The People of Utah vs. Kevin O’Leary
On the morning of May 11th, the celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary appeared on Fox Business and announced that he was under attack by Chinese agents. For weeks, he had been going on TV and posting online to tout his project, called Wonder Valley, after his nickname from the reality show Shark Tank, Mr. Wonderful. It was going to be enormous, “the largest data center in the world,” sitting on 40,000 acres north of Great Salt Lake in rural Box Elder County, Utah. A dedicated gas power plant would…
Where: Miami, Louisiana, Mississippi, China, United States, Virginia, Utah, Oregon, Michigan, Canada
Exact coordinates
miami: 25.760, -80.190
louisiana: 30.980, -91.960
mississippi: 32.350, -89.400
china: 35.860, 104.200
united states: 37.090, -95.710
virginia: 37.430, -78.660
utah: 39.320, -111.090
oregon: 43.800, -120.550
michigan: 44.310, -85.600
canada: 56.130, -106.350
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What might happen next? AI-generated
These scenarios are written by an AI language model from the headline and summary above. They are not predictions from the newsroom, and they are not evidence of anything. Every one is given a deadline and checked against later coverage, and the score is published on the ledger — including the ones that miss.
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Awaiting deadline 35% Legal Stalemate and De-escalation
The BEAR lawsuit against the county is settled quietly, allowing the project to proceed slowly. The developer accepts the county's demands for $16.2 million in services, and the county grants partial consent under strict new environmental oversight.
Watch for: Box Elder County Commissioner issues a statement confirming settlement terms with a developer. · MIDA announces the adoption of a new, binding environmental impact study for the Stratos Project Area.
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Awaiting deadline 30% Regulatory Blockade
The Utah legislature, spurred by public outcry, passes an emergency moratorium on large data center permits in Box Elder County. This halts all further development and forces the developers to re-engage with the community.
Watch for: Utah House of Representatives introduces a bill specifically targeting data center permitting in Box Elder County. · Governor Cox publicly announces a temporary halt to all 'Operation Gigawatt' data center incentives.
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Awaiting deadline 15% Counter-intuitive Political Collapse
The political fallout from the Adams/Bingham incidents proves too toxic for the state. The Governor, citing the need for stability, appoints an independent task force to dissolve MIDA's authority over the project area.
Watch for: Governor Cox signs an executive order dissolving the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA). · The Utah Legislature passes a resolution removing the authority of the MIDA board.
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Awaiting deadline 20% O'Leary's PR Breakthrough (Less Likely)
Despite the backlash, O'Leary successfully pivots his messaging, framing the opposition as a coordinated global attack on American innovation. He secures a high-profile, non-U.S. anchor tenant that validates the project's necessity to investors.
Watch for: Kevin O'Leary announces a signed Letter of Intent with a major international cloud service provider. · O'Leary holds a public 'Innovation Summit' in Box Elder County featuring major tech executives.
Generated by llama
on 2026-10-01. Checked against later coverage after 2026-10-15.
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