Crook nominates Fiat’s place of origin (9)

I believe the answer is:

minnesota

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'fiat's place of origin' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.

'crook nominates' is the wordplay.
'crook' indicates an anagram (a crooked or broken form of the letters).
'nominates' anagrammed gives 'MINNESOTA'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for minnesota that I've seen before include "US state -. of Iowa" , "Wobegon state (Keillor)" , "Superior neighbour" , "source of iron ore" , "North Star State" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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