Minneapolis will soon have new council, Park Board boundaries

Minneapolis will soon have new political boundaries, helping shape who gets elected to the City Council and Park and Recreation Board for the next decade.

The court-appointed Charter Commission — together with its group of advisers — hopes to finalize the new boundaries next week. Here's a rundown of how the process works.

Why is Minneapolis drawing new boundaries?

Minneapolis – like other government entities – is required to re-evaluate its political lines every 10 years after new census data is released. Federal laws require each district to have roughly the same number of people as part of an effort to ensure each person's vote carries the same weight.

The 2020 census placed Minneapolis' population just shy of 430,000, up nearly 50,000 from the count a decade earlier. The growth in the city didn't occur evenly, with the largest increase downtown and the areas surrounding it.

Roughly half of the city's 13 City Council wards must now be adjusted to reflect the new population shifts. The six Park Board districts will be adjusted too. The changes don't directly affect the races for mayor, the Board of Estimate & Taxation or the at-large Park Board seats, because those officials are elected in citywide races.

Who draws the lines?

The court-appointed Charter Commission draws the new boundaries.

Voters in 2010 approved a measure that gave the group responsibility for drawing the new lines amid a push to improve transparency and limit politicians' ability to privately lobby for advantageous political boundaries.

The commission selected nine volunteers to serve on an advisory group, saying it hoped to better reflect the city's diverse populations. The volunteers can offer suggestions for how to change the maps, but the commission will have the final vote.

What changes are they making?

That's still being worked out. The groups have a combined four public meetings scheduled between now and March 2, when commissioners hope to take a final vote on the new maps.

The latest versions move several neighborhoods, or portions of them: The Bottineau neighborhood in northeast Minneapolis moves from the Third Ward to the First Ward; the entirety of the Elliot Park neighborhood near downtown is now in the Sixth Ward; the West Maka Ska neighborhood in south Minneapolis is moved from the Thirteenth Ward into the Seventh Ward; and the Cooper neighborhood in south Minneapolis moved from the city's Second Ward to the Twelfth Ward. A more detailed list of changes is available on the city's website.

Charter Commission Chair Barry Clegg said they expect to make some technical changes to better align with the new state legislative maps; each person in a precinct has to have the same legislative district, council ward and Park Board district. He expects they might also discuss the Sixth Ward based on feedback from people who wanted to ensure the changes didn't accidentally dilute the impact of Somali residents' votes.

How do they decide which boundaries to change?

The group often begins by looking at each ward's or district's population. Council wards must have between 31,420 and 34,727 people, while Park Board districts must have between 68,077 to 75,241 people.

Beyond population, the commission must also comply with state and federal laws designed to minimize gerrymandering and to ensure that people of color and people who speak languages other than English have fair opportunities to elect their preferred representatives. The commission and its advisers have said they hope to keep together communities of interest, which could be defined based on a range of factors such as race, economic status and neighborhood groups.

Preliminary drafts of the maps have prompted some concerns. An earlier version of the council map would have moved two Black incumbents from their wards, but the group reversed that plan after some residents said they should honor the choices voters made in the November elections. Park Board members, meanwhile, have urged commissioners not to dilute the voices of people of color by placing them in larger districts than white residents.