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GroundWork
News and ideas you can use to strengthen rural Minnesota communities.

Get Started Rural Leaders – Census 2020 is coming!

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Among the celebrations of March Madness, Mardi Gras and Make-Up-Your-Own-Holiday Day (yes, that’s really a thing), March hosts another important day that impacts all Americans – the start of Census 2020.  Is your community ready?

As a rural leader, you are passionate about the health and vibrancy of your community. In your community work, you’ve developed a set of tools – information, relationships, and skills – to get things done.  Data gathered during the decennial (every 10 years) census may be one of the most important tools you have in your toolbox. Census data is foundational to building rural communities that thrive into the next decade.

When members of your community are not counted, your community gets under-represented in data that determines how federal and state funds are distributed, how many seats Minnesota has in Congress, where businesses locate, school funding, etc.

The decennial census is a massive undertaking led by the Federal Government, but even with all the national and state resources dedicated to a complete count, rural Minnesotans will be missed if local leaders don’t step up.

What can you do to get ready?

  • Offer your support to township, city, or county officials in your area. Anticipate and address barriers to participation.
  • Join a Complete Count Committee in your community or start your own if one doesn’t already exist.
  • Apply for a job with the Census Bureau. The federal government is offering good wages and flexible work hours in your community.
  • Learn who in your community might be missed in the count – young children, immigrants, and Native Americans are historically under counted – and work with other community leaders to ensure everyone is counted.
  • Encourage your friends and neighbors to join you in promoting a complete count in your community.

Questions?  Check out our Census resource page for data, links for how to get involved and more.

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