PINE ISLAND, Minn. — Mayor David Friese resigned abruptly amid swelling controversy over a hyper-scale AI data center that Google wants to build outside town. Friese, mayor since 2020, did not link his decision explicitly to Googe’s Project Skyway. Unmistakable, however, is that the multi-million dollar project has torn Pine Island apart and come judicial scrutiny. This was the mayor’s message announcing his resignation effective immediately:
“As my position at work continues to grow, the needed attention and service to the city is impacted. With so much good taking place in Pine Island, the residents need a leader that will continue to give attention to moving this city forward.”
Friese, age 42, did not show up for a 6 p.m. City Council meeting. The Council, whose five members normally include mayor, named Council member Vernon Pahl as acting mayor. On the agenda were new rules for citizen participation at meetings — a response to the previous meeting that degenerated into shouting and mayhem. It was impossible to gavel the havoc back to order. The Council members walked out. The new participation rules require citizens to identify themselves before addressing the Council and to limit themselves to two minutes each.
Friese. In third two-year term. Had been up for re-election this coming November.
Community profile
Pine Island, population 4,300, is 16 miles north of Rochester on the U.S. Highway 52 corridor to St. Paul. The city straddles the Goodhue-Olmsted county line but mostly in Goodhue Couny. Historically the city has an agricultural base but is becoming more a commuter bedroom community for Rochester. Median household income is $47,500, median family income $59,800. Population 91% white.
Project Skyway site. Along U.S. Highway 52 north of Pine Island.Where Google wants farmland rezoned for a hyper-scale transfer site for AI data.
