Commissioner seats are up for grabs

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• 5 options for redistricting plans

WORTHINGTON — No matter which way the new lines are drawn, it is clear that all five Nobles County Commissioner districts will change enough to force each candidate to seek re-election this November.

Population increases in the city of Worthington, as noted in the latest census, have changed so much that District 4, currently served by Commissioner Bob Demuth Jr., has 5,279 constituents, while District 2, now served by Commissioner Diane Thier, has just 3,501 constituents. The other three districts range from 3,846 to 4,846.

Nobles County Auditor-Treasurer Sharon Balster started working on new scenarios about a month ago with the city of Worthington.

The county couldn’t release its options until the city had finalized its redistricting.

The city lines will not change enough to require the five council members to campaign for re-election.

Balster said the census revealed a population of 12,764 within Worthington’s city limits, with 8,614 people living in the rural areas or smaller communities of the county.

With the new census data, she divided the total county population of 21,378 people by five commissioner districts to come up with an average of 4,276 residents per district.

To come within 10 percent above or below that number, she said all of the district boundaries will need to be redrawn.

The highest population in any one district can be 4,704, with the lowest population to be no less than 3,848.

Of the five options, one plan is similar to the existing structure, giving four of the five commissioner districts a set number of wards and precincts from within Worthington’s city limits.

Balster said the other four options call for three county commissioners to serve the city of Worthington, with the remaining to commissioner districts to cover the rest of the county.

Commissioners will take their first team-approach look at the redrawn maps during an 11 a.m. public hearing today in the board room, located on the third floor of the Nobles County Government Center.

The public is invited to attend.

Balster said she mailed the maps to commissioners on Saturday, which was the first day the maps were available for public viewing.

She anticipates the board members to narrow down the five options to one or two during the board meeting today. A decision will be announced by the board at their April 17 meeting.

The public is welcome to draw up and submit their own options for redistricting. Those are due to her office on the second floor of the Nobles County Government Center by 4:30 p.m. Monday.

Redistricting is conducted in Minnesota every 10 years, but rarely does the population shift so much that all five county commissioners need to campaign to retain their seat.

In fact, in all the years she’s worked in Nobles County, Balster said she doesn’t ever recall a time when all five seats have been up for election.

“It was really close in 2002,” she said.

If the redistricting hadn’t changed all of the lines in the county, only Commissioner Districts 2 (Diane Thier’s district) and 5 (Vern Leistico’s district) would have been up for election this fall.

Daily Globe Reporter Julie Buntjer may be reached at 376-7330.

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