Local Government

'We Have Had No Requests': Why Elizabethtown Is Writing Data Center Rules Now

No application, no project. Just the city getting ahead of the data center question. Here is what was actually said at the July 14 joint meeting, in their own words.

✅

Good news: this article is 100% free to read. Hardin Local has no paywall. We just ask you to create a free Hardin Local account (it takes about 10 seconds) or log in, so we can keep bringing you local coverage like this. It never costs a thing.

📌

📌 Update: the July 28 hearing has happened. The Planning Commission voted 3-0 to advance the data center rules to City Council. Read Part 2: what the rules actually say, and what residents pushed back on. This article is still the best place to start if you want the background first.

This is community coverage of a public meeting, put together for Hardin Local members. Everything below comes from the City of Elizabethtown's own public livestream of the July 14 joint City Council and Planning Commission meeting. We downloaded that public recording, transcribed it, and pulled these quotes straight from it. Watch the full meeting and the segment clips below and check our work. Members, thanks for being here.

Quick note if you're reading this from the Facebook app: sign-up won't work inside Facebook's built-in browser. Tap the ⋯ menu at the top right and choose "Open in browser," then sign up with your email like normal.

Elizabethtown Police Chief Jeremy Thompson answering questions across a conference table from Hardin Local's Phil Taul

The Cameras Already Know Your Car. So We Asked the People Watching Them.

At least 67 license plate cameras are watching Hardin County roads. We sat down on camera with the police chiefs running them and asked every uncomfortable question, including what happens when one of their own abuses it.

Hardin County Daily Brief for July 30, 2026

Hardin County Daily Brief: July 30, 2026

I-65 reopens early, a new sheriff's unit debuts, and Hardin County gears up for back to school.

The Elizabethtown Planning Commission seated at the dais during the July 28, 2026 public hearing on data center zoning rules

'We're Naked Right Now': E'town Advances Data Center Rules

Two weeks after saying it had no applications, Elizabethtown's Planning Commission voted 3-0 to send data center limits to City Council. Here is what the rules actually say, in their own words.

The Hardin Local Weekly crew covers license plate cameras, Cruisin’ the Heartland, and the week in Hardin County

This Week on Hardin Local: Plate Cameras & Cruisin' Weekend

The cameras already know your car, so Phil asked the people watching them. Plus 2,000 classic cars downtown, Wawa's vanished grand opening, steady housing inventory, and 2B Thai.