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Sanders is headed back to Iowa to further explore a 2016 presidential run

He will spend three days and headline six events in the critically important presidential state

As he has done in the past, Sanders will primarily speak to college students and liberal groups

Washington CNN  — 

Bernie Sanders is headed back to Iowa for a three-day, six-stop swing to further explore a possible presidential run.

Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats and is actively exploring a presidential run with the party, will spend Feb. 19, 20 and 21 in the first-in-the-nation caucus state.

The senator will start his trip on Feb. 19 with a town meeting at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. The following day, on Feb. 20, Sanders will headline a town meeting at Drake University in Des Moines and keynote a meeting of the Iowa Citizen Action Network in Johnston. On the final day of his trip, Sanders will headline a Democratic meeting in Cedar Rapids, Tipton and Ames.

A Democratic operative close to Sanders confirmed the trip, which was first reported by the Des Moines Register.

Sanders, who made three trips to Iowa in 2014, including one in December, told CNN this month that he would decide on a presidential run by March.

To date, however, the senator has shied away from challenging Hillary Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner for the 2016 presidential nomination.