Welcome to Curated Morning. A compendium of news, information, and stories that economic development professionals, community development leaders and elected officials read every week to stay in touch with what is happening in our economy.

The Main Thing:

Good Morning, Curated Morning People! 2026 is off the start line with a bang, and I am ready to go! I have all the news you need to be a smart, wise, and deep-thinking community leader, economic developer, CEO, CIO, tech mogul, small business owner, or just simply a curious human. Everything you need in Curated Morning each week, and in 2026, I will add some new features based on the recent reader survey.The first adjustment (notice I didn't say change, people dislike disruptive change, oh wait, I said it…crap!); the first modification in the newsletter is that I have dropped "economic development” as a monthly focus.

I know this sounds weird and wrong to the essence of this newsletter, but hear me out.

I did this because economic development is inherent to all the topics I cover. It is integral to every topic I write about, so it doesn't need a separate topic heading. Please let me know if you agree or disagree, and we can discuss further.

Another modification/addition is that, once a month, I will focus on a “how-to” series, primarily for economic developers. However, rather than crowd this newsletter with lengthy content, the how-to series will link to a separate page. Look for the “How to Do…” article in the fourth Thursday Curated Morning newsletter every month.

The how-to series will include written materials, videos, interviews, and a monthly live session with me and experts in the field (platform to be determined). Watch this newsletter and social media for news on this new feature.

Maybe one of those experts is you! If you consider yourself an expert in any of the topics below, please contact me. I know many of you are humble and may not consider yourselves experts. If that is the case, you may have a compelling story to tell about a project or initiative you led in one of the topical areas. That will work too. Let me know by emailing me directly at martin@martinkarlconsulting.com.

Here are the “How To Do (fill in the blank)” series topics:

Attraction
Business Retention and Expansion
Entrepreneurship Development
Workforce Development
Fundraising
Housing
______________ (your choice)

If you are interested, please complete this short form with your knowledge and a brief explanation of your expertise. I am looking for real “in the trenches” stories that others can learn from. If you're a consultant, service provider, or vendor, I won't eliminate you from consideration, but you should have a strong story to tell.

Other changes to the newsletter are noted in the sections below.

Have an excellent 2026, and I hope our paths cross soon.

Focus On Data Centers

When 130-MPH Winds Meet 600 Megawatts: Google Bets on Nuclear Resurrection in America's Tornado Belt

The surge of data center construction has fueled our local economies. It has also put pressure on ut

If you don't have a proposal in front of you right now, you may soon have one of the big tech companies knocking on your door, asking for incentives and infrastructure to locate a facility in your community. Are you ready to respond? Is your community ready? Will the NIMBY’s show up?

In 2020, a derecho* with hurricane-force winds slammed into Iowa's Duane Arnold Energy Center, toppling all twelve cooling towers and forcing the state's only nuclear plant into early retirement after 45 years of operation. Now, in a striking reversal, Google and NextEra Energy plan to revive the dormant reactor by 2029 to power Google's expanding data center fleet in Iowa. The tech giant has agreed to cover recommissioning costs and purchase the bulk of the plant's 600-plus megawatt output for 25 years. The timing is particularly notable given Iowa's intensifying weather patterns—the state logged a record 155 tornadoes in 2024, shattering the previous record of 146 set just three years earlier.

NextEra plans enhanced safety measures, including additional backup diesel generators and cooling towers engineered to withstand higher wind thresholds. However, the 2020 incident remains one of only two "important precursors" to a severe nuclear accident in the United States between 2015 and 2024 according to federal regulators.

Why This Matters: This project highlights three critical trends reshaping economic development: the intersection of climate adaptation and energy infrastructure, tech's growing appetite for nuclear baseload power, and the emergence of previously shuttered industrial sites as strategic assets. For economic developers in regions with dormant nuclear facilities or other mothballed energy infrastructure, this signals potential second-life opportunities driven by data center demand. More broadly, it demonstrates how major corporations are willing to assume significant regulatory complexity and climate risk when they can secure dedicated, carbon-free power sources—a calculation that fundamentally changes site-selection criteria.

The conversation is no longer just about attracting data centers through fiber and power availability, but about positioning yourselves as partners in complex energy solutions that may involve resurrecting or repurposing industrial infrastructure previously considered stranded assets.

Take Action: Here are steps you can take to address these issues in your community or region:

Assessments: Start with an inventory of dormant or underutilized energy infrastructure in your region, including decommissioned power plants, abandoned transmission capacity, or industrial sites with exceptional grid connectivity that could support behind-the-meter generation. What are the costs involved in resurrecting these facilities? Is it even feasible? Are there state or federal agencies that can help with this effort?
Engagement -- with your state utility commission and regional grid operators to understand the regulatory pathways for facility recommissioning or grid reconnection, particularly for nuclear, natural gas, or renewable installations. If you haven't already done so, you need to develop relationships with major energy companies operating in your region to explore data center co-location opportunities around existing or planned power generation facilities.
Policy Position -- Where does your community stand on climate issues? Is it something your region or community is willing to tackle, or is it a ‘hot potato"? To create the right conditions for success, you might consider commissioning a climate vulnerability assessment of critical infrastructure sites. This will let you identify resilience investments needed to make your region more attractive to energy-intensive developments.
Incentives and Positioning - Create specialized incentive structures that address the unique economics of energy infrastructure restart projects, including extended timelines, substantial capital requirements, and regulatory approval processes. Position your economic development messaging to emphasize not just greenfield opportunities but also your region's capacity to facilitate complex infrastructure repurposing projects that serve the intersection of energy transition and digital economy demands.

Read Google data centers will bring nuclear power back to tornado country by By Anika Jane Beamer, Inside Climate News | RouteFifty

*Personal note: I was working in Moline, Illinois, just across the Mississippi river from Iowa when this derecho hit. It was an amazing experience akin to a short-lived hurricane. Needless to say, the damage in Moline was substantial.

Other Data Center Articles of Interest:

Environmental groups call for halt to new data center construction by Tim De Chant | TechCrunch -- As energy demand for data centers soars, environmental groups are calling for a moratorium on the approval and construction of new facilities.

AI and the Power Grid: Where the Rubber Meets the Road — by BloombergNEF. A new wave of early-stage data center projects is reshaping US electricity demand —and doing so quickly.

Data center energy demand forecasted to soar nearly 300% through 2035 by Tim De Chant | TechCrunch -- Planned data center construction shows no signs of fading, with new additions to require 2.7x — nearly triple — the sector’s current demand for electricity over the next decade.

To start the year, let me give you a quick summary of how Help can be on its way for you!

Next Wave Leadership Mastermind -- The next cohort starts in the second quarter of 2026. There is room for six economic development leaders who want to learn how to improve attraction, retention, entrepreneurship, and everything essential to their roles. Go to this link to learn more, or schedule an obligation-free call here.
Circles of Seven (C7) -- the award-winning program that gives you the tools to help post-startup businesses in your community. You get a hands-free program,and your organization gets all the credit. Go to this link to learn more or schedule an obligation-free call here.
Culture Change -- Transform your organization or business by understanding and leveraging your organizational culture. You need this to grow and expand your capacity, whether you lead a nonprofit or run a business. It works for both! Go to this link to learn more or schedule an obligation-free call here.

I also offer some free resources you can access here. Check it out, or if you want to discuss further, email me at martin@martinkarlconsulting.com. Hurry, before things to book up for the year!

Green Economy -- The green manufacturing boom is happening. Just not here by Tom Chi | Trellis -- Without a change in U.S. workforce skills and reasonable tariff policies, China will continue to dominate.

(Each week, I include an article on leadership ideas and concepts. Read these summaries and link to the articles to learn more about how to be more effective in your leadership roles.)

Leadership in Practice

In the Forbes article "Top 10 Leadership Pivots For 2026," Julie Kratz looks at what will shape effective leadership in the coming years. She points to a Wiley Workplace Intelligence study, which shows that psychological safety is a key factor in building high-performing teams.

Katz calls these recommendations pivots, highlighting an intriguing question: Why do so many leaders still miss these foundational aspects? This curiosity indicates that organizations and leaders may need to reflect on potential blind spots in recognizing such essentials. Rather than dismissing these as oversights, let’s view them as collective opportunities for growth. Here are a couple that stood out to me.

The first pivot that s

Another pivot I connect with is to “revisit or document your cultural norms and values.” Each person’s contribution shapes the organization’s culture, which in turn affects how well the organization works. Taking time to clarify your mission and values is important. In every organization I’ve led, we started by creating values that fit our company culture.

To make the impact clear, it’s important to connect these values to real results, like better customer retention or faster innovation. Showing this link helps everyone see why culture matters and encourages leaders to focus on these values, even when there are other urgent goals.

(If you need culture defining or change, learn more at my website.)

Are you ready to make a change in 2026? I hope you’ll take some of Katz’s advice to heart, even if you don’t need a big shift.

Overheard:

“Psychological safety is the most powerful differentiator in building high-performing teams. Those who report feeling psychologically safe are 31% more likely than those who don’t to be a high performer...”

-- Wiley Workplace Intelligence Study

The Rabbit Hole:

The Rabbit Hole is one of my favorite parts of this newsletter, even if most Curated readers find it "just okay." I’m not getting rid of it, but I will keep it shorter. From now on, you’ll get one Rabbit Hole entry each week, maybe two, plus “other’ links should you choose to go down those holes.

We can’t always be serious, and maybe this little dopamine boost will help curb your urge to scroll endlessly—or maybe not.

The next video isn't as light-hearted as usual, but it shows the real impact of community action on big problems. Imagine a river so full of plastic bottles that it looks paved, more like a city street than a natural waterway. This powerful scene shows just how serious pollution can be far beyond what most people in North America might expect.

If you drive down any road in the USA, you’ll often see signs saying the road has been adopted by a local business, like "

"Clean Your Room (Country)!"

(Not sure who said that originally…wait, I looked it up and here is what Google/Gemini told said: “While the exact origin is debated, the concept of "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" is often attributed to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (12th century) for his phrase "Hell is full of good wishes and desires," with the "paved" part added much later, appearing in its current form by the 1850s, as noted by John Ray (1670) and Henry G. Bohn (1855).)

Back to the main topic: BD Clean is a project in Bangladesh that encourages people to take more responsibility for waste and litter. The video will show you just how big the problem is, but it also offers hope that programs like adopt-a-road can be improved with strong leadership. If you’ve ever littered, thought about it, or adopted a road, this video is worth watching for real inspiration.

The BD Clean video is truly inspiring. Give it a watch—you’ll be impressed.

More holes to explore:

Time might not exist – and we're starting to understand why -- by Jim Al-Khalili | BBC Science Focus -- The closer we look at time, the stranger it gets.

Undisturbed for Millennia, This Submerged Cave Is a Portal to the Ice Age by Jeanne Timmons | Gizmodo -- International research and highly specialized divers are bringing an underground, underwater world to the surface.

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Let's work together!

With over three decades of experience in economic development, public administration, and small business, I can now bring my expertise to benefit you. What are the issues facing your community? What obstacles are you facing in growing your business? Let's work on this together.

If you have any thoughts or comments regarding any articles in this newsletter please feel free to contact me through email at martin@martinkarlconsulting.com.

You can review my services and offerings at www.martinkarlconsulting.com