Iowa's New Top Crop Is Server Farms

1sockchuck writes "Microsoft just confirmed that it will build a $500M data center in Iowa, following the lead of Google, which is nearing completion of a $600M facility in the state. Boosted by generous tax incentives and affordable power, Iowa is prevailing in a fierce competition with other states for these huge data center projects for tech titans. Iowa officials say they intend to leverage that track record to attract even more projects in a bid to transform the state into a mecca for server farms." The Economist covers this trend more broadly, focusing on Washington state and Iceland angling to become server-farm destinations.