MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The U.S. Census Bureau releases its official population counts for the states this week, which will determine if Minnesota keeps its eight seats in Congress.

Because the total number of seats will stay constant in the U.S. House, states that gain population tend to pick up seats at the expense of states that are losing people or holding steady.

Minnesota is among a dozen states on the bubble. In a September report, reapportionment expert Kimball Brace predicted that Minnesota would keep its eighth seat by about 15,000 residents.

Minnesota State Demographer Tom Gillaspy says he thinks Minnesota will hang on to its eight seats, but it's going to be very close.

The figures will be released at 10 a.m. Tuesday. The official counts cannot be appealed to the Census Bureau.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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