This story was first published in Stateline, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts.

After more than a year of virtual meetings, Bill Ekblad showed up last week at eight southern Minnesota election offices to deliver a simple message to county election chiefs and information technology directors: You don’t need to face the massive cybersecurity threat alone.

A Navy veteran who served 26 years as a cybersecurity strategist, Ekblad is Minnesota’s first cyber navigator, charged with helping local election offices defend against the ongoing menace from foreign foes.

“Savvy adversaries are finding new ways to wreak havoc, and that could be leveraged in the election world,” he said from the road. “Counties don’t have to face these challenges by themselves.”

After months of delays, the U.S. Census Bureau on Monday gave states part of the critical data needed to redraw their U.S. House boundaries: an updated tally of how many people live within their borders, and the number of House districts that each state will have for the next decade.

Minnesotans — especially politicos who’ve been awaiting the news for months — breathed a sigh of relief, as the North Star State will retain its eight congressional districts, earning the 435th seat in Congress by beating out New York state by a mere 89 people.

The news from the 2020 Census count came as a surprise. Minnesota has long been projected to lose a seat due to its slow-growing population. Dropping from eight to seven congressional seats would have diminished Minnesota’s political clout and likely reduced federal spending here going forward.