The city of Harwood in North Dakota does not have much to put it on the map. With a population of 794, the town is best known for a heroic operation in 1997 when locals built a five-mile wall to keep out floods, as well as its wonderfully relaxed local motto: “It’s all good.”
Harwood’s easygoing nature became more apparent this week when it became the only place in America to vote in favour of data centres. Around 325 voters, three quarters of turnout, voted against a proposal to slow large industrial developments including data centres. The measure, if passed, may have affected plans for a $3bn (£2.2bn) development by the tech company Applied Digital near the town.
