DUBUQUE, Iowa — November 12, 2026 — The University of Dubuque will host a Data Center Community Forum on Tuesday, November 17, 2026, inviting the public to examine data center development through an academic lens — with student research on display and a panel of regional journalists taking questions.

The forum runs from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Peter and Susan Smith Welcome Center on the University of Dubuque campus. It is free and open to the public, and is hosted by the university’s divisions of aviation and flight, computing and applied technology, humanities, natural sciences, and theology. Financial support is provided by the Wendt Center for Character and Leadership.

The evening opens at 5:30 p.m. with a showcase of student scholarship in the lobby of the Smith Welcome Center. Students have spent the semester examining data centers in their classes, including a student-led environmental impact assessment of the proposed data center in Peosta — looking at water use, energy demand, land use, air quality, noise, and community impacts. Other classes presenting include Aviation Senior Seminar, Christian Social Ethics, Environmental Ethics, Literature and AI, Public Policy, and Information Policy and Ethics.

At 6:00 p.m., the forum moves to Room 264 of the Smith Welcome Center for a panel discussion and question-and-answer session with three journalists from across the region: Benjamin Fisher, a freelance journalist, writer, and analyst based in Dubuque; Tom Kertscher, a Milwaukee-based reporter for Wisconsin Watch, a Madison-based nonprofit newsroom; and Grace Nieland, the Linn County local government reporter for The Gazette in Cedar Rapids.

“We hope this will be an opportunity to learn from each other about an issue that is affecting communities across the country. We strive to model curiosity, openness to different perspectives, and a spirit of collaboration and inquiry,” said Christine Darr, PhD, associate professor of philosophy.

The forum arrives at a moment when data centers are the most debated development question in Dubuque County. The proposal driving the local conversation is the Karis Critical project near Peosta — about five buildings totaling 3 million square feet with 500 to 850 megawatts of onsite natural gas generation — still at the concept stage, with no formal application filed. Peosta’s moratorium on data center development runs through June 18, 2027, with council work sessions scheduled for November 18 and December 16, 2026, to write the city’s ordinance. Dubuque County’s own moratorium runs through May 2027.

Public opposition to the Peosta proposal has been strong — about 87 percent of respondents to a survey of roughly 300 people opposed it — and the issue figured in last week’s county elections, including the county attorney race, where Steve Drahozal pledged to work with supervisors on a legally durable ordinance. A candidate forum on data centers was held September 16, 2026, drawing the county attorney and supervisor candidates.

The University of Dubuque forum takes a different approach from the political debates so far: students presenting research, and journalists fielding questions, rather than officials defending a position.