Mark Maxwell

Data centers run hot, and they need water and power to stay cool. So the AI industry increasingly builds in cold climates, where outside air does much of the work for free.

So why is Amazon building in Missouri, where summers regularly top 95 degrees?

We asked Amazon's Vice President of Public Policy, Shannon Kellogg, directly. His answer: with AI, location matters less than it used to, and Missouri was "a great opportunity." On water, he said the company's evaporative cooling systems use water only "7% of the time," and that Amazon's network is "7 times more efficient than anyone else in the industry."

We pressed him on the part that worries residents most: research shows data center water and power demand spikes in the hottest months, exactly when communities need both the most. In Arizona, one data center's summer water use nearly doubled. So what happens in Montgomery County during a July heat wave, when the servers and the community draw at the same time?

He returned to the same answer: the systems are efficient, and only run "a very small part of the year."

Neither Amazon nor Google has released a peak summer water figure for Montgomery County.

Welcome to Montgomery County, Missouri — home of the biggest little fair in the state, and now home to not one but two hyperscale AI data centers.

Google announced it was breaking ground here last month. Today, Amazon followed with a multibillion-dollar announcement of its own. Governor Mike Kehoe said Senate Bill 4 — one of the first things he pushed through in his first year in office — was a big reason both companies came.

Amazon, one of the wealthiest companies in the world, will receive personal property tax incentives that could let it forgo up to nearly a billion dollars on the equipment, machinery, and servers it installs. The campuses sit on farm fields, away from most homes. The companies say they'll draw water from deep underground, and that the supply is abundant.

If residents have concerns about their electric bills, water bills, the water supply, or the environment, officials say they can bring them directly to Amazon and local leaders — including at upcoming conversations at Missouri S&T in Rolla and here in the community.

The county says the property taxes these projects pay will be a major boon. Whether that promise holds is what we'll keep watching.

Off-script and on the record.

After fielding questions about Amazon's $10 billion data center in Montgomery County, Gov. Mike Kehoe stopped and turned to our news camera — unprompted — to address the massive sinkhole that opened beneath a concrete support column holding up a downtown St. Louis highway.

The story may have caught his attention for good reason. Before entering politics, Kehoe spent four-and-a-half years on the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission — the body that oversees MoDOT — and served as its chairman.

"That concrete column holds up lives, people, commerce above it," Kehoe said. "You want to make sure it's safe."

He says a water main break triggered the collapse. The structural concern is that towering concrete column running along the edge of the hole, which is the same column supporting the highway overhead. The roadway is closed.

When I asked if he'd drive over the bridge right now, Kehoe didn't miss a beat: "Well, it's closed, so I can't."

Kehoe said initial reports indicate the structure appears safe, but MoDOT, engineers, and utility companies are still assessing. "I think you have to have safety first on any of these projects," he said.

When a member of Congress tells you how often he shows up to work, we Check the Record. Rep. Wesley Bell said he's missed only "three or four" votes in 18 months. The record shows 17 — about 3%, just above average. Bell says that beats the opponent he faces in August, and he's right: last term, Cori Bush missed 235 of 1,241 votes, nearly 19%. The full breakdown is streaming now on the 5 On Your Side app.

Big ruling out of St. Louis city court today.

The state-appointed police board sued the city, arguing it was legally entitled to a cut of the city's Rams settlement money and emergency reserves, funds the city has spent decades building and already committed to tornado recovery and infrastructure.

The judge disagreed. The ruling: general revenue means current income. Money your city earned in 2023 is not this year's revenue. Savings accumulated over decades are not this year's revenue. You cannot count money twice.

The board says it will appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court. Governor Kehoe called it "continued legal attacks by politicians" which he said were "unproductive and discouraging. Worth noting that it was the police board, not the city, that filed this lawsuit. The city played defense and won.

The Rams money is protected. The city's savings account is protected. For now.

Jason Law's boldest idea? Sell two county-owned venues he calls money-losers: the Family Arena and the equestrian center. "Only 1% of people ride horses," he says. Smart savings or short-sighted? Watch.

https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/st-charles-county-executive-hopefuls-ehlmann-eigel-and-law-debate-ahead-of-aug-4-primary/63-d645de65-d85c-43ae-add4-b1233ea699a8

Steve Ehlmann said he was done after nearly 20 years. Then he un-retired. We asked him point-blank if he just couldn't let go and he pointed to what he calls "mob rule" in local politics. Watch.

We pressed St. Charles County executive candidate Bill Eigel about a 92-year-old donor whose single contribution turned into repeated charges. He says the campaign refunded it and calls the scrutiny an attempt to "smear my character." Watch the exchange.

Michael McLemore is a tornado survivor. He testified at City Hall that Greater St. Louis Inc. should change its name to "Greater Downtown" because, in his words, "they don't give a damn about the rest of the city." We put that question to Greater St. Louis Inc. Managing Partner Ron Kitchens and asked him to answer McLemore directly. He said he was sorry McLemore feels that way. Then he listed his organization's projects. Then the follow-up: if corporate and civic leaders were louder about demanding federal housing relief for North City, would the fight over Rams money be less bitter? His answer is worth hearing. Streaming now on the 5 On Your Side app.

The fight over St. Louis's $230 million Rams settlement has exposed a fundamental disagreement about how this city works. North City gets $110 million — the largest single share. Downtown gets $55 million, potentially amplified by private and state matching funds. But tornado survivors say the north side allocation still isn't enough. We asked Comptroller Donna Baringer the direct question: do the numbers actually support the argument that a healthy downtown lifts the whole city? She said yes. We pushed back. Streaming now on the 5 On Your Side app.