Could Iowa grow in size? Lawmaker proposes bill to buy 9 Minnesota counties

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Lauren Taylor Anchor

By Lauren Taylor (Anchor), Roey Hadar (Producer), Zachary Hill (Video Editor)

President-elect Donald Trump’s desires for U.S. expansion into places like Canada, the Panama Canal and Greenland is inspiring state lawmakers to try something similar. An Iowa lawmaker introduced a bill this week to expand the state by purchasing the nine Minnesota counties that border it.

Lawmaker Michael Bousselot made the Trump parallel clear in a post on X. He said he wanted to “Make Minnesota Iowa again.”

Bousselot said the bill would provide the residents of southern Minnesota with lower taxes and better management. It’s a reference to Iowa’s control by the Republican Party and Minnesota’s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz.

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Iowa’s pitch to expand into Minnesota isn’t the only state expansion gaining traction lately.

Seven Illinois counties voted in favor of ballot language suggesting they should consider splitting from the rest of the state.

Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston, a Republican, told Politico he’d be open to welcoming the mostly rural, Republican-leaning counties looking to leave heavily Democratic Illinois. “We’d love to have conversations with them about joining our state,” Huston said.

Switching over would require approval from lawmakers in both Indiana and Illinois. In a statement to Politico, a spokesperson for Illinois Democratic state House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch called the move a “partisan stunt.”

Thirteen Oregon counties have also voted on language that supports joining Idaho, but Oregon has not moved toward altering its borders. Meanwhile, despite prior progress, Idaho’s efforts died during last year’s legislative session.

There is precedent for a state shifting its borders. In 1820, Massachusetts gave up control of what is now Maine when it became a state. Likewise, in 1863, West Virginia separated from Virginia to show its support for the Union during the Civil War.

Tags: Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon

LAUREN TAYLOR: President-elect Trump’s desires for U.S. expansion into places like Canada, the Panama Canal and Greenland are inspiring state lawmakers to try something similar.

An Iowa lawmaker introduced a bill this week to expand the state by purchasing the nine Minnesota counties that border Iowa.

Lawmaker Michael Bousselot made the Trump parallel clear in a post on X, saying he wanted to “Make Minnesota Iowa again.”

He said the bill would provide the residents of southern Minnesota with lower taxes and better management, a reference to Iowa’s control by the Republican Party and Minnesota’s Democratic Governor Tim Walz.

The Iowa push to expand into Minnesota isn’t the only state expansion push gaining traction lately.

Seven Illinois counties voted in favor of ballot language suggesting the counties should consider splitting from the rest of the state.

Indiana’s Republican House Speaker told POLITICO he’d be open to welcoming the mostly rural, Republican-leaning counties looking to leave the heavily Democratic Illinois. “We’d love to have conversations with them about joining our state,” Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston said.

Switching over would require lawmakers in both Indiana and Illinois to approve and a spokesperson for Illinois’s Democratic state House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch called the move a “partisan stunt” in a statement to POLITICO.

13 Oregon counties have also voted on language supporting a move into Idaho but Oregon has not moved toward altering its borders and despite prior progress, Idaho’s efforts died in last year’s legislative session.

But a state shifting its borders has happened before. In 1820, Massachusetts gave up control of what is now Maine for it to become a state. And in 1863, West Virginia separated from Virginia to show its support for the Union in the Civil War.

For Straight Arrow News, I’m Lauren Taylor.

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