2010 CENSUS IS AROUND THE CORNER

In 2010 the country will be counting all citizens living here again. It happens every ten years. At the last Region 9 Meeting, Barb Ronnigen of the State Demographic Center addressed the group. She emphasized the importance of the 2010 census. She said that their goal is to have each city and county develop a “Complete Count Committee”. This committee is appointed by leaders of the units of government and is to work to encourage EVERYONE to fill out a census report. The questionnaire in 2010 will be the short form with only six questions.
Why is the census important?

Power – Minnesota could lose one congressional seat if our population decreases and other areas of the nation show an increase.

Money –even if just one person does not “get counted” the local governmental unit could lose $1,000 and that is just federal money.

Data- census data is used in a myriad of ways. This time, there will be just six questions, but these will play important roles in planning for schools, economic development, health care, cities, counties and states. end