Minnesota’s 1,781 townships will hold their annual town meeting on March 10. Known as Township Day, these annual meetings are held every year on the second Tuesday in March, according to a press release.

Residents of the townships will meet to voice their opinions about local issues with other township residents and also vote directly on their annual tax levy. Citizens attending annual meetings also often discuss and vote on other local issues.

In addition, many of the state’s townships will hold their township officer elections on Tuesday’s Township Day.

“Township Day gives a direct voice to residents of townships,” said Minnesota Association of Townships Executive Director David Hann. “The annual meeting is an opportunity to participate in local government. Residents meet and discuss issues with their town board, and vote on the proposed tax levy.”

He encouraged people to participate in their township’s annual meeting. Locations and times can be checked by contacting the township clerk.

“Township communities come together to shape their government from the grassroots up,” Hann said. “Whether they are electing new local officers or voting on the annual tax levy, these annual meetings are important to the direct democracy of townships. On behalf of the Minnesota Association of Townships, I encourage every township resident to attend their annual meeting.”

According to the release, there are approximately 914,174 township residents in 1,781 townships in Minnesota. Townships exist in every area of the state, including the metropolitan area. Some, with populations of more than 1,000, function in much the same way as a small city. While many townships remain rural agricultural centers, other host a variety of residential, light commercial, and industrial development.

The tradition of a town meeting on Township Day has roots in colonial America. New England town meetings gave citizens a way to exercise local authority. Those meetings were especially important in the development of democracy because it emphasized problem-solving through group efforts.

Townships were the original form of local government in Minnesota, established in the 1800s when Congress ordered a survey that divided the Minnesota territory into 36 square mile tracts of land. Today, the term “township” generally refers to public corporations governed by a local board of supervisors and created to provide services to residents.