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Logan County Indivisible holds
peaceful protest of proposed data center
[April 21, 2026]
Editor's Note: Lincoln Daily
News has no opinion on the proposed data center. The purpose of the
article is to report the facts of the protest held by Logan County
Indivisible.
Monday evening, Logan County
residents joined Logan County Indivisible in a peaceful protest of
the proposed Hut8 Data Center planned outside of Latham. Protesters
wore t-shirts with a “No Data Centers” logo and held signs. Some
signs read the same, while others were handmade. There was a table
with information packets, a petition to sign, and goodies.
Before the event got underway,
attendees were welcomed to the courthouse lawn with the sound of
Soloman and Hall. They sang several classic hits, including “Come
Together” by the Beatles, and a few of their own songs. They
continued to entertain the crowd throughout the evening, providing
songs between guest speakers.
Organizers of Logan County
Indivisible, Rachel Stechman and Amanda Maxheimer, were the first to
welcome the crowd of around 80 residents and protesters. They each
provided their views and concerns regarding the data center.
Stechman surveyed the crowd for their political associations.
Republicans, Democrats, and Independents were joining together to
oppose the data center. Between speakers, Stechman led the crowd in
chanting “Save Logan County”. Some drivers honked in support of the
protest as they drove by, and some vehicles displayed flags and
signs.
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Erica Wise introduced the speakers
and reminded attendees to contact the Logan County Board members to
express their views. Shelley Thomas, a longtime nurse from Logan
County, spoke and expressed her concerns regarding the health of
Logan County residents, citing data centers as a potential source of
air, water, and soil pollution. Amanda Maxheimer stressed the issue
of loss of valuable farmland and the character of Logan County.
Allison Isley presented her research on other data centers in
Illinois and spoke about their economic and environmental impacts.
Other speakers included Dayton Keyes, Hayley Vincent, and Anthony
Barnes, who stressed the economic impacts of the data centers,
including taxes and employment issues.
Data center protest photo slideshow
Protestors chant at Logan
County Indivisible data center protest video
Soloman and Hall perform
during Logan County Indivisible data center protest video
[Joli Boerma]
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