Sep 9, 2026 · 30 min
Kentucky family resists AI data center over land and faith
A Data Center Offered $26 Million for Her Land. She Said No.
The fight shows how AI infrastructure can turn promises of jobs and investment into a conflict over farmland, identity, and belief.
- 1Delcia Baer and Ida Huddleston reject a $26 million offer because family history and stewardship outweigh financial gain.
- 2Maysville residents split over whether the data center would revive the local economy or destroy farmland and rural character.
- 3Religious fears about AI intensify broader concerns about environmental disruption, noise, dust, and an uncertain future.
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Delcia returns to her farm’s cattle, graves, family lore, and spiritual memories before declaring she will remain even if the data center rises nearby.
The brief
Delcia Baer and her mother, Ida Huddleston, reject a $26 million offer for family farmland targeted for a massive AI data-center campus.
Their resistance is rooted in ancestral graves, family stories, environmental concerns, and religious fears that AI could usher in an anti-human future.
In Maysville, supporters point to jobs, tax revenue, and investment, while opponents fear noise, dust, lost farmland, and a town remade around infrastructure.
At the Thirsty Beaver, bar owner Danielle Ries makes the case for growth even as customers challenge the project’s promised benefits and rising local hostility.
Back on the farm, Delcia feeds her cattle and recounts the property’s memories before insisting she will stay, even if the data center is built feet from home.
Ida Huddleston
Erich Schwartzel
Book of Revelation
Eastern KentuckyBooks & mentions
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