Texas and New Mexico have entered into a contentious dust-up over ... dirt.
As ABC News reports,the “turf war” started when New Mexico accused road workers in the Lone Star State of crossing the state line to collect New Mexican dirt, in order to repair a dirt road in Hudspeth County.
According to New Mexican officials, this has been going on for years. And, they add, the dirt is being taken from protected New Mexico State Trust land. New Mexico uses profits from minerals found in the soil to fund public schools and hospitals.
New Mexico State Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn has referred to the pilferers as “dirty bandits” and “dirt desperadoes.”
But a judge in Hudspeth County retorted that Texas has been fixing New Mexico’s roads for free for years.
The turf war is expected to continue between the two states until someone gets tired of all the mud-flinging.