Protesters shut down Hermantown data center meeting

The Hermantown City Council was expected to advance the controversial Google data center project Monday night, but protesters completely filled the building and stopped that from happening.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS sister station WDIO reported that Hermantown City Councilor Andy Hjelle released a statement after the meeting, calling Hermantown a place where neighbors can disagree with respect.

“People care deeply about what happens here, and passionate discussion is part of small-town life. But shouting down a public meeting to the point where our police officers had to declare an unlawful assembly is completely wrong,” Hjelle wrote. “That is not who we are, and it is not how Hermantown gets things done.”

The Monday night agenda had just a few items, all data center related, including voting whether t...