Where To Put a 51st Star?

Voters in 11 mostly rural counties are deciding this election whether to break away from the state. In 10 of the counties, supporters want to form a new state together; the working title is “The State of North Colorado.”

The effects of such a move wouldn’t be limited to Colorado. Congress would have to create new seats, and what about the American flag? With a star for each state in the union, it would need an update. A few years ago, mathematician Skip Garibaldi at UCLA designed a computer program to test some options. He told Colorado Matters about a few of them.

[Photos: Smithsonian Institution; Wikimedia Commons]