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Read. Follow. Verify.Iowa Senate Bill Authorizes Negotiations to Purchase Nine Minnesota Counties
Last action · April 8, 2025: Subcommittee: Bousselot, Petersen, and Zumbach. S.J. 736 .Sponsor: Mike Bousselot
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What This Bill Would Do
Iowa authorizes a three-member negotiating team to discuss acquiring nine southern Minnesota counties with the state of Minnesota, taking effect upon enactment.
Residents in nine southern Minnesota counties could see their state shift to Iowa if multi-state and federal approvals are met.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Residents of Rock, Nobles, Jackson, Martin, Faribault, Freeborn, Mower, Fillmore, and Houston counties
Their geographic jurisdiction could be transferred from Minnesota to Iowa if all statutory and constitutional conditions are met.
State of Iowa
Appoints a negotiation team and would acquire new land, assume legal continuity, and require a constitutional amendment if an agreement proceeds.
State of Minnesota
Would be required to pass an act relinquishing and waiving jurisdiction over the specified counties.
Key Facts
- The governor of Iowa shall appoint one Iowa resident, the senate majority leader shall appoint one senator, and the speaker of the house shall appoint one representative to form a three-person negotiating team.
- The negotiating team is authorized to collectively negotiate with Minnesota for the purchase of nine specific Minnesota counties: Rock, Nobles, Jackson, Martin, Faribault, Freeborn, Mower, Fillmore, and Houston.
- Any negotiated agreement must accept existing Minnesota record title for lands and allow pending lawsuits concerning those lands to be prosecuted to final judgment in Minnesota with full force and effect in Iowa.
- An agreement is void unless approved by Acts of the Iowa general assembly, the Minnesota legislature, and the United States Congress.
Show all 6 facts
- An agreement requires an Iowa appropriation to pay for the land if payment is required, and the passage of an Iowa constitutional amendment ratifying the new state boundaries.
- The act takes effect immediately upon enactment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which specific counties are included in the proposed purchase from Minnesota?
What approvals are required for any negotiated purchase agreement to become valid?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
4 actions- Apr 8, 2025SenateSubcommittee: Bousselot, Petersen, and Zumbach. S.J. 736 .
- Apr 8, 2025SenateCommitteeReferred to Appropriations. S.J. 720 .
- Feb 20, 2025SenateSubcommittee: Bousselot, Bisignano, and Rozenboom. S.J. 328 .
- Feb 18, 2025SenateIntroducedIntroduced, referred to State Government. S.J. 295 .
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.iowa.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance45How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy60Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment25Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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