Hundreds of people packed into High Country in Eau Claire for CVI’s Charlie Berens Data Center Event — and the energy was electric. The comedian and Wisconsin native brought his signature humor to one of the most pressing issues facing our region: the push to build massive data centers on Wisconsin farmland.

But it wasn’t just entertainment. The event featured speakers who laid out the real costs — skyrocketing electricity bills, drained aquifers, destroyed farmland, and communities left holding the bag while tech giants profit. The crowd left informed, fired up, and ready to fight back.

The event generated significant media coverage and put the data center issue squarely on the map. A follow-up meeting in Knappa Valley is already in the works to turn that energy into action.