Board OKs Microsoft data center in southeastern Wisconsin

RACINE, Wis. (AP) — Local leaders have approved plans for a massive Microsoft data center in a southeast Wisconsin village where the world’s largest electronics manufacturer has a huge campus. WDJT-TV reports that the Racine County Board of Supervisors voted 18-1 on Tuesday to approve the software and internet services company’s $1 billion project on 315 acres of land in Mount Pleasant, which is already home to a production site for Taiwanese company Foxconn Technology Group. Microsoft must begin the first phase of construction by July 2026 and begin the second phase by July 2033. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Microsoft must purchase the land for $50 million by July 31, 2023.