Charlie Berens: 'I will stick to comedy when our politicians stick to policy and stop protecting big tech and start protecting the people that put them into office.' Charlie Berens: 'I will stick to comedy when our politicians stick to policy and stop protecting big tech and start protecting the people that put them into office.' 'Nobody's negotiating for the people here': comedian Charlie Berens takes on AI datacenters Known for his'Manitowoc Minute' skits and midwestern humor, the journalist turned comedian is speaking out against the AI datacenter boom in Wisconsin Last summer, journalist turned comedian Charlie Berens started getting social media messages from concerned Wisconsin residents about plans for a massive datacenter campus in their state. The developer, Vantage Data Centers, claimed the $8 bn project would largely run on zero-emission energy resources like solar, wind and battery storage. The company said the campus would bring thousands of temporary construction jobs and potentially more than 1,000 permanent jobs to Port Washington, a city of 13,000 people about a half-hour north of Milwaukee. Residents opposed the project for what they said was lack of transparency and criticized the lucrative tax incentives offered to Vantage.