Charlie Berens, the comedian known for his 'Manitowoc Minute' skits, has become an unlikely activist against the boom in artificial intelligence datacenters in Wisconsin. Last summer, Berens began receiving messages from concerned residents about a proposed $8bn datacenter campus in Port Washington, a city of 13,000 people north of Milwaukee. The developer, Vantage Data Centers, claimed the project would bring jobs and run on zero-emission energy, but residents opposed it over lack of transparency and tax incentives worth an estimated $458m over 20 years.
Berens, a Milwaukee-area native, decided to address the issue in his videos, a rare departure into politics. In August 2025, he published a satirical 'Manitowoc Minute' video criticising Silicon Valley CEOs and accusing them of using Wisconsin as a 'dumping ground' for datacenters. The video went viral, garnering over 2.5m views on YouTube and widespread support from Wisconsinites across the political spectrum.
'It was 99% positive comments, which doesn’t happen on anything these days,' said Berens. 'From that point, I decided that I should do more because nobody’s negotiating for the people here.' He has since headlined events with experts and activists, becoming the most prominent figure in a growing movement against datacenter projects in the state.
Resistance has risen dramatically; a March survey by Marquette University Law School found nearly 70% of registered voters in Wisconsin believe the costs of large datacenters outweigh the benefits, up from 55% in October. The Port Washington project has since expanded to a $15bn joint venture with OpenAI and Oracle, part of the Trump administration's 'Stargate' megaprojects.
