Where To Put a 51st Star?

October 29, 2013

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]