Hennepin County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its county seat is Minneapolis,the state's most populous city. The county is named for the 17th-century explorer Louis Hennepin. It extends from Minneapolis to the suburbs and outlying cities in the western part of the county. Its natural areas are covered by extensive woods,hills,and lakes. As of the 2020 census,the population was 1,281,565. It is Minnesota's most populous county and the 34th-most populous county in the U.S.;more than one in five Minnesotans live in Hennepin County. It is included in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul–Bloomington Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Minnetonka is a city in Hennepin County,Minnesota,United States. A western suburb of the Twin Cities,Minnetonka is located about 10 miles (16 km) west of downtown Minneapolis. At the 2020 census,the city's population was 53,781.
Chanhassen is a city in Carver County,Minnesota about 16 miles southwest of Minneapolis. A small portion extends into Hennepin County. Located in the southwest Minneapolis–Saint Paul suburbs,there is a mix of suburban residential neighborhoods and rural landscapes. The population was 25,947 at the 2020 census,with a 2024 estimate of 26,469.
Mary Kiffmeyer is an American politician. She served as Minnesota Secretary of State from 1999 to 2007 and went on to serve in the Minnesota legislature. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota,she previously represented District 30,which included parts of Hennepin,Sherburne,and Wright counties.
Melissa Hortman is an American politician and the Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL),Hortman represents District 34B in the northern Twin Cities metropolitan area,which includes the cities of Brooklyn Park,Champlin and Coon Rapids and parts of Anoka and Hennepin Counties.
Minnesota is known for a politically active citizenry,with populism being a longstanding force among the state's political parties. Minnesota has consistently high voter turnout,ranking highest or near-highest in recent elections. This is due in part to its same-day voter registration laws;previously unregistered voters can register on election day with evidence of residency.
Patricia Torres Ray is a Colombian-American politician and former member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL),she represented District 63,which includes portions of southeastern Minneapolis and eastern Richfield in Hennepin County in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. She is the first Latina woman to serve in the Minnesota Senate. She ran for Congress in Minnesota's 5th district in 2018 to succeed Congressman Keith Ellison,but lost the primary to Ilhan Omar. In November 2021,she announced that she would not run for reelection in 2022.
Terri E. Bonoff is an American politician from the U.S. state of Minnesota. She is a former member of the Minnesota Senate,representing District 44,which included portions of Minnetonka,Plymouth and Woodland in Hennepin County in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL),she was a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Minnesota's 3rd congressional district in 2016. She was defeated by incumbent Republican Erik Paulsen in the general election. She now resides in Atlanta,Georgia and serves as CEO of Jewish Family &Career Services.
Paul D. Rosenthal is a Minnesota politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL),he represented District 49B,which included west Bloomington,south Edina,northeast Eden Prairie,and southwest Minnetonka in Hennepin County in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Ann H. Rest is an American politician and President pro tempore of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL),she represents District 43 which includes portions of the western suburbs of Hennepin County in the Twin Cities metro area.
Ronald Steven Latz is an American attorney and politician serving as a member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL),he represents District 46,which includes parts of Hennepin County in the western Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Erin Murphy is an American politician serving as Majority Leader of the Minnesota Senate since 2024. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL),she represents District 64,which includes the Highland Park,Macalester-Groveland,Merriam Park,Summit Hill,and St. Anthony Park,neighborhoods of the city of Saint Paul in Ramsey County in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. She is a former Majority Leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives,executive director of the Minnesota Nurses Association,and is also a registered nurse.
Scott J. Newman is an American attorney and former Republican member of the Minnesota Senate. He represented Senate District 18,which includes portions of McLeod,Meeker,Sibley and Wright counties just west of the Twin Cities metropolitan area. He is also a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives and was the Republican nominee for attorney general in the 2014 election.
Karin Housley is an American politician,businesswoman,and member of the Minnesota Senate. A Republican,she represents Forest Lake,Stillwater,and the surrounding St. Croix Valley. Housley was the Republican nominee in Minnesota's 2018 special election for the United States Senate.
Steve A. Cwodzinski is an American politician and member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL),he represents District 49,including Eden Prairie and Minnetonka,in the western Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Kelly Louise Morrison is an American physician and politician who is the U.S. Representative-elect for Minnesota's 3rd congressional district. Morrison was a member of the Minnesota Senate from 2023 to 2024. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party,she represented District 45 in the western Twin Cities metropolitan area,which includes the cities of Minnetonka,Mound,Minnetrista,and Orono in Hennepin County. She served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2019 to 2023.
Patty Acomb is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL),Acomb represents District 45B in the western Twin Cities metropolitan area,which includes the city of Minnetonka and parts of Hennepin County.
Sandra Feist is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2021. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party,(DFL),Feist represents District 41B in the northern Twin Cities metropolitan area,which includes the cities of Columbia Heights and New Brighton,and parts of Anoka,Hennepin,and Ramsey Counties.
The 2024 Minnesota House of Representatives election was held in the U.S. state of Minnesota on November 5,2024,to elect members to the House of Representatives of the 94th Minnesota Legislature. Primaries took place on August 13,2024.
A special election was held in the U.S. state of Minnesota on November 5,2024,concurrently with the state general election,to elect a new member for District 45 in the Minnesota Senate. This was caused by the resignation of Democratic–Farmer–Labor (DFL) member Kelly Morrison,who sought election to the United States House of Representatives.
