Data center vote petition falls short

JOPLIN, Mo. — A proposed public vote on the controversial AI data center project in Joplin won't happen after opponents fell short on petition signatures.

The group seeking to repeal the city’s annexation and rezoning of the land collected approximately 2,800 signatures — well below the roughly 5,000 required to force the issue onto the ballot.

With the petition drive failing, the debate now shifts away from the ballot box.