Politics & Government
Lakeville Now in One County Commission District
Dakota County's recently approved redistricting plan puts all of Lakeville in District 6.
Lakeville is now a one county commissioner city.
As part of the redistricting plan adopted by the Dakota County Board of Commissioners last week, Lakeville no longer will be split between two commission districts.
According to the new district map approved April 24, the entire city now is in District 6, which is represented by Commissioner Paul Krause.
Find out what's happening in Lakevillefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Previously, a portion of northeast Lakeville adjacent to the city’s border with Farmington was in District 1, while the majority of the city was in District 6.
Similar to congressional, state legislative and city election boundaries, county commission districts are altered for population changes once every 10 years after the release of data collected in the most recent U.S. Census.
Find out what's happening in Lakevillefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
With the county’s population growing to 398,552 in the 2010 Census, district boundaries were redrawn.
The new boundaries allow Lakeville, Burnsville, Apple Valley, Burnsville, Farmington, Hastings, Lilydale, Mendota Heights, Mendota, South St. Paul and West St. Paul to be kept whole in representation on the county board, instead of sharing commissioners with other cities.
The populations of the county commission districts range from 53,172 (in District 2, northeast Dakota County) to 61,135 (in District 1, southern Dakota County). The population of District 6 is 55,954.
District 3 Commissioner Tom Egan, who represents northeast Dakota County, says in a on Eagan Patch that the districts should “have a targeted population of 56,936 and not vary up or down from that figure by more than 10 percent.”
The redistricting plan, he says, meets all legal requirements, including:
• District boundaries must be created using precinct lines.
• Districts must be composed of contiguous territory.
• Districts must be as regular and compact in form as practicable.
• Districts must be as nearly equal in population as possible.
• Districts may not vary in population by more than 10 percent.
Six of the county’s seven commission seats, including Lakeville’s District 6, will be up for election this fall, says Egan.
To read Egan's redistricting blog, .
