Mayor Matt Zacher knows tensions are high in Wisconsin Rapids, over a proposed data center operation at the former site of the city’s historic paper mill. They wonder why a data center is necessary, why it can’t be stopped and why the project can’t be anything else. Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers earlier this year introduced bills that would have regulated data centers in Wisconsin. The GOP bill, which passed in the state Assembly, would have required data centers to pay for power grid work. Business groups have said data centers represent a real opportunity for economic growth.