By Mari Radtke
Tyler Avenue will be closed at 390th started a week ago and should open mid week. Tyler was graded during that time. New ditches were added. The old dirt road will be graveled before opening midweek. The board also considered purchasing back from PCI crushed asphalt left over from the Highway 59 project. The asphalt can be crushed like gravel and used in some applications. The board decided that if the price is right, they will purchase the crushed asphalt.
Barb Rohwer, County Auditor and Commissioner of Elections announced that a Redistricting Commission must be in place by May 15, 2021. Redistricting for representation from county through national positions is done following each census. The 2020 census numbers have not yet been released. Some officials, not all, expect the census numbers by November. The redistricting MUST be done by January 15, 2022.
A commission can consist of 3, 5 or 7 persons. The O’Brien County Supervisors chose a 5-member commission. The Board of Supervisors can choose 3 electors to the commission. The O’Brien Count democratic will choose the other 2. The Auditor’s office will provide assistance to the commission. The redistricting requires each Supervisor district must have as equal a population as possible. The redrawing of districts affects supervisor districts and could force special election or other choice for supervisor representation. Precincts are limited to 3500 people.
To serve on the commission a person must be an eligible elector of the county. That requires a person to be at least 18 years old and not a felon and a resident of O’Brien County.