The temporary Story County Redistricting Committee met for a public hearing to review the Legislative Services Agency’s map under Plan 3 and to accept public input; no members of the public offered comments, and the committee agreed to prepare a report for the Board of Supervisors.

County Auditor (Speaker 1), who identified themselves as a committee appointee and said they and another member were chosen because of mapping experience, framed the committee’s role as an administrative pass-through under Iowa law: the committee accepts public input and forwards precinct data to LSA, which draws supervisor districts, and the Board of Supervisors takes final action. “We are all here, and we have quorum,” Speaker 1 said during roll call.

The hearing focused on the technical limits and practical effects of Plan 3. Speaker 1 and Speaker 3 demonstrated the LSA map and two illustrative alternates produced by the committee to show what 3‑district and 5‑district splits might look like. Speaker 3 noted that census blocks and dense apartment clusters create irregular precinct boundaries; Speaker 1 added that a census block is limited to about 3,500 people and that Ames contains roughly 68% of Story County’s population, which constrains how neatly districts can be drawn. “It all comes down to math,” Speaker 1 said.

Committee members also discussed timing and election implications. Speaker 1 said that if the Board of Supervisors adopts the map it would take effect for the upcoming primary, that voters would likely receive updated registration information, and that the filing period for county offices begins March 2 (the end date was discussed as around March 20–21). Under Plan 3, Speaker 1 said, candidates would need 50 signatures from their district instead of 100 from the county. The committee plans to prepare minutes and a summary report — including the committee’s alternate maps — for the board to consider; Speaker 1 said they would attempt to place the matter on the Jan. 6 board agenda.

The committee opened the meeting to public comment and reported that no in-person or online comments were received during the hearing. Given the lack of public input, Speaker 2 said the single hearing should be sufficient; the committee agreed to proceed with preparing and publishing the required report.

The meeting ended after a motion to adjourn was made and seconded; Speaker 1 then declared the meeting adjourned. The next formal action will be the Board of Supervisors’ consideration of the plan, which could accept the map, reject it or ask for modifications and a subsequent LSA redraw.