It takes state Sen. Rich Draheim more than two hours to get from the southern exurban city of Jordan to the tiny farm towns by the Iowa border.
But all are part of the district he is poised to represent at the State Capitol next year.
"It's been a lot of road time," said the Republican from Madison Lake, who is shifting from a far more compact district to one he estimates is home to two congressional districts, seven counties, 34 cities, 68 townships and about 20 school districts.
A panel of judges completed the high-stakes puzzle of redistricting in February. Nine principles guided their work reshaping legislative and congressional districts, including keeping together communities with shared interests — such as occupations or geography — and making the districts "reasonably compact."
But it's difficult to slice a state into 67 Senate districts and 134 House districts and not have a few odd puzzle pieces.
"You have all these various parts left over," said GOP political consultant Gregg Peppin, who has been watching the redistricting process for decades. He sees an eastern metro Senate district, where Democrat Judy Seeberger and Republican Tom Dippel are locked in a fierce fight, as a prime example. The crescent-shaped district stretches northwest of Stillwater to Hastings.
"You've got the north, the south and the central, and they all have very unique traits and communities of interest," Peppin said. "What does Grant have in common with Hastings? Not a lot."
Dippel said he surprises Hastings residents when he says Grant and Lake Elmo are also in their district. But he does hear shared concerns, including Mississippi and St. Croix river water quality.
