Minnesota is not a state that likes to draw contorted districts. I followed a few major guidelines
1) Don't split Minneapolis or St. Paul
2) Don't draw anything gross-looking
3) Keep Peterson in a winnable district
4) Eliminate Paulsen (who's likely running for Senate in 2014 anyway)
Here's what I came up with:
I'm going to start outstate.
MN-1 (blue): Tim Walz. Likely D with Walz, Tossup when/if Open
Walz, who's probably not going anywhere with a new Democratic Governor and two new Democratic senators, is perfectly safe here. It gets 1.5 points safer for him. The Western part of the Iowa border is shed: slightly Republican counties like Faribault, Martin, Watonwan, Brown, Cottonwood, Jackson, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone, and Rock, along with much of Blue Earth (area-wise). Despite the large area shed, the total population is quite small. The district instead goes North, more resembling its 1970s incarnation, gaining Le Sueur, Goodhue, and Rice counties and taking the town of Hastings from Dakota (a blue enclave in swingy and GOP-leaning suburbia). 53.6% Obama (two-party vote), 52.6% Dem average.
MN-7 (black): Collin Peterson (D) Likely D with Peterson, Lean R when Open
I'm not sure if Peterson will last the rest of the decade, but until he retires, he should be fine here. As one of the few conservaDems who will remain after the 2012 elections and redistricting, he may not enjoy such a small conservaDem caucus. Population loss means the 7th must get much larger. It now spans the entire western part of the state. The PVI, however, doesn't change, remaining about R+5. He loses the town of Bemidji up North and three very Republican rural counties: Sibley, McLeod, and Todd, along with the western part of Stearns. He then gains all of the areas that Walz lost.
MN-8 (slate blue): Open (D)
There are tons of Iron Rangers waiting to replace Jim Oberstar, who lost to Chip Cravaack in a major upset in 2010. With the Iron Range's continued trend rightward in presidential elections (mirrored in Northern Wisconsin and the Michigan Panhandle), I eliminated the most problematic counties: Mille Lacs, Morrison, Kanabec, Isanti, Chisago, and much of Crow Wing. I strengthened the district even more by adding Bemidji. For population purposes, I added red (but less red than the areas the district lost) Todd and Stearns. It only gets about half a point more Democratic, but there's no way to add more Dem territory without crazy gerrymandering or endangering Peterson. It's D+2, but more Democratic locally than presidentially. Cravaack could run here but he's lost his entire base and I'm not sure Bachmann's coming back anyway.
The Twin Cities Metro Area:
6th (teal): Chip Cravaack (R) or Michele Bachmann (R)
This R+8 suburban and exurban district isn't electing a Republican anytime soon. I kept most of Washington, northern Anoka, Sherburne, Benton, and a bit of Wright in the district (amazingly all these counties were Dem-leaning twenty years ago when they were much more rural). Shedding territory closer to the Twin Cities to help unpack the fifth slightly, I added St Paul suburbs New Brighton, Shoreview, White Bear Lake, and Oakdale, which aren't very red but were leftovers from the other districts. Then I took Cravaack's base: the 5 1/2 counties I excised from the Iron Range/St. Cloud district. Fun times.
2nd (green): John Kline (R)
In order to make Paulsen sweat, Kline needs to be made completely safe, and in this R+9 district, he is. He keeps his base of Carver and Scott, along with the southern half of Dakota (including Lakeville and Farmington). The super-red counties of McLeod and Sibley that I took from Peterson are also put here, as is most of exurban Wright. I then took out much of Paulsen's base: outer Hennepin, places like Champlin, Maple Grove, Plymouth, Independence, Medina, Orono, and Greenfield. Kline should be happy here.
4th (red): Betty McCollum (D)
McCollum takes in swingy areas I didn't feel the need to put either in Kline's vote sink or Paulsen's old district: Woodbury, Cottage Grove, Inner Grove Heights, Apple Valley, Rosemount, and half of Eagan. She loses the Northern 3rd of Ramsey County. This isn't partisan, but rather to make the map look nicer. It's D+10, so she's fine.
5th (yellow): Keith Ellison (D)
America's first Muslim congressman keeps his safety but gains more of Anoka so his district isn't as vote sink-y. It's still D+16, however, but Andover, Ham Lake, Blaine, and Coon Rapids aren't going to like him much. He also loses some bright blue inner suburbs to help out the 3rd.
3rd (purple): Open (D)
Assuming Democrats take the legislature in 2012, these maps would go into effect in 2014, when Paulsen's probably vacating the seat to take on Al Franken anyway. In that case, this D+5 would be Lean D, although Ramstad could probably still have held on. This district now only consists of Dem-leaning or swingy areas: Fridley, Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, New Hope, Crystal, Golden Valley, St. Louis Park, Minnetonka, Shorewood, Edina, Hopkins, Richfield, Eden Prairie, Bloomington, Burnsville, and half of Eagan have the population for a Dem-leaning new district.
And that's a map! (get it? ha ha ha...)