Winter wonderland
Sweeping to state
Forget the bugs and camp in the snow
Dance wins both titles in Section 1AA
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ww www.chaskaherald.com ww.chaskaherald.com
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2012
CHASKA
$1
HERALD
REDISTRICTING 2012
New political landscape to be unveiled Feb. 21 BY RICHARD CRAWFORD editor@chanvillager.com
If you’re a political junkie or at least mildly curious about who will be on your ballot this fall, circle Feb. 21 on the calendar. That’s the date a special judicial panel will release redistricting plans for state legislative seats and the U.S. Congress. Redistricting of congressional, state, county and municipal lines is done every 10 years after the U.S. census to equalize representation in various districts. This redistricting could have significant implications for Carver County residents, who potentially could find themselves voting in a new congressional district next year
and deciding on new state officials. It all hinges on what the judicial panel outlines next week. Once the federal and state lines are redrawn, that will set the stage for Carver County commissioner districts and city precincts to be updated. All of the new districts will be in place for this fall’s election. As a result of population shifts in Carver County, all five county commissioner seats are expected to be up for election this fall.
VICTORIA
Lake Waconia
CHANHASSEN
41
45A
5
A court recommendation regarding legislative redistricting is expected to be released Feb. 21. Currently, Carver County is covered by one senate district. But with population growth, the county will now have two senate districts. This is one of the proposals recommended. It would place the northern part of Chanhassen and the city of Victoria in a new district separate from southern Chanhassen, Chaska and Carver. A judicial panel will unveil new state legislative and U.S. Congressional districts next week.
CHASKA 44B
212
CARVER
169
Redistricting What: Redistricting is done every 10 years after the U.S. Census to make sure various districts have the same number of residents.
POPULATION GROWTH
When: On Feb. 21 a judicial panel will announce state and federal redistricting. Local units of government will follow that, with cities announcing new precincts by April 3 and counties announcing new commissioner districts by May 1. The new districts will be used in this fall’s election.
Carver County is expected to have more state representation as a result of population growth the past decade. Carver County’s population grew by about 30 percent – more than 20,000
people – from 2000 to 2010. The increased population means the county will have at least one more state sen-
Redistricting Option
N ate district touching portions of the county. Currently, Senate District 34 covers all of Carver County. A Republican redistricting plan that was vetoed last year by Gov. Mark Dayton had the new senate district lines dividing the city of
Graphic by Carrie Rood
Chanhassen, with one senator and state representative in the northern half of Chanhassen and a different senator and state representative in the southern part.
Redistricting to page 2 ®
PHOTO BY MOLLEE FRANCISCO
Kathy Skinner, John Myhr, Linda Frey, Nancy Harrison and Tom Redman have all volunteered time and energy helping move the Bountiful Basket Food Shelf to its new Bavaria Road location.
Food shelf on the move Bountiful Basket relocates to Bavaria Road BY MOLLEE FRANCISCO mfrancisco@swpub.com
Food shelf
Bountiful Basket Food Shelf
41
Engler Blvd.
Vic to ri
Dr .
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PHOTOS BY MARK W. OLSON
Minneapolis residents Sharon Anderson and John Kerr study landscape designs at a Nakashima table, while sitting in Nakashima chairs. There are 25,000 visitors to the Arboretum library annually.
Splendid table Library furniture by renowned craftsman
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a
Food shelf to page 2 ®
Opens: Feb. 20 New location: 1600 Bavaria Road Hours: 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Monday – Wednesday, Friday. Closed Thursdays. More info: bountifulbasket foodshelf.org; (952) 556-0244
Bavaria Rd.
The Bountiful Basket Food Shelf is on the move again. This weekend, volunteers will pack up the food at the food shelf’s existing location at the southwest corner of County Road 61 and Highway 41 and make the short trek up the hill to the old Chaska water treatment plant on Bavaria Road. The water treatment building has been renovated by the city to provide a permanent location for the food shelf. The Bountiful Basket Food Shelf had temporarily moved into the former Snyder’s Drug building last June. Food shelf volunteers are looking forward to having a more permanent home. “We’re extremely excited,”
Bountiful Basket Food Shelf
BY MARK W. OLSON editor@chaskaherald.com
A climate-controlled room at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum holds thousands of rare books documenting a half-millennia of natural history. However, Andersen Horticultural Library visitors might fi nd themselves sitting on, rather than reading, an invaluable object.
In the early 1970s, the late Gov. Elmer Andersen and his wife, Eleanor, fi lled the then-new library wit h com missions by master craftsman George Nakashima – tables, shelves, magazine racks, display cabinets and even a clock. There are 79 Nakashima pieces in the library, mostly fashioned from American black walnut.
Nakashima to page 11 ®
Nakashima was renowned for tables that outlined the original countours of the tree.
Graphic by Traci Zellmann
INSIDE OPINION/4 OBITUARIES/6 VICTORIA/7 CALENDAR/9 SPORTS/13-15 CLASSIFIEDS/27-29 TO REACH US SUBSCRIBE: (952) 345-6682 EDITOR: (952) 345-6574 OR E-MAIL EDITOR@CHASKAHERALD.COM.
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