Iowa legislative leaders disagree on whether a proposal to allow the state buy nine southern Minnesota counties is an “outside the box” idea worth exploring or “frankly offensive” to Iowans with more pressing concerns.
Sen. Mike Bousselot, R-Ankeny, announced Tuesday that he would be introducing a bill announcing Iowa’s “intent to purchase” the nine southernmost counties in Minnesota.
The counties that would be annexed under the bill, from west to east, are Rock, Nobles, Jackson, Martin, Faribault, Freeborn, Mower, Fillmore and Houston.
“I’d take southern Minnesota,” said Senate President Amy Sinclair, R-Allerton. She added, laughing in response to a reporter’s question, that “it’s a joke until it’s not.”
“I had never thought of it before,” she said. “It’s an interesting proposal and Mike’s an outside of the box thinker and I’ll let him think outside the box.”
House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, told reporters that “I look forward to having that conversation.”
“Anytime we can continue to grow Iowa, it’s something we should at least engage in,” he said. “And I think you’re actually seeing in some other states some similar legislation being discussed. But at this point I haven’t spent enough time looking at the bill, but more than happy to take a look.”
So far the two state’s governors have remained silent on the idea. A spokesperson for Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds declined to comment Tuesday, while a spokesperson for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz did not respond to requests for comment.
But the Minnesota Democrat-Farmer-Labor Party was concise in a two-word statement on social media sharing a picture of Bousselot and a headline about his proposal to buy the nine counties.
“Counteroffer: No.”
An 1844 proposal for Iowa’s statehood used suggested boundary lines drawn by territorial Gov. Robert Lucas, and would have extended Iowa’s northern border to the Twin Cities.
But that proposal was rejected by Congress, and Iowa’s boundaries remain largely the same as when the state entered the union in 1846. Around the rest of the country, state boundaries have not changed in decades.
An 1845 map of Iowa depicting a proposed northern border.
However, there have been movements in some states to secede or join a neighboring state, largely spurred by political differences.
Some eastern Oregon counties, largely in rural, conservative areas, placed nonbinding resolutions before voters last year asking if they wanted to join Idaho.
And Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston, a Republican, on Tuesday proposed a similar bill to Bousselot’s that would explore allowing eastern Illinois counties to join Indiana. Huston cited differences in the two states’ tax policies as a possible reason counties would make the switch.
Bousselot’s bill would essentially allow Iowa to open negotiations with Minnesota over buying the territory. If that proposal passed and both states struck a deal, then Iowa and Minnesota would each need to pass legislation approving the new boundary lines.
Congress would ultimately have to approve any changes to the states’ boundaries.
Bousselot called his proposal “a mergers and acquisitions strategy” aimed at growing Iowa.
He also contrasted Iowa’s record of cutting taxes under Republican governance with Minnesota’s record under Democratic control.
“Those Minnesotans who are now Iowans would immediately have lower income taxes, lower sales taxes, lower business taxes, no inheritance tax,” he said. “They’d have a farm-friendly state instead of a governor who says that farmland is just rocks and cows.”
Iowa’s Democratic legislative leaders criticized the proposal as unserious.
“We have serious problems in this state,” said House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights. “We have real families who are struggling with their bills and their budgets. And it seems to me that this is not a realistic approach and it’s one to seek headlines. And frankly it’s offensive to the people who are trying to pay their bills.”
Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner, D-Iowa City, agreed that purchasing part of Minnesota is a poor use of the state’s time.
“We have 99 counties in Iowa,” she said. “We have enough to do.”
Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on X at @sgrubermiller.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: State lawmakers weigh in on bill to let Iowa buy 9 Minnesota counties