Minnesota State Demographer Tom Gillaspy expects that lawmakers will have to react to growth on the fringes of the Twin Cities metropolitan area by cramming more of the state’s 201 legislative districts in the outer suburbs and semi-rural areas that are situated just beyond the metro. Gillaspy refers to the area as “the doughnut.”
“The doughnut ring around the Twin Cities has been growing rapidly,” noted Gillaspy, “and much of the rest of the state outside of that has not grown as rapidly. The central cities and inner ring suburbs have not grown as rapidly. Some have declined.”
If you want to understand how this change is already playing out, consider where the contenders for governor live. Mark Dayton, Margaret Anderson Kelliher and Matt Entenza are all metro-area politicians. Tom Emmer is from Delano. That might matter a little more than most people realize.
One other tidbit, out of many:
Gillaspy said the Fourth and Fifth Congressional Districts, which center on St. Paul and Minneapolis, respectively, will get larger. So will the Eighth District in northeastern Minnesota, which has enlarged significantly during the tenure of 18-term DFL U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar of Duluth. Districts that include portions of the Twin Cities’ fringe — especially the Sixth District, which is represented by GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann and abuts Oberstar’s district — will get geographically smaller after the next redistricting.
There's at least two posts of material in that paragraph. Make sure you read the whole thing.
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