Data center battle continues as Eagan faces lawsuit

The owner of a data center is suing Eagan over the city’s data center moratorium, reports the Star Tribune. Eagan Capital, which hopes to expand its data center operations, alleges the city’s moratorium amounts to electrical regulation, which is the business of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, not local government. 

In February, Eagan became the first city in the state to issue a temporary stop to data centers, the energy-hungry backbone of the booming AI industry. Others have followed, including neighboring Inver Grove Heights. In a statement to the Star Tribune, an Eagan spokesperson said the city “is confident in its position and intends to vigorously defend its moratorium through the legal process.” 

Sixty-five Allina Health hospice workers in Minnesota went on a one-day strike on Monday amid stalled contract negotiations, reports Hospice News. The SEIU-Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa union representing the nurses cited pay inequity and a lack of work-life balance as reasons for the strike. The union said that hospice nurses were the only Allina workers denied wage increases in the spring, and that they did not receive increases last summer.

Two Duluth biologists fired from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in June 2025 have joined a lawsuit to get their jobs back, alleging that the terminations were retaliatory and violated their First Amendment rights, according to MPR News. Alex Cole, one of the fired employees, said he wants to return to his work in the Duluth lab, which focuses on environmental toxicology, “to continue to do what I was doing before, which was upholding the EPA mission statement of protecting human health and the environment.” 

In response to a dramatic climb in e-bike injuries, AAA Minnesota published a 16-page safety guide as a part of an e-ride safety campaign, reports the Star Tribune. “E-rides have spread so quickly that laws, infrastructure and safety-awareness haven’t kept pace,” said AAA Minnesota spokeswoman Brynna Knapp. “That leaves many parents trying to figure out what’s safe, what’s allowed and what rules to set.”

First Independence Bank opened a new branch in St. Paul last month in the Black-owned institution’s most recent move to provide economic opportunity and reduce racial wealth disparities, according to the Pioneer Press. The branch will primarily serve the University-Frogtown and Rondo communities.

The Detroit-based bank expanded to Minneapolis in 2022 following the social unrest after the murder of George Floyd. Leaders chose the St. Paul location “to provide entrepreneurs and families in underserved communities with greater access to loans, financial education and homeownership opportunities,” the story said.  

While the World Cup has stolen the headlines, it’s been a big week for Minnesota sports. The Minnesota Aurora FC are moving on to the USL-W semifinals for the second consecutive year after a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Riveters SC on Sunday, reports Fox 9 News. For the second season in a row, Byron Buxton and Joe Ryan of the Twins were named to the American League All-Star team. And Bring Me the News reports that the Wild have shaken up their roster at the start of the free agency period, losing some veterans and still hoping to sign star defenseman Quinn Hughes and trade for a top-line center.

Lily Kopp is a student at the University of Iowa and a MinnPost reporting intern.

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