Before each live episode of Michigan: We Need to Talk, we’ll post the show’s opening reported segment here in the podcast feed, giving you time to hear the story, think about the issue, and get ready to join the conversation when the phone lines open.

This week, Stephen Henderson starts in Dowagiac, Michigan, where residents say the noise from a nearby data center has changed daily life in their neighborhood. It’s a story about artificial intelligence, economic development, public safety, local control, and what happens when a community feels like decisions about its future were made without any input.

The live call-in show airs Thursday at 7 p.m. on Michigan Public. After the broadcast, we’ll post the call-in portions of the conversation here on demand.

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Data centers provide opportunities for large corporate investment in Michigan, but many residents don't want them in their backyard. There's also a growing frustration among data center opponents that public officials are ignoring their concerns. How should Michigan make decisions when the benefits of a project are spread broadly, but the costs are concentrated in one community?

In this opening segment, Stephen Henderson introduces the first conversation on Michigan: We Need to Talk: the debate over data centers in Michigan, and what one southwest Michigan community can teach us about the tradeoffs behind new technology and economic development.

The question at the heart of the episode:

When a project promises progress, who gets to decide what that progress costs and who has to live with it?

Listen to this segment before the live broadcast, then join the conversation Thursday at 7 p.m. on Michigan Public.

You can email the show at MIweneedtotalk@gmail.com.

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