(File Photo of the Beaver County Courthouse)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver, PA) Several topics were discussed this morning at the Beaver County Commissioners’ work session at the County Courthouse. One of them was when audience member Fabiola Gargerich of Harmony Township asked the commissioners about an update on if there is any progress on possible artificial intelligence (AI) data centers in Beaver County during the audience participation segment. She asked them in a previous work session on March 11th, 2026 if they would consider the possibility of having an AI data center or a mechanism or ordinance for one in the county so things like the people there can be safeguarded. Commissioner Jack Manning gave her an update on this development by expressing: “There is only one that I know is active and ongoing with the development, that is the Bruce Mansfield one. I have no information on any other proposed, speculative data centers that are going through the permitting process.” Manning went on to say that Shippingport has got some ordinances that they have finished and there has been a lot of visits to data centers by the Commissioners locally as well as regionally. Beaver County Solicitor Garen Fedeles also clarified Manning’s response by stating that “none of the licensing or any type of the approval is done at the county level. That’s all going to be handled at the local level for any data center that would come in to Beaver County.” In other business, Fedeles also gave a reminder in the solicitors’ report that the midterm election in Pennsylvania is coming up next month and the 9,823 applicants who requested a mail-in ballot packet should be receiving it in the mail next week. Beaver County Recreation and Tourism Director Tony Caltury also announced that the Big Knob Grange Maple Syrup Festival is this Saturday and Sunday, taking place at Big Knob Grange from 8:30 to 4:30 p.m. on both days. This event is the replacement for the Beaver County Maple Syrup and Music Festival, which was cancelled this year because of issues involving structure and leadership.