State census to have wide impact

The Kansas City U.S. Census Bureau office will announce Missouri’s total population by the end of this year. That figure will determine our number of seats in Congress, though we’re expected to hold steady. In April, we’ll see city-by-city breakdowns. Those figures determine how to redraw congressional boundaries and state legislative districts. And depending whether your town’s census estimate shrinks or grows, it will get a smaller piece of the pie from state and federal grants. Assistant regional census manager Dennis Johnson says his staff will get smaller once all the counting is done, but says a few people will continue analyzing data for years to come.