the Ward 3 seat and said the community\u2019s protest has awakened residents to demand better accountability. He and others criticized a lack of transparency in the project\u2019s approval process. In ward 4, Rick Belleville also emerged as part of the changes, voicing concerns about governance and promising a more community-driven approach to challenges ahead.<\/p>\n<p>Opposition to the data center persists, with residents arguing the project could affect property values, health, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/treasury-department-and-irs-issue-guidance-for-bonus-tax-credit-for-fossil-fuel-communities\/\" title=\"Treasury Department and IRS Issue Guidance for Bonus Tax Credit for Fossil Fuel Communities\">local tax revenues<\/a>, and noting secret meetings and insufficient facts. A petition to recall the mayor and several council members has circulated as part of ongoing efforts to challenge the leadership.<\/p>\n<p>Media coverage and public reaction depicted a highly mobilized community, including protests and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cancel-culture-journo-taylor-lorenz-cries-about-harassment-on-msnbc-then-blames-msnbc-for-people-making-fun-of-her-interview\/\" title=\"Cancel Culture Journo Taylor Lorenz Cries About \u201cHarassment\u201d on MSNBC Then Blames MSNBC for ... Making Fun of Her Interview\">social media posts criticizing<\/a> the decision to proceed with the data center despite widespread objection.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Democracy roared Tuesday in Festus, Missouri, as all four sitting city council members up for election were defeated.<\/p>\n<p>The council last week ignored resident opposition and voted to move forward with a massive data center project, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stltoday.com\/news\/local\/metro\/article_9d0f8544-2274-4a34-8d94-7eae6e87a2ca.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">St. Louis Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Tuesday&rsquo;s vote replaces four of the council&rsquo;s eight members. Incumbents were walloped by margins of 30 percentage points and more.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This data center fight has struck this community to the core and really, honestly ignited a community-driven effort here,&rdquo; Dan Moore, who won the race for the Ward 3 council seat, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stlpr.org\/government-politics-issues\/2026-04-08\/6b-data-center-festus-voters-oust-every-incumbent-council-member\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">STLPR<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;People are awake now, and we&rsquo;re not going to let this continue on anymore,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>CRG Clayco&rsquo;s Festus project has drawn opposition, even though City Administrator Greg Camp has talked up the project as a chance for growth and increased tax revenue for multiple jurisdictions.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;&rsquo;It&rsquo;s unlike anything that any of these, certainly the city, or any of those institutions, have ever seen before,&rdquo; Camp said last year.<\/p>\n<p>But residents have clamored for a halt to the project and were infuriated when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/akron-officials-cancel-fourth-of-july-celebrations-amid-ongoing-protests-for-jayland-walker\/\" title=\"Akron Officials Cancel Fourth Of July Celebrations Amid Ongoing Protests For Jayland Walker\">city officials called<\/a> the group &ldquo;uneducated.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We have been ignored for way too long,&rdquo; Moore said. &ldquo;It has been a problem in Festus for quite some time. I think this has just brought it to the surface.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">This is literally insane<\/p>\n<p>So many people showed up to oppose a $6 billion dollar data center in Missouri they had to use bleachers<\/p>\n<p>The whole crowd yells and chants they don&rsquo;t want the data center<\/p>\n<p>Festus City Council voted to approve the data center anyway right in their faces <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/I9xOyK9U4p\">pic.twitter.com\/I9xOyK9U4p<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WallStreetApes\/status\/2039888027783516164?\">April 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Rick Belleville, the new Ward 4 council member, said he and others opposed to the project were irked that the data center approval process was not transparent.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to approach those challenges as a community and not as a group of people who don&rsquo;t listen to us,&rdquo; Belleville said.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/spectrumlocalnews.com\/mo\/st-louis\/news\/2026\/04\/08\/festus-council-members-ousted-in-tuesday-s-election\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spectrum News<\/a> said residents have dug in their heels against the center.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We are voting anti-data center and those who support it are not supporting the people of this community,&rdquo; resident Shari Hongsermeier-Baxter said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This election is important because of the mayor and council members that have been untruthful and having secret meetings,&rdquo; resident Tyler Scott said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to affect my property value. It&rsquo;s going to affect my family&rsquo;s health,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s just not been enough research done by the council itself.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The election is not the end of opposition to political leaders who backed the center. A petition to recall the mayor and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrat-president-of-los-angeles-city-council-resigns-after-leaked-audio-of-racist-comments\/\" title=\"Democrat President of Los Angeles City Council Resigns After Leaked Audio of Racist Comments\">sitting council members<\/a> is being circulated.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We were pushed away as saying that we were just a vocal minority of just 50 people, but a lot of folks are signing the petition for the recall,&rdquo; resident Andrew Smreker said.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Voters in Festus, Missouri, ousted all four incumbents who were up for election after they approved moving forward with a large data center project. The four seats being filled replace half the eight-member council, and the incumbents were defeated by margins exceeding 30 percentage points.<\/p>\n<p>Dan Moore, who won the Ward 3 seat, said the data center fight has energized the community and that people are now awake and ready to push back against the project. Opponents argued the approval process lacked transparency. New Ward 4 council member Rick Belleville said he and others opposed the project because they felt left in the dark, and residents such as Shari Hongsermeier-Baxter and Tyler Scott expressed worries about property values, health, and insufficient research by the council.<\/p>\n<p>Supporters, including City Administrator Greg Camp, argued the project could bring growth and higher tax revenue, but residents remained staunchly opposed. A petition to recall the mayor and several council members began circulating, with critics saying their voices had been ignored and that the opposition was not simply a small minority.<\/p>\n<p>In short, the election produced a dramatic shift on Festus\u2019 city council as residents continued to challenge the data center proposal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2588718,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Missouri-council-members-voted-out.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[63631,6571,36857,8584,62055],"class_list":["post-2588717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-data-center","tag-elections","tag-incumbents","tag-missouri","tag-public-pressure"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Missouri-council-members-voted-out.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2588717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2588717"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2588717\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2588721,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2588717\/revisions\/2588721"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2588718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2588717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2588717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2588717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}