Fort Meade residents deserve answers on data center
As chairman of the Polk County Republican Party, I do not support the proposed data center in Fort Meade.
Polk County welcomes growth, jobs and investment, but not every project is good growth. A development of this scale demands full transparency about water usage, power demand, infrastructure costs, noise, environmental impact and who ultimately pays the bill.
Fort Meade residents deserve clear answers before their community is asked to carry the risk. Conservatives believe in local control, responsible stewardship and protecting taxpayers from backroom deals that benefit powerful outside interests.
Big Tech should not be allowed to quietly consume local resources, strain infrastructure and leave families and small businesses with higher costs or fewer options. This is not anti-business. It is pro-accountability. If a project cannot withstand public scrutiny, it should not move forward.
Fort Meade is a small community with a proud history and real families who deserve to be heard. Polk County’s future should be built with the consent of its citizens, not imposed on them through rushed decisions and unanswered questions.
Sam Romain, Lakeland
Support the Alzheimer’s Screening and Prevention Act
Alzheimer’s takes time and money away from families. Early detection can give some of it back.
An estimated 7.2 million Americans age 65+ live with Alzheimer’s dementia — roughly 1 in 10 older Americans.
Early detection leads to earlier diagnosis, access to treatments and clinical trials and resources. Research shows that most Americans believe early detection of Alzheimer’s is important, and nearly all say they would want a simple diagnostic test if it could enable earlier treatment.
That possibility is now real. A simple blood test can detect Alzheimer’s before symptoms appear — a scientific milestone with the strong potential to change lives. Sen. Ashley Moody can play an important role in ensuring Americans can benefit from early detection of Alzheimer’s.
The bipartisan Alzheimer’s Screening and Prevention (ASAP) Act would create a pathway for Medicare coverage of FDA‑approved blood tests that detect Alzheimer’s biomarkers — tests that offer a simpler, more scalable approach than previous diagnostic methods. Under current law, Medicare cannot cover dementia screening tests for people without symptoms — not because of science, but because of outdated statute. Only Congress can remove this barrier.
Please join me and the Alzheimer’s Association in encouraging Sen. Moody to support the bipartisan ASAP Act.
Nik Lampe, Lakeland
Trumpopolis
Multibillionaire President Trump’s focus is not on Americans, but on creating his own shining city on the hill, his legacy, his Trumpopolis.
His name and face are on posters, banners, buildings, passports, paper money. Will driver’s licenses be next?
He stone-tiled the Rose Garden, ripped out the East Wing for his proposed golden ballroom. (Originally to be funded by donors, now $400 million cost flipped to taxpayers!) Its completion, with bunker, is suddenly critical to Trump’s safety, he insists, while another bunker is under the White House.
A memorial to a former president he renamed the Trump-Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. With diminished attendance because many artists decline to appear, Trump says it needs renovating (Taxpayer funded?). He’ll close it for two years, tear out the interior, and probably fill it with gold things — except for the marble armrests. Sounds comfy.
Trump’s also planning his triumphal Arc de Trump. (Taxpayers “will help” funding that!) Museums are culled, leaving only Trump’s approved history. He’d like Dulles International Airport named for him. Renderings of his presidential library include a hotel in a skyscraper 47 stories high.
Donald Trump’s actions and excessive self-esteem reveal we’ve elected an autocrat right out of central casting.
Jean Duhon Hanson, Dundee
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This article originally appeared on The Ledger: No Fort Meade data center without transparency (Voice, May 10, 2026)
Reporting by Lakeland Ledger / The Ledger
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
