2010 census

2010 is a census year. Efforts are well afoot to improve the every-10-year count nationwide. And in Southeast Missouri, a special push is being made to improve responses to surveys that will be mailed to households in March.

The U.S. Census Bureau has set up a field office in Cape Girardeau that will oversee the count in a 31-county area. Government, business and civic leaders recently emphasized the importance of this year's census for Missouri.

Of particular importance is the state's representation in the U.S. House of Representatives. If the head count dips, the state could lose one of its nine representatives, requiring statewide redistricting.

In addition, there is about $400 billion that is distributed to states by federal government based on population. Government officials would like to make sure Missouri gets every dollar it is entitled to receive.

This year's census questionnaire will be an abbreviated 10-question form, the shortest in the history of the U.S. census, according to officials. The local census effort hopes to get a 100 percent response. By comparison, only 69 percent of census questionnaire recipients in Cape Girardeau responded in 2000.

More personal contacts are planned this year to avoid relying on estimates by the Census Bureau.