Today is the deadline for the legislature to come to an agreement on the redrawing of state legislative and congressional districts, however the state senate has yet to release a new map and will likely miss the deadline.
Districts are redrawn every ten years, based on the information from the most recent census. The 2020 Census showed that the population of the Twin Cities Metro Area has grown, while the outstate population has dwindled. Based on that, the assumption is there will be significant changes to both House District 20B and to Senate District 20.
Representative Todd Lippert said the map approved by the House of Representatives along party lines, will push District 20B to a more North and South orientation, rather than the East/West configuration it has now. That configuration would re-unite the Rice County section of Northfield with the Dakota County section which sits in District 58B. He said the map proposed by the Republicans in the House divided Northfield in half.
With the legislature having nothing to vote on, the responsibility for redistricting will shift to the courts, which has happened in four of the last five decades. Lippert said the courts have been preparing for this, so he expects the court drawn maps to be revealed soon. After that, there will most likely be some legal action taken on both sides of the aisle, because the way districts are set up will likely affect the legislative complexion of the state for the next decade.
“There will likely be some litigation of that map, but it’s really the first draft of our district maps. There might be litigation for some adjustment, but that’s really what the maps should be. And then the legislative process, for the rest of the session, will continue independent of those maps.”
Northfield is in play with the congressional re-districting plan as well. The state was expected to lose a congressional district, but unexpectedly kept all eleven by a slim margin, the outstate districts will grow, as the Metro Area districts become smaller due to denser population. Right now, Northfield sits in Minnesota’s Second Congressional District which is represented by Democrat Angie Craig could be absorbed into the First Congressional District, which is represented by Republican Jim Hagedorn.
The statewide redistricting process must be finished by the end of March so County and local governments can then do their own redistricting.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Representative Todd Lippert can be heard here
Draheim discusses need to help law-enforcement; ‘No-Knock’ warrants
Meanwhile, State Senator Rich Draheim said the Republicans in the state legislature will offer three separate public safety bills over the course of the session. The GOP has made it very clear that they are looking at law and order as the top priority of this session.
The first bill to be introduced is a plan to hire and retain law enforcement professionals. Law enforcement agencies from across the state, including Rice County and Northfield have reported that the number of people applying for positions with the police or a sheriff’s department has become dramatically smaller over the last 18-20 months. Both Northfield Chief of Police Mark Elliott and Sheriff Jesse Thomas have commented recently that in their last few hiring processes, the number of applicants was a sliver of what they were in years past.
Draheim said he has seen firsthand just how difficult their job has become. After an evening function in St. Paul last week, the Senator said he returned to the capitol to finish some work. He noticed more law enforcement activity than he had seen before, so he decided to investigate.
“I went up to my office and turned on a scanner radio app. Between 8 and 9, almost the whole night, was gunshots all over Minneapolis and St. Paul. And you really felt for the people working the phones and the first responders and the officers waiting for backup, not knowing when backup was going to arrive.”
He said the first priority will be to find ways to bolster the law enforcement ranks. Next up, he said, will be the debate on “No-Knock” warrants. The issue has become a topic of conversation since Minneapolis Police shot and killed Amir Locke earlier this month after serving a no-knock warrant on the apartment where he was staying. Draheim said there is not a lot of consistency from municipality-to-municipality on how the warrants are executed. Some, he said, take a breech-and-hold approach, while others are more aggressive. In fact, there is disparate use of the warrants. St. Paul has not executed a No-Knock warrant in many years, while Minneapolis uses them on a relatively routine basis.
Draheim said the next two Republican sponsored Public Safety bills will address the situation, along with a host of other ideas.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with State Senator Rich Draheim can be heard here
City Council meets tonight, Kraewood TIF on the agenda
And the Northfield City Council will meet tonight in the Council Chambers at City Hall. 
Among the items on the agenda tonight, several are concerned with the street reconstruction and overlay projects that will be happening this summer, particularly in the Northwest section of the city. A public hearing on the project will be held, followed by consideration of the resolution to issue the bonds that will pay for the project and another resolution to put the project out for bid. There will be a vote to accept the city’s Zero Waste Plan, as well as an update from City Administrator Martig on the Strategic Plan.
The discussion that should garner the most interest will be the one that focuses on the tax increment finance agreement for the Kraewood development. Last week, Councilor Suzie Nakasian and Mayor Rhonda Pownell expressed concern with the process and suggested that this vote be delayed. However, one of the projects’ developers chafed at any further delays. The agreement is likely to be accepted this evening.
As always, the City Council and the Northfield City Staff are eager to hear the opinions of the public on any matter, whether the subject is on the Council agenda or not. The public is invited to address the council on any matter during the meeting, whether it is on the meeting agenda or not. However, those who do wish to make a point, air an opinion or ask a question without doing so in public can email their councilor directly or make use of the eComment function which can be found in the “Agendas” section of the city website.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
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