GoKawiil
Tech News
The Hermantown, Minnesota city council unanimously approved Google's proposed 200-acre data center after two delayed meetings and hours of public opposition. Google reduced the project from four buildings to three, capped building height at 33 feet, agreed to monitor nearby private wells, and withdrew its request for up to $80 million in property tax breaks.
Plymouth, Minnesota's city council voted in September to terminate its Flock Safety contract, but after a month without response from the company, Police Chief Eric Fadden had staff physically disconnect the cameras' power cords. In nearby Dayton, Minnesota, Flock acknowledged a cancellation request but then reconnected two cameras without authorization despite local police explicitly telling the company not to complete the work order.
The city of Dayton, Minnesota says Flock Safety installed and activated two license-plate cameras despite being told on September 18 that the program was on hold and no work orders should proceed. City staff later found a second reinstalled camera and have asked Flock to remove both. Separately, police departments in Crystal and St. Paul, Minnesota removed Flock cameras themselves after council votes ended their contracts, and are still waiting for Flock to retrieve the equipment.
Dayton, Minnesota's government says Flock reinstalled two surveillance cameras and put them back into service despite being told a day earlier that the city's work order program was on hold. Residents noticed the cameras and alerted police, who removed them; Dayton had already voted in August to cancel its Flock contract, and city officials say the company took five days to acknowledge the cancellation and said removal would take 60 days.
Dayton's city council voted on August 25 to suspend Flock's license plate reader program amid privacy concerns, and the city told Flock on September 18 that no work orders should proceed. Despite this, Flock submitted a work order on September 17 and later reinstalled two cameras without city authorization, prompting Dayton's local government to post on Facebook on September 29 confirming residents had spotted the cameras and that police were ordered to remove them.
Defense attorneys for 15 Minnesota residents facing federal conspiracy charges have obtained internal DHS/ICE records—reports, intercepted Signal chats, emails, photos and database queries—documenting investigations codenamed Project Whipple Shield and Operation Puppet Master. The operations were authorized under National Security Presidential Memorandum 7, issued after Charlie Kirk's assassination, which directs federal agencies to use all available tools against critics of the administration and groups deemed 'anti-Christian.'
Live Nation, long known for promoting tours and booking existing venues, is now designing and constructing its own concert venues, with projects underway in locations including Richmond, Virginia and Shakopee, Minnesota. The company describes the effort as a 'meaningful, long term investment' aimed at reshaping the live-music experience and addressing gaps in available venues.
Donald Trump and JD Vance announced a $10,000 payment to right-wing content creator Nick Shirley, whose viral video accusing Minnesota daycares of fraud prompted federal immigration raids and a funding freeze. The administration also unveiled the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program (WHIP), a $25 million fund for public tips on suspected fraud, with special focus on hospice, home healthcare, daycare and special services.
Kyle Van Noy, a 13-year NFL veteran and two-time Super Bowl champion now with the Minnesota Vikings, wrote an essay detailing lessons learned from joining seven different rosters across six teams. He advises new hires to observe quietly before speaking up, let early performance build credibility, and pick a visible early project to demonstrate value.
A roughly 11-foot-diameter metal object, believed to be debris from a Chinese Zhuque-2E rocket, was found in a cornfield in Scott Township, Minnesota, during fall harvest. The rocket had launched from Dongfeng in China on September 15, deployed 10 satellites, then reentered the atmosphere without completing a full orbit, with fiery debris seen streaking over Kansas and Minnesota that night. The Stevens County Sheriff's Office said it is working with state and federal agencies to identify the object's owner and arrange removal.
Google is seeking to build a 780-megawatt AI data center in Pine Island, Minnesota, under a deal with utility Xcel Energy in which Google would finance 1,400 megawatts of wind, 200 megawatts of solar and 300 megawatts of battery storage — more capacity than the data center itself is expected to use. Xcel says the added power will serve all local customers, not just Google, and the agreement includes minimum demand charges and exit fees requiring Google to keep paying even if it doesn't use all the power.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota froze pig kidneys to -238°F (-150°C) and successfully thawed them after a year of storage, reporting minimal damage to the organs' vital functions. The study demonstrates that organs can survive long-term deep-freeze storage without losing viability.