There's been a lot of news on the state level about redistricting lately. Here are a few of the key stories from around the country:

• Alaska: A bipartisan group of Alaska legislators wants to expand the State Legislature in time for 2011 redistricting. The problem now is that, as the largest state in the union and home to one of the smallest state legislatures, it’s extremely difficult to draw districts that truly reflect a “community of interest.” Senate District C, for instance, covers an area the size of Texas, and recent growth in the cities will only worsen the problem unless the legislature expands.
  
  

• California: Starting Tuesday, the California State Auditor is accepting applications for the newly-created Citizens’ Redistricting Commission, created by a ballot initiative in 2008. A bipartisan group of applicants will eventually be screened by both parties and then chosen at random. Apply online here, or check out RedistrictingFacts.com for more details on the process.
  
  

• Kansas: The 2009 Redistricting Advisory Group, formed to advise legislators as they prepare to redraw congressional and legislative boundaries in 2011, met in Topeka last week. A hot topic in the meeting was whether the city of Lawrence would remain split between the 2nd and 3rd Congressional districts.
  
  

• Illinois: Add Illinois to the list of states where redistricting reform ballot measures are being considered. The so-called Fair Map Amendment would hand redistricting to a nine-member independent commission, with the Illinois Supreme Court selecting the 9th member. Currently, if the legislature is unable to meet a redistricting deadline, a random process hands control of the redistricting process to one party or the other.
  
  

• Montana: Montana has selected all five members of the state’s Districting and Reapportionment Commission, which will redraw state legislative districts in 2011. Each party appointed two commissioners, and the Montana Supreme Court unanimously chose former State Supreme Court Justice Jim Regnier to chair the commission. As a justice, Regnier was officially non-partisan, and he is well-respected by officials in both parties.