in the state's early days miners were compared to badgers and it became the state animal, the namesake of the university of wisconsin football team ands it mascot, bucky the badger. the badger was part of the original uss wisconsin, but the ship was scrapped after world war one. this is the new wisconsin, built in world war ii, the last battleship the u.s. navy built and could be the badger's next home. it was crafted by a milwaukee . whheorldne e was scrapped, the badger moved to the naval academy before loaned to the state of wisconsin for a temporary agreement. they are in rare bipartisan agreement. >> state capitol in madison. >> in wisconsin. >> were you surprised by the outcry in wisconsin? >> a little bit. a little bit. but i totally understand it. this is a source of pride for the badger state. >> reporter: steven kirkland runs the museum there in virginia, home to the uss wisconsin, a floating exhibit. we want to use the statue to tell the story of the badger and the statue and the history behind it but tell the story of the battleship. ands it heritage. ands it namesake. and the state that it is named for. >> reporter: the navy approved the

the ground were compared to badgers. it became the state animal. the namesake of the university of wisconsin football team and its mascot, bucky the badger. was scrapped after world war i. this is the new "uss wisconsin" built during world war ii, the last battleship the u.s. navy ever built. and it could be the badger's next home. the statue was crafted by a milwaukee sculptor more than a century ago from melted down cannonballs taken from cuba during the spanish-american war. when the world war i badger was scraped it move to the naval academy before being loaned to the state of wisconsin for a temporary exhibit. three dukes later decades later, lawmakers are in rare partisan agreement on where it should ue in wisconsin. eprprised by t outcry? onsi >> a littlet.yeah a little bit. but i totally understand it. this is a source of pride for the badger state. >> reporter: stephen kirkland runs the museum in norfolk, virginia, home to the "uss wisconsin," now a floating exhibit that hosts more than 370,000 visitors a year. >> we want to use the statue not just to tell the story of the badger and the statue and the history behind it, but tell