Bill to create ‘Lake Wobegon County’ hits Minnesota Capitol

Lake Wobegon: You’ve read the book, you’ve got the coffee mug, now create the county. That’s the message at the state Capitol from three Minnesota legislators who want to combine two existing counties and part of a third to form “Lake Wobegon County,” named for Garrison Keillor’s fictional town. The counties to be united now divide the city of St. Cloud and share something else too: Republican Michele Bachmann is their congresswoman.

Sen. Tarryl Clark, DFL-St. Cloud, and Reps. Larry Haws, DFL-St. Cloud, and Larry Hosch, DFL-St. Joseph, plan to announce the bill this morning to merge Stearns County, Benton County and a northern part of Sherburne County.

The Democrats’ proposal for Lake Wobegon County — a temporary working title, they say – is the most drastic answer yet to Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s call for regional alliances that make government spending and delivery of services more efficient.