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State senator says ‘Make Minnesota Iowa Again'

Sen. Mike Bousselot, R-Ankeny.
Madeleine Charis King
/
Iowa Public Radio
Sen. Mike Bousselot, R-Ankeny.

A central Iowa lawmaker is proposing that Iowa buy the nine southern Minnesota counties located on the other side of the state’s northern border. State Sen. Mike Bousselot, R-Ankeny, is sponsoring a bill to get the ball rolling.

Bouselot says Iowa isn't growing fast enough and that the area, which he says used to be part of Iowa, is a good cultural fit that wouldn't change the state’s electoral math.

“Make it part of Iowa again. Make Minnesota Iowa Again.”

Democrats, like House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst say Bousselot is just seeking media attention, and buying part of Minnesota would be an inappropriate use of Iowa tax dollars.

Changing state borders requires an act of Congress. Bousselot notes it was last done in 1961, when Minnesota agreed to cede land to North Dakota because of a change in course of the Red River of the North.

Bousselot suggested there would be “immediate agricultural investment” in those nine counties if they become part of Iowa.