Iowa Data Center Intel

Recent Iowa data center news

• Jan 23, 2026

  Edged US Builds Waterless, High-Density AI Data Center Campuses at Scale

  Edged US has announced recent campus expansions and detailed technical and operational profiles for those campuses.

  • Main announcement: Edged US announced a second 72-MW building at its Chicago/Aurora campus (purpose-built for AI; first facility opened February 2025; second building planned for Q2 2027) and a 24-MW second building in Irving/Dallas (first Dallas facility opened January 2025; second building approved January 15, 2026 and expected to break ground in Q2 2026). The projects emphasize waterless, closed-loop cooling (ThermalWorks; marketed as WUE 0.00), rack-density support (Aurora >200 kW/rack liquid-to-chip; Irving air-cooled >120 kW/rack with liquid-to-chip up to 400 kW/rack), and a portfolio-wide design PUE ~1.15.
  • Background and implementation details: Edged is pursuing a campus-first, repeatable delivery model across U.S. metros (Atlanta, Chicago/Aurora, Columbus/New Albany, Des Moines/Ankeny, Kansas City, Phoenix/Mesa). The company relies on partnerships for electrical and backup generation (notably PowerSecure, subsidiary of Southern Company) and positions ThermalWorks as the technical foundation for waterless cooling; the announcements are presented as executed approvals and planned timelines rather than speculative projections.
• Jan 20, 2026

  Switched Source Expands Grid-Enhancing Technology Deployments by 60%

  Switched Source reported a 60% increase in deployments of its Phase-EQ grid-enhancing technology over the past year, with units now operating across more than 10 utility service areas from Alaska to Florida.

  • Deployment growth & scope: Switched Source reports a 60% increase in deployments year-over-year, with Phase-EQ units operating in more than 10 utility service areas including New York, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Massachusetts, Texas, and Washington state; field data from operational sites shows 10% to 25% increase in load-serving capacity on active distribution circuits.
  • Device function & program support: Phase-EQ is described as the first distribution automation device that balances power flow between the three phases by exchanging real and reactive power; the company was founded in 2016 and the project is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s ARPA-E SCALEUP program. A recent Georgia Power deployment is designed to reduce load imbalance by half and voltage imbalance by more than 30%, with the utility supplying substation-level data to track performance.
• Jan 20, 2026

  Ted Hearn: An Appreciation of Rocco Commisso

  Rocco Commisso, founder and 100% owner of Mediacom Communications, has died at age 76; his funeral at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan is scheduled for Jan. 21, 2026.

  • Announcement: Rocco Commisso (age 76) has died; a funeral is set for Jan. 21, 2026 at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan (announced in the Jan. 20, 2026 obituary). He founded Mediacom in 1995 and remained 100% owner through the Commisso family.
  • Background & facts: Mediacom grew revenue from $855 million (2001) to over $2.22 billion (2022) and adjusted OIBDA from $335 million to more than $1 billion; the article references the federal $42.45 billion BEAD program and notes Mediacom launched Mediacom Mobile in July 2024 and focused on rural broadband (Iowa and nearly two dozen other U.S. states).
• Jan 15, 2026

  1623 Farnam in Review: 2025 Milestones and What’s Ahead for Connectivity in 2026

  1623 Farnam announced its 2025 milestones and its positioning for connectivity in 2026.

  • Mid-2025 facility expansion: 1623 Farnam completed a strategic expansion in mid-2025 that added 1.5 MW of IT capacity and 280 new cabinets, strengthened its carrier- and cloud-neutral interconnection fabric, and supported increased edge deployments and cross-connect capacity. The Omaha IX saw growth including the Iowa Communications Network (ICN) tapping into the Omaha IX to expand statewide reach.
  • Cloud, peering and wireless capabilities: 1623 Farnam emphasized Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute private connectivity, access to 60+ carriers and Google Cloud on-ramps, and its role as a backhaul and aggregation hub for Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) and wireless packet core placement. The article frames 2026 as a year for optimization around edge-first architectures, IX-based traffic exchange, hybrid/multi-cloud normalization and wireless backhaul efficiency.
• Jan 14, 2026

  Patented: Machine Learning Treatment for Depression and More North Texas Inventive Activity

  The Board of Regents of the University of Texas System, Stanford University, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs have been granted a patent for a machine-learning method to identify depression patients likely to respond to antidepressant treatment.

  • Main announcement: The three institutions received USPTO Patent No. 12490933 for a method that uses machine learning to identify subjects with depression who will respond to antidepressant treatment, listing Madhukar Trivedi among the inventors; the patent application listed is 19072469 on 03/06/2025 (278 days app to issue).
  • Background and context: The article is a Dallas Innovates weekly patents roundup reporting 100 patents granted in the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metro for the week of 12/9/25 (ranked No. 11 of 250 metros); it catalogs numerous other patents and top assignees (e.g., Texas Instruments Inc. (10 patents), Toyota (9), Samsung (7)) and provides USPTO links for individual patents.
• Jan 14, 2026

  Emerging Data Center Markets: Key Locations to Watch in 2026

  Cushman & Wakefield reports that power and land constraints in major U.S. data center hubs are driving operators to consider secondary and tertiary markets.

  • Main announcement: Cushman & Wakefield finds power and land constraints in primary hubs (Northern Virginia, Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago, Atlanta, Portland/Eastern Oregon) are shifting site selection toward secondary/tertiary markets; highlights include OpenAI’s Stargate (~$100 billion) and Vantage Frontier (~$25+ billion) as large upcoming projects.
  • Details/background: Regions such as Pennsylvania, the Carolinas, Central Washington, New Jersey, and Massachusetts are offering economic incentives, faster approvals, and flexible regulatory frameworks; Central Washington offers low-cost hydro power enabling 100% renewable operation but is also facing power constraints.
• Jan 9, 2026

  Meta Announces 6.6 GW Of Nuclear Energy Projects To Power AI Revolution

  Meta has announced agreements with Vistra, TerraPower and Oklo to secure nuclear power for its Prometheus AI supercluster at a New Albany, Ohio data centre.

  • Main announcement: Meta will secure up to 6.6 GW of power by 2035 from agreements with Vistra, TerraPower and Oklo to support the Prometheus supercluster (expected online sometime in 2026). Vistra signed 20-year power purchase agreements to provide more than 2,600 MW from Beaver Valley, Davis-Besse and Perry; TerraPower deals fund two projects that could begin generating by 2032 with rights to more projects targeted by 2035; Oklo’s advanced nuclear campus in Pike County, Ohio could come online as soon as 2030, and Meta may prepay for power to advance the Aurora powerhouse deployment.
  • Background and related details: Meta previously signed a 20-year deal with Constellation Energy to buy Clinton plant power from 2027; rivals Google, Amazon and Microsoft have also struck nuclear-related deals (Google backing Kairos Power SMRs; Amazon/NextEra support to restart Duane Arnold; Microsoft with Three Mile Island/Crane restart plans).
• Jan 6, 2026

  Data Center Jobs: Engineering, Construction, Commissioning, Sales, Field Service and Facility Tech Jobs Available in Major Data Center Hotspots

  Data Center Frontier, in partnership with Pkaza Critical Facilities Recruiting, published a monthly roundup of current data center job openings on its jobs board.

  • Monthly jobs roundup: The post lists roughly 15–18 open roles (examples: Data Center Facility Technician, Electrical Commissioning Engineer, Construction Project Manager, Senior Electrical Engineer, Production Architect, Strategic Sales Account Manager, Mechanical Engineer, Site Selection Manager/Director/VP, Electrical Project Manager, Electrical Superintendent, Project Executive, MEP Construction Project Manager, Mechanical Commissioning Engineer, Engineering Design Director, Navy Nuke Facility Technician) with locations across the United States including Impact, TX; Ashburn, VA; Dallas, TX; Atlanta, GA; Reading, PA; Allentown, PA; Charlotte, NC; New Albany, OH; Lyndhurst, NJ; Boulder, CO; Richmond, VA; Austin, TX.
  • Role and employer context: Positions are listed with mission-critical data center providers, engineering design and commissioning firms, A/E/C architecture firms, equipment rental providers, electrical contractors and general contractors; listings repeatedly cite energy efficiency, sustainable design, and AI infrastructure support, and several technician roles explicitly note acceptance of Navy Nuke / military veterans.
• Jan 2, 2026

  State Broadband Bills of 2025: A Legislative Review

  State legislatures across the United States enacted and considered broadband-related legislation in 2025; fewer than 140 of more than 600 proposed bills became law.

  • Main actions: States enacted laws prioritizing infrastructure and permitting reforms, pole and rights-of-way access, criminal penalties for theft/vandalism, state broadband funding, and data center incentives. Notable enacted measures include Hawaii H 934 (established a state Broadband Office and programs, enacted in June and backed by $400 million in combined funding), West Virginia SB 907 (expanded the Economic Development Project Fund to allow up to $25 million annually for broadband incentives and up to $125 million annually for broadband loan insurance) and West Virginia HB 2014 (signed in April; created microgrid districts with zoning/permitting exemptions and special property tax treatment for qualifying projects).
  • Additional details and timelines: States also raised criminal penalties (e.g., Oklahoma classified willful damage to a critical infrastructure facility as a Class D3 felony with fines up to $100,000 and prison up to 10 years; Louisiana authorized fines up to $50,000 and prison up to 20 years; California AB 476 increased penalties for knowingly buying illegally obtained scrap metal to $5,000). Other enacted programs include California SB 338 (a $2 million telehealth pilot), New Mexico SB 126 (Rural USF increased from $30 million to $40 million), and Oregon’s device support up to $100 in Lifeline-related assistance. At least 37 states passed data center incentives in 2025 and over 1,000 AI-focused bills were introduced nationwide, with ~38 states adopting or enacting roughly 100 AI measures in 2025.
• Dec 30, 2025 · IT Brief Asia

  Milestone unveils traffic VLM & XProtect summarisation

  Milestone Systems has announced the Hafnia Vision Language Model (VLM), a traffic-focused VLM, a Video Summarization plug-in for XProtect, and a VLM-as-a-Service (VLMaaS) API offering.

  • Main announcement: Milestone launched Hafnia VLM and a Video Summarization plug-in for XProtect Smart Client; the VLM is fine-tuned on 75,000 hours of responsibly sourced traffic video, offered as regionalised models for the US and EU, runs on cloud infrastructure or regional data centres, and the plug-in is available as a free download with charges applied when the VLM processes prompts.
  • Background & implementation details: The company provides VLMaaS via HTTPS with a pay-per-use (API calls) pricing model, claims summarisation can reduce operator false alarm fatigue by up to 30%, claims up to 70x reduction in AI/analytics effort versus building in-house models, integrates directly into XProtect (installs within minutes), and states the training data lineage aligns with GDPR and the EU AI Act for regulated deployments.