EXHIBIT 23.5

                        CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS

We consent to the use in this Registration Statement of McLeodUSA Incorporated
on Form S-4 of our report dated January 30, 1998, on the consolidated financial
statements of Dakota Telecommunications Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries as of
December 31, 1997 and 1996, and for the years then ended which report is
included in the Prospectus and Proxy Statement filed as part of Form S-4.



                                                Olsen, Thielen & Co., Ltd.

St. Paul, Minnesota
December 11, 1998