MN Lawmaker Wants Rural Counties To Leave State, Join S. Dakota

MINNESOTA — A Minnesota Republican wants to free up the state's rural counties to join South Dakota. State Rep. Jeremy Munson of Crystal Lake says his bill will allow rural Minnesota counties to join a state that "respects freedom and liberty."

"Minnesota becomes more politically polarized every year and the metro politicians have shown us that rural Minnesotans are no longer represented by St Paul," Munson's campaign website reads. "It's time to leave."

Munson announced his plan Thursday on Twitter.

"I will take freedom, liberty, and respect for the Constitution over what Governor Walz is slinging," Munson added. Users mocked his plan, which has almost no shot of becoming a reality, and suggested that he could simply move to South Dakota on his own.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, however, offered a tacit endorsement of Munson's plan, tweeting that "In South Dakota, we roll out the red carpet for people who love personal responsibility and Freedom."

Since the early months of the pandemic, Noem has tried to lure Minnesota businesses to her state, promoting their looser or nonexistent coronavirus restrictions.

Munson's bill would cut off much of the state's population from the Twin Cities metro area, the largest economic hub of Minnesota.