Regional utilities push back on Harmony Township energy bans

MAPLETON, N.D. (KFGO) Dozens of Cass County residents packed the Mapleton Community Center on Tuesday night for a sometimes contentious Harmony Township board meeting that saw public debate over a proposed 540-megawatt data center shut down, while regional power providers warned that a proposed two-year energy development freeze could jeopardize the power grid. Township Board Chairman Dustin Burchill refused to allow attendees to comment on the data center or six proposed energy moratoria, stating the matters were not on the agenda and enforcing a policy requiring speaker cards to be submitted before the meeting began. That sparked a sharp confrontation with Fargo attorney Joel Fremstad, who represents former township chairman Tom Roden. Fremstad warned supervisors that Thursday’s scheduled moratorium hearing is legally void due to defective and conflicting public notices, and he directly criticized the board for advancing resolutions he said were drafted on ChatGPT . Supervisors th