Can this happen in Minnesota? (The redistricting process is important to all of us)

    

Pennsylvania’s  7th congressional district as drawn in 2011.

On Jan. 4, 2019 the US Supreme Court agreed to take up two cases that involve states using computer aided mapping to draw House of Representative districts that would benefit one party over another. These cases involve one state controlled by Republicans and one state controlled by Democrats.

After the 2020 census, which is just around the corner, Minnesota will have to consider how to redistrict both for the U.S. House and for Minnesota House and Senate seats. Depending on the census count, district boundaries could be realigned in major ways. Minnesota could even lose one U.S. House seat.
   
Currently, the law gives responsibility for redistricting to the legislature. In theory, the Minnesota House of Representatives and Minnesota Senate approve district maps and the governor signs off on them. But in recent times, the parties have not agreed, resulting in lawsuits and a panel of judges being appointed to redraw the maps. This wastes considerate time and money.
   
There has to be another way to solve this stalemate and make our democracy work better. The League of Women Voters (LWV) believes “responsibility for redistricting preferably should be vested in an independent special commission, with membership that reflects the diversity of the unit of government, including citizens at large, representatives of public interest groups and members of minority groups.”
  
A proposal developed in 2008 by a broad-based coalition led by former Vice President Walter Mondale and former Governor Arne Carlson has been debated. The Center for the Study of Politics and Governance's Minnesota Redistricting Project was instrumental in development of the proposal, providing nonpartisan information and analysis to the coalition on Minnesotan elections.
   
The project also provided public education and engagement that helped place redistricting reform in front of the public and policymakers. In May 2009, legislation based on the Mondale/Carlson proposal passed the Minnesota Senate, but did not advance in the House.

It is a priority of LWV for rules and procedures on redistricting to be settled before the census numbers are available. But citizens need to study the matter and communicate their thoughts to their elected officials.

Please join LWV Park Rapids at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24 at the Northwoods Bank Community Room to watch a video of a panel discussion hosted by the West Metro Alliance of LWV last March. The video features Paul Anderson, former Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, and Nick Harper, Civic Engagement Manager for LWV Minnesota. They spoke about the history of redistricting and potential reforms. The video will be paused at various intervals to give those attending a chance to ask questions and discuss ideas. 
The goal is to become informed about the issues of redistricting and how to support good policy for Minnesota.

During the viewing and discussion, pizza, coffee and juice will be available.
   
A special invitation is extended to anyone who was involved with redistricting in Hubbard County after the 2010 census to answer questions, such as what worked well and what were the problems then? What needs to be done before any new lines are drawn? 
   
If you have any questions about the event, please contact LWVPRA at lwvparkrapids@lwvmn.org.
  
More resources on redistricting issues can be found at the following websites:

LWVMN position at https://lwvmn.org/where-we-stand/fair-district-maps,

USC Annenberg Center redistricting game at http://www.redistrictinggame.org/
What Works? Article from the Brennan Center at https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/analysis/Redistricting%20Commissions%20-%20What%20Works.pdf.

Pies and Great Discussion at Meet and Greet

Despite some foggy weather and possible slippery roads, LWVPRA had a good turn out of elected officials and community members Thursday night.   Everyone broke into small groups of 5 to 7 people with one or two elected officials. Community members expressed their concerns and asked questions on a variety of topics: nursing home, roads, pipeline, property taxes, recording of commissioners meetings, development vs environment, and many more. Every 15 minutes the groups shifted to speak with another official.  The evening was very informal and many people expressed how pleased they were with the format.  Several people recommended that League should hold more of these sessions maybe even in other parts of the county. Everyone learned a lot and experienced democracy at its very best.

Meet and Greet Your Local Elected Officials

League of Women Voters Park Rapids Area is providing citizens an opportunity  to get to know your local elected officials better.  A Meet and Greet with local elected officials will be held Thursday November 29, 6:00 pm at the Northwoods Bank, Park Rapids, meeting room. 

The following officials have responded Yes to participating: Hubbard County Commissioners Charlene Christianson, Dan Stacey, Ted Van Kempen and Dave de la Hunt. Tom Krueger is traveling on our date. County Attorney Jonathon Frieden will also be participating. Also Sheriff Cory Aukes has responded that he will be attending. Park Rapids City Council members participating will be Ryan Leckner, Tom Conway, Erika Randall and Liz Stone. Members of Hubbard Co Boards and City Commissions have also been encouraged to attend. 

Hubbard County had a great turn out of voters but the election is over for 2018. Now citizens have the opportunity to have a conversation  with officials who have been elected to serve us. Come for casual conversation over pie and coffee. All are welcome.

League of Women Voters Park Rapids Area  (LWVPRA), a non-partisan volunteer organization, whose mission is to encourage informed and active participation in government and influence public policy through education and advocacy.  All our programs are free and open to the public.  Please direct any questions about LWVPRA activities, events or on how to join LWVPRA (not for women only) by emailing 

lwvparkrapids@lwvmn.org

Your Vote Counts...share with your family and friends

During election years, most attention seems focused on national and state elections, but local elections are where change starts. The most visible change might also be seen at the local level since it can take a while for what federal and state governments do to have an effect locally. 


From property taxes to potholes and how schools are run, most of the issues that affect daily life are decided at the local level. Now, more than ever, young people need elected officials who represent their points of view on the city council, county board and school board. These elected officials can make progress happen - or not. 
 
Law enforcement is also local. Your city council and county commissioners play a role in law enforcement and the local criminal justice system. They pass ordinances for city police and the county sheriff and deputies to enforce. Did you know it is against city law to use skateboards on downtown sidewalks or that people who don’t live in the city limits can serve on the library board? The sheriff, county attorney and judges are also elected and are responsible for enforcing local laws. When these people are campaigning, it is good to think of yourself as the boss and of them as people interviewing for a job. That is the way democracy works best. Make sure the people you vote for will work for you.

Community development is local. Day care and affordable housing are issues that our city and county officials can act on or provide support for. 


It is also much easier for those of us in rural areas to have some direct contact and discussion with local candidates as well as office holders and therefore to be an informed voter. The Park Rapids League of Women Voters makes this even easier by hosting candidate forums for local elections. We held six forums in this election cycle. You can watch videos of these forums at http://lwvparkrapidsarea.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_98.html

Remember that your vote counts. In Breezy Point, MN, it took a coin flip to determine a City Council position due to a tie. 

If you have questions about how to vote, where to vote or where to find information, called the Hubbard County Courthouse, ask your local League of Women Voters or the local parties.  You can vote in person now at the courthouse or show up at your polling place on Nov 6th. 


Last forum of this election cycle: Menahga School Board

LWV Park Rapids Area held it final candidate forum of the year last night.

 

Thank you to the candidates for attending the forum and sharing your thoughtful answers:

• Andrea Haverinen (Incumbent)
• Katie Howard (Incumbent)
• Robert E. Smith 
• Durwin Tomperi (Incumbent) 

See the full video here

Thank you to all the LWV Park Rapids members and friends who put on these forums this year:

This was a group effort and each and everyone of us is needed to make things run smoothly.

• LuAnn Hurd-Lof for all the scheduling, contacting candidates and setting up the venues etc. etc.
• Terry Kalil, Harland Johnson, Sue Tomte, Carolynne White for moderating our forums
• Carolynne White for organizing articles, posters, Facebook, websites and handling the sound system
• Carolynne White, Harlan Johnson, Tom Petschl, Carter Hedeen, Cynthia Jones, Milica Stanfel, Lyn Pinnick for helping to prescreen questions submitted by email. 
• Milica Stanfel, Susan Bearden, LuAnn Hurd-Lof for being timers
• Carol Ashley, Cindy Gunsolus, Barb Wiebesick, for greeting people and handling sign in sheets
• Annamae Holzworth for organizing the hospitality team before she left on her trip.
• Florence and Carter Hedeen, Carol Moen, Hillary Stoltz, Mary Adams, Beth Baker-Knuttila and Susan Bearden for all the set up, treats and doing all the little things that kept us on track.
• A special thank you to all the members who passed along information about the forums, attended the forums, put up posters and flyers etc. etc.  Especially to any member I forgot to thank. 
• Laurie Conzemius: A very special thank you for video taping all the forums and so quickly processing and uploading them to youtube. 

Park Rapids High School votes in mock election

Seniors in Sandy Aldrich's government and law class set up a mock election polling place to help assist the students, teachers and staff of Park Rapids High School in experiencing the voting process. The students had to register, and mark their ballots just as if they went to the polls to vote on November 6th. League member and election judge Florence Hedeen was on hand to answer any questions and was impressed with the process.

• 3 write in votes, 
•  5 votes for Josh Welter the Libertarian,
• 12 votes for Chris Wright of the Grassroots party,
• 33 votes for Tim Walz, of the DFL party
• 91 votes for Jeff Johnson of the Republican party. 
• ( 1 spoiled ballot) 

Experiences like these help students realize the importance of voting and will increase their likely hood of being voters when they turn 18. 

Results:   145 people voted in yesterday's mock election:

Sandy Aldrich

Social Studies Teacher

Park Rapids Area High School

Video of Sheriff''s Forum in Park Rapids

Thank you to the sheriff candidates Cory Aukes and Dion Pederson for answering questions for the voters in the Park Rapids area. There were over 94 people that attended the forum and a total of over 30 questions were submitted. These questions were combined so that we covered as many topics as possible.  We hope that if you still need further clarification that you will seek out the candidates and ask them.  We know by this turnout that the voters feel this is an important campaign for Hubbard County.
   
Thank you to Harlan Johnson for once again doing an excellent of moderating, to Susan B and Milica S. for being timers and to our hostesses and set up, registration team of Mary A, Florence H, Carter H, Hillary S, Barb W, and Carol A.   Great job.

For the full video of the Sheriff's candidate Forum Part II