From Politics in Minnesota
Minnesota’s population changes over the last decade will give rise to a complex set of moving pieces when lawmakers redraw legislative districts after the 2010 U.S. Census is completed.
Minnesota State Demographer Tom Gillaspy expects that lawmakers will have to react to growth on the fringes of the Twin Cities metropolitan area by cramming more of the state’s 201 legislative districts in the outer suburbs and semi-rural areas that are situated just beyond the metro. Gillaspy refers to the area as “the doughnut.”
“The doughnut ring around the Twin Cities has been growing rapidly,” noted Gillaspy, “and much of the rest of the state outside of that has not grown as rapidly. The central cities and inner ring suburbs have not grown as rapidly. Some have declined.”