Nancy Edmonds Hanson
hansonnanc@gmail.com

America has been counting noses every 10 years since 1790. Mandated by the US Constitution, the decennial census is among the most crucial of traditions. In 2020 – say the Moorheaders leading an awareness campaign to get everyone on the same page – making sure that every resident is counted is more important than ever.
“Every single person who is counted means $28,000 to Minnesota in getting our fair share of federal funding,” says assistant city planner Kim Citrowske. Along with Josh Huffman and Robin Huston of the planning office, she is working with a committee of local volunteers to insure that happens that happen. “It affects our representation in St. Paul and Washington. The data are used for all kinds of planning by public agencies and private businesses. It’s a very big deal.”
The official date of the next census is April 1, 2020. Moorhead organized a Complete Count Committee in 2018 to brainstorm ways to make sure that official government census takers reach everyone in the city, beginning with a call for self-reporting data online or on mail-in forms and ending up with the challenging task of sending Census Bureau employees to track down and count every person in every household that hasn’t responded to the call. Results won’t be released until they do, probably at the end of the year or in early 2021.
So far, 140 Minnesota cities have formed similar volunteer cheerleading groups. They won’t be counting themselves; that’s left to a horde of carefully vetted employees now being recruited by the federal agency. That may be the biggest task of all. Recruitment, Josh Huffman says, has been very slow, despite several application days hosted by the city and Clay County. More may be in the offing. “They’re still really short,” Josh notes, citing a recent report that of 400 positions to be filled in the region, only 25 people have applied.
The temporary jobs pay $14 per hour and up, he says. Hours are flexible for many workers, depending on the role they’ll play in the process. Among the positions are the most visible census takers, who will be going from door to door to contact people who don’t self-report online or on paper.
It’s a gargantuan undertaking. On April 1, 2010, the Census Bureau counted 38,065 people in Moorhead. That’s grown by more than 10% to an estimate of 43,349 a year and a half ago.

Where do you count?
As Kim and Josh explain, “resident” has a very specific meaning for the census. Beyond the obvious full-time permanent residents, it includes every person living in an area for more than half the year. “That means college students, whether they live in dorms or off campus, are counted in Moorhead rather than their parents’ home town,” Kim says. “‘Everyone’ means everyone, regardless of whether they’re citizens or immigrants or long-term visitors spending more than half the year here.”
The census takes special care to count those living in nonstandard quarters, too, from nursing homes and dormitories to group homes and jails. People who are homeless are counted where they spend most of the year, whether in shelters or even on their own.
Some populations are understood to be especially hard to count. “We know that lots of people don’t have faith or trust in the government,” Kim points out. “Some New Americans may have language barriers or not feel comfortable sharing the names of everyone in their households.” Others may be reluctant for other reasons. “The city has rules about how many can occupy an apartment or about renting out rooms, for example,” she suggests. “It doesn’t matter. They need to be counted. Tenants shouldn’t have any worries about sharing that information, since none of it – by law – goes back to the city or any other government or private agency or, for that matter, their landlords.”
That’s a critical point. Individual data they collect isn’t going anywhere. “The Census Bureau is made up of data nerds,” Kim says. “They will never identify you individually, and the information they collect is strictly protected by law.” Federal law protects the confidentiality of all your information. Violating the law is a crime with stiff penalties – fines of up to $250,000 or five years in prison, or both. While census forms request names, addresses and telephone numbers, the data is used for internal review to make sure each person is entered only once.

Snowbirds a big challenge
At the moment, Josh and Kim say, reaching snowbirds is one of the local counting crew’s biggest concerns. Most may still be in warmer climes when the Census Bureau mails out its postcards in March. “And the Post Office doesn’t forward postcards,” Kim points out.
That could be a problem. If those sunning themselves in Arizona or Florida reside in Moorhead more than six months of the year, they are part of the local population and must be included in the Minnesota count. Kim advises them to pay attention to reminders in the news to access the bureau’s national website, then follow instructions to complete it correctly.
The thought of sharing personal information on the internet, Josh acknowledges, may feel especially … well, creepy in 2020, among constant headlines reporting data breaches and online scams. “This is as secure as they can possible make it,” he says reassuringly, “and you’re obligated by law to provide the information.” He adds, “The census isn’t the sexiest topic, but when they find out more about it, people are generally kind of fascinated by the whole process.”
Kim advises, “When the time comes, if a question makes you uncomfortable, like marital status or race, it’s okay to skip it – but do fill out the rest of the form. It’s short and easy.
“We all feel an obligation to vote. This is just as important in its own way. That’s why we’ve kept on doing it for 230 years. Today, that data is more critical than ever. Think of this as another way to make your community stronger.”
For more information on the whys and hows of the upcoming census, go to https://www2.census.gov/about/partners/general/2020-faqs.pdf. For information on applying for 2020 census jobs, visit 2020census.gov/jobs.