For more than a century, Cheyenne has grown around the infrastructure that moves our country forward: rail lines, highways, energy systems and military installations. Data centers are part of that same story.
They may look different from the industries that built this community, but they serve a similar purpose: connecting people, supporting commerce and powering the systems our country depends on.
The opportunity before us is not simply to bring new projects to town, but to work through them together in a way that respects public concerns, strengthens neighborhoods and leaves Cheyenne better prepared for the future.
So let me begin with genuine gratitude. Over the past several months, this community has shown up. People have packed hearings, asked hard questions, and voiced real concerns and fears out loud.
That is exactly what a land use process is supposed to look like, and it’s a sign of a community that cares about its future. I’m grateful for it.
The conversations haven’t always been easy, and not every remark has been civil, but the engagement itself is a strength, not a nuisance. If we sit on the sidelines and never speak up, we forfeit our voice in what comes next. Please keep showing up.
Along the way, I’ve taken my share of heat, both from opponents of data centers and of economic development more broadly. That comes with the work, and I welcome the scrutiny.
Hard questions about power rates, water use, and transparency are fair, they’re valuable, and this whole community is better for having them on the table. I’d only ask that we keep the debate honest. Cheyenne LEADS is not a back-room operation.
It was built in the late 1980s by citizen leaders and volunteers who drove a stake in the ground to bring diversity and prosperity to Cheyenne and Laramie County. Over 40 years that work has brought thousands of manufacturing, service, distribution, and data center jobs to Wyoming.
For every $1 invested in economic development by LEADS members, the city, the county, and the state, $8.10 comes back to Wyoming every year, and that return climbs as companies keep growing here. Those are the facts, and I’m always happy to walk anyone through them.
Here’s why this matters beyond any single project. Wyoming loses too many of its young people. They graduate, find a career elsewhere, and leave.
Data centers, done right, are a chance to change that. A chance to build an economy where our kids and grandkids can stay, work good jobs, and raise their own families in the place they love. That’s the real prize, and it’s worth getting this right.
That’s also why my door is open. If you have something to add, bring me your ideas, your solutions, and your concerns.
Our organization can work with the city, county, and state to find shared answers and to prioritize the projects that make the neighborhoods you actually live in safer and more livable.
Heather Madrid, a Cheyenne resident who organized a petition calling for a temporary moratorium on data centers, has done exactly that; she stepped up as a community leader and sat down with my staff to identify improvements for her neighborhood.
She came ready for an honest conversation and shared solutions, and that kind of partnership is how real progress gets made.
So, here’s my ask of our leaders.
Mr. Mayor, city council members, and county commissioners: As you sit down with data center and power generation companies to craft development agreements and mitigate impacts, go into those rooms carrying the real concerns your constituents have raised.
Think through the waterfall effects on streets and neighborhoods that aren’t central to a project but still feel every ripple of it. A list drawn up by elected officials can look like the answer is already settled; the people living with the impacts know better than anyone what they need.
Look for ways to pair philanthropic dollars, 6th penny, and other grant revenue with company impact funds, so we can tackle larger regional improvements that solve several challenges at once.
To the developers looking to make Cheyenne and Wyoming home: welcome, but come ready to stay. A data center is more than a building on the prairie; it’s a neighbor.
Companies that want to grow here should stand ready to make lasting investments in the communities that host them, from infrastructure to workforce to quality of life. That’s not a hurdle; it’s the foundation of a relationship that lasts.
Wyoming has always done its best work not through gridlock, but by putting our heads together, writing clear rules, and getting after it.
This boom is real, and it won’t wait. Let’s make it count.
As the old saying goes, coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, but working together is success.
Betsey Hale is the CEO of Cheyenne LEADS.
