Every 10 years, a massive head count is done to find out just how many of us there are in the United States of America.

It’s called the census. It is not something new. It was established and called for in the United States Constitution, which was ratified in 1788. In Article 1, Section 2, the Constitution states ”The actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States and within every subsequent term of ten years , in such manner as they shall by law direct.”

Now, in 2020, that ”every subsequent term of ten years” is upon us again. Fort Dodge area residents should have received in the mail both a census form and a follow-up letter urging them to complete the census form. Later this year, census workers will be visiting people who don’t submit completed census forms via mail or the internet

We urge everyone to promptly complete and return their census forms.

If you want your part of Iowa to have a voice in the United States House of Representatives, you must participate in the census because its data ultimately determines how many representatives each state has.

If you want your community to have influence in the Iowa legislature, you must complete your census form because the head count is the basis for allocating seats in the state Senate and state House of Representatives.

If you want your community to get its fair share of the gasoline taxes you pay every time you fill up the tank, fill out the census form. Gasoline tax revenue, which pays for road maintenance and snow removal, is divided between communities based on their populations.

And if you want your town to get its fair share of various federal funding sources, do the census because much of that money is awarded based on population.

The bottom line is this: if more people participate in the census, our community gets more representation and more funding.

Let’s all do our part and get those census forms filled out.