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Cure, a citizens advocacy group, has requested the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) to investigate Minnesota Power's prior knowledge of a proposed hyperscale data center in Hermantown, arguing that its electric demand could affect customer rates amid rising AI power consumption. Minnesota Power maintains that discussions about the data center, known as Project Loon, were preliminary and unrelated to its recent acquisition by private equity investors. The MPUC will soon decide whether to reevaluate the acquisition based on Cure's petition and Minnesota Power's assertions of regulatory oversight.