data centers

Chuck Hoskin Jr. speaks at Cherokee Nation Holiday in Tahlequah.

Indigenous News

Cherokee Nation bans hyperscale data centers on tribally owned, trust lands

Thomas Pablo, OPMX

The Cherokee Nation issued a ban on hyperscale data center development for tribally owned and trust land on Wednesday.

The Yukon's Best Flour Mill is a hallmark of the city and sits off Route 66.

Oklahoma News

Yukon mayor faces recall after data center backlash

Anna Pope, OPMX

The mayor of the City of Yukon will face a recall election. City leaders announced the petition's certification yesterday. This comes amid massive public pushback to a data center project in the city.

Pencia Truhan, who lives near the Oklahoma City–Yukon city limits, stands beside the natural, spring-fed pond bordering her property on June 27, 2026. She says the pond has dried up before and worries the proposed data center could affect both the pond and the well water her family and animals rely on.

Science Technology and Environment

A loophole leaves Oklahoma data center water consumption largely untracked

Juan Vassallo, Investigate Midwest

While a new state law partly limits data center groundwater use, in reality, data centers avoid water permits entirely by buying water from utilities. Residents are demanding answers in communities like Luther and Yukon.