The year 2020 may seem far off to some, but it’s coming quickly for International Falls Mayor Bob Anderson and the United States Census Bureau.

Anderson and Falls Administrator Ken Anderson recently met with census staff to find out the steps involved in an activity very important in several ways to local communities, said Anderson.

The next United States Census, which measures the population of the nation, will be the 250th census since it began in 1790 and is required by Article 1, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution, which says a census must be taken every 10 years, the mayor noted.

He noted that the number of people in each area is used in a host of ways, including to help determine how money is distributed for federal and state programs, and how areas will be represented in Congress and the Minnesota Legislature.

For example, an accurate account of the residents in each of the cities and counties helps divide Minnesota into congressional districts by population, Anderson said. The local count will help decide how big the size of Minnesota’s 8th congressional district will be or even if there will be eight districts in the state.

“Also, $675 billion annually goes out from the federal government in the way of grants, and many other ways, going out to citizens and communities, counties and states,” he said. “Having an accurate count also focuses on that.”

In addition, Anderson said the census will gather information about activity in road building, housing development, building razing, and other changes since the last census.

The actual count will start in late March 2020 and run through the summer.

“They want to be able to present the numbers to the president Dec. 31, 2020,” reported Anderson.

Census staff want to count everyone once, and only once, Anderson said, adding that a dwelling count will help in that effort.

Anderson also noted that a number of local people will be recruited for census jobs, with a number of part-time positions open.

Meanwhile, Anderson said local residents will be contacted by a post card received at their residence, to which they may respond via the internet, and using a household code from the post card.

If a computer is not available, people may use a telephone to call information in to the census takers, and a paper form can be filled out and sent in the mail.

Residents who do not respond in one of the three ways should expect a knock on their door in the summer of 2020. He said that could happen also to people who respond to allow census officials to do quality checks to ensure everyone is counted.

Anderson said International Falls will establish a commission, with citizen representation, in 2019 and 2020 to assist in getting information out to local folks about the census and getting a complete count.

He added that the city will work with local media sources to get information distributed about the census.

“And remind folks it’s so important to make sure they get their census information in,” he said.