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Census Bureau: Cape County's median income falls (9/21/12)The poor are getting poorer in Cape Girardeau County, according to new local estimates on income, poverty and health insurance released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. Area community outreach organizations say the record numbers of working families who aren't earning enough money to pay their bills and are coming to them for assistance support the new statistics...
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Mo. high court upholds new congressional districts (5/27/12)JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Supreme Court upheld the state's new congressional districts Friday, solidifying a Democratic primary fight between two St. Louis congressmen and providing certainty for candidates who weren't sure which neighborhoods would be in their territories for the August primary elections...
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Missouri House redistricting commission can't reach deal (8/12/11)JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - A state commission charged with drawing new Missouri House districts cannot agree on a new map and is wrapping up its work. The 18-member commission on Friday voted to conclude its business and authorized its chairman and vice chairwoman to sign the paperwork needed to discharge the commission.
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Census shows more females than males in Mo. (7/29/11)JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri has more boys than girls, but there are more women than men. New Census Bureau figures from last year's count show 51 percent of the state's nearly 6 million residents were female. But the proportions varied among age groups...
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Rural population share hits its all-time lowest percentage (7/28/11)WASHINGTON -- Rural America now accounts for just 16 percent of the nation's population, the lowest ever. The latest 2010 census numbers hint at an emerging America where, by midcentury, city boundaries become indistinct and rural areas grow ever less relevant. Many communities could shrink to virtual ghost towns as they shutter businesses and close down schools, demographers said...
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Missouri, Kansas populations hold steady (6/6/11)KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- While the Midwest as a whole has been losing population to southern and western states, Kansas and Missouri appear to bucking that trend, with more people moving to Kansas and Missouri than are moving out, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau...
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Census: Mo.'s median age rose 2 years since 2000 (5/20/11)JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri's median age is nearly two years older than it was a decade ago, with residents from middle age through retirement now accounting for a larger share of the state's population, according to figures released Wednesday night by the U.S. Census Bureau...
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One Scott County township may shift commission districts (5/12/11)BENTON, Mo. -- Scott County's second district commissioner may hand off a township to the first district's representative. County commissioners looked at their redistricting options during their regular meeting Tuesday. Due to population changes as found by the 2010 census, county commission district lines must be redrawn. State statutes require districts to be contiguous and have populations as close to equal as possible without splitting existing political townships...
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Missouri lawmakers override Nixon veto of redistricting (5/5/11)JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's Republican-led legislature enacted a new congressional redistricting plan Wednesday, acting quickly to override a veto by Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon. Senators voted 28-6 to override Nixon's veto. A few hours earlier, four House Democrats joined the entire 105-member Republican House caucus to provide the minimum two-thirds majority required to overcome Nixon's objections. The House approved the override 109-44...
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Mo. House overrides Nixon's redistricting veto (5/4/11)JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The Missouri House moved quickly Wednesday and voted to override Gov. Jay Nixon's weekend veto of a proposed congressional redistricting map. The House voted to override the veto 109-44, giving GOP leaders the minimum two-thirds vote that is required. ...
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Nixon vetoes redistricting map; GOP planning override attempt (5/1/11)JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon rejected a proposed congressional redistricting map on Saturday and urged lawmakers to come up with a new plan that better represents "all regions of the state" within two weeks.
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Tilley criticizes Senate over redistricting map (4/22/11)JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri House Speaker Stephen Tilley, R-Perryville, criticized Senate leadership Friday over the two chambers' inability to agree on a new redistricting map. "For lack of a better word, I don't think we've seen the kind of leadership from the Senate that we'd like to have," said Tilley. Tilley says his staff is looking into state statutes to see if there is still time to pass a new map before the General Assembly loses the ability to override a governor's veto...
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Mo. House OKs another proposed redistricting map (4/22/11)JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri House members have voted to approve another congressional redistricting proposal just a few hours after negotiations over a map broke down with senators. The House endorsed another map by voice-vote on Friday. House supporters say it was designed to address a couple senators' concerns over other redistricting proposals...
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Mo. Senate, House to negotiate on redistricting (4/21/11)JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- State senators have agreed to negotiate with House members to settle a stalemate over how to redraw Missouri's congressional districts. The Senate and House have each passed their own plans about how to consolidate Missouri's nine current districts into eight based on the 2010 Census. The changes are necessary because of population shifts within the state and because Missouri's population growth has lagged behind that of the nation's...
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House, Senate still at odds on redistricting (4/19/11)JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The standoff over the congressional redistricting map continues. One day after a summit meeting at state Republican Party Headquarters, Missouri House leaders are still waiting to hear from the state Senate on whether or not it will grant the House's request to convene a conference committee and hammer out differences between the House and Senate maps. ...
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Missouri House rejects state Senate redistricting map (4/15/11)JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- As expected, the Missouri House Thursday morning refused to accept the congressional district map drawn by the state Senate and has voted to send the map back to the Senate, asking it to take up and pass the original house map. ...
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Redisticting proposal runs into opposition in Missouri Senate (4/13/11)JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A proposal to redraw Missouri's congressional map has run into state Senate opposition because of regional disputes. Senators started debate Tuesday about a proposed map approved by the Missouri House. Senators from southwestern, southeastern, western and eastern Missouri expressed concerns. A central Missouri senator objects to grouping his area with Kansas City...
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Mo. House passes plan for new congressional districts (4/7/11)JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Republican-led Missouri House passed its plan for redrawing the state's congressional districts Wednesday, merging two seats held by Democrats in the city of St. Louis and extending Southeast Missouri's district into the St. Louis area.
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Plato, Mo., sits at center of nation's population (3/24/11)PLATO, Mo. (AP) -- In a nation of nearly 310 million people, America's new population center rests not in a Midwestern skyline of St. Louis or Chicago, but in a tiny Missouri village named after an ancient Greek philosopher. The Census Bureau announced Thursday what the 109 residents of Plato had suspected for weeks: Shifting population patterns and geographical chance converged to make this town on the edge of Mark Twain National Forest the center of the U.S. ...
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Census: Cape Girardeau population more diverse than in 2000 (2/27/11)Sharon Armour has made a life of taking care of people in Cape Girardeau. Armour, 57, owns and operates Jefferson Manor on the city's south side. "I love people. I take care of people," she said, while filling her minivan with groceries Friday afternoon in the parking lot of Save-A-Lot on South Sprigg Street. "What color, that doesn't matter. We're all God's children."...
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Cape to redraw ward boundaries, create transport policy group because of census data (2/27/11)The release of the U.S. census data will serve as the launching pad for two developments in Cape Girardeau in the coming months -- the redrawing of the city's ward map and the creation of an organization that will make key recommendations for regional transportation needs...
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Census: Cape Girardeau County, city and Jackson show large population growth (2/25/11)Cape Girardeau County grew by more than 10 percent over the last decade, according to Missouri population totals released Thursday from the U.S. Census Bureau.
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Census: St. Louis population down 8 percent (2/25/11)ST. LOUIS (AP) -- St. Louis is losing residents, according to U.S. Census figures released Thursday, and the population decline goes deeper than being another blow to the proud city's image. The drop will mean a financial loss that could cost the already cash-strapped Gateway City millions of dollars...
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Census figures show SW Mo. population growth (2/25/11)JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's population grew by the greatest amounts in southwest Missouri and the outer suburbs of St. Louis during the past decade while continuing to decline in the city's urban core, according to new U.S. Census Bureau figures released Thursday...
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Redrawing congressional map will be contentious, lawmakers say (2/25/11)With the release of 2010 census data, Missouri lawmakers can get to work redrawing the state's congressional district map, a process that some say could become to a contentious turf war as both parties attempt to protect their political interests. The redistricting commission, made up of 28 state legislators and split evenly between Democrats and Republicans, will begin gathering public input from residents across the state over the next two weeks. ...
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Missouri officials to get census data today (2/24/11)JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri officials are expecting to get their hands on new details about where the state's residents live. Legislative leaders and Gov. Jay Nixon were to receive population and demographic figures from the U.S. Census Bureau today. The data is important for Missouri lawmakers to start developing new congressional districts...
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Census: Near-record level of counties are losing residents (2/23/11)WELCH, W.Va. -- Nestled within America's once-thriving coal country, 87-year-old Ed Shepard laments a prosperous era gone by, when shoppers lined the streets and government lent a helping hand. Now, here as in one-fourth of all U.S. counties, West Virginia's graying residents are slowly dying off...
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Area officials expect to see gains when census numbers are released this week (2/22/11)On the eve of the release of Missouri's 2010 census data, government officials from Cape Girardeau County and its two biggest communities expect to see population gains. The question now, they say, is not a matter of where but just how much. The U.S. Census Bureau is expected to ship detailed population data to state leadership -- the governor and the legislature's majority and minority leaders -- this week, and the numbers could arrive as soon as today...
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Redistricting committees prepare to start work as census data arrives (2/20/11)JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Virtually every state near Missouri has already received detailed new population data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Now it is Missouri's turn. The bureau plans to ship the data to Missouri officials next week. Lawmakers leading the state's congressional redistricting efforts plan to hold a news conference Monday to announce the receipt of the data. ...
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Missouri House speaker quiets congressional concern over redistricting (1/30/11)JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- These are uncertain times for Missouri's congressional delegation.
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First state redistricting public hearing Friday in Poplar Bluff (1/18/11)JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A Missouri Senate committee plans hearings around the state to gather suggestions about redrawing congressional districts. Missouri will lose one of its nine U.S. House seats in the next general election because the 2010 census found the state's population growth did not keep up with some other states. District boundaries also must be adjusted for faster-growing areas within the state...
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Missouri House starts work on new district map (1/14/11)JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri House members are starting work on a new congressional map that will have only eight districts, down from the current nine. U.S. House districts are redrawn every 10 years to reflect changes in population based on the census. The U.S. Census Bureau announced last month that Missouri will lose one seat in the House. The state legislature is responsible for drawing the new congressional districts and will approve them just like any other legislation...
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Census finds long-distance moves in U.S. hit record low (1/12/11)WASHINGTON -- Americans are shunning long-distance moves at record levels as many young adults, struggling without jobs, opt to stay put rather than relocate to other parts of the U.S. The new information from the Census Bureau highlights the extreme pressure the sluggish economy is putting on people in this country, especially those in some of the hardest hit groups...
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With 2010 census complete, analysis begins (12/23/10)On Tuesday morning, as the official 2010 census figures were released, Dennis Johnson and head counters everywhere could sigh in relief. The massive data-collection campaign years in the making had come to an end. "The war is over, so to speak," said Johnson, director of the U.S. Census Bureau's Kansas City Regional Office...
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Census: Rust Belt states losing people, clout (12/23/10)TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- After years of losing residents to more prosperous states, the nation's Rust Belt now confronts another blow to its economic prospects: losing some of its votes in Congress. The latest census figures show that states in much of the Midwest and Northeast have been overtaken in population growth by the South and West. ...
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Missouri loses Congressional seat in new Census (12/22/10)The news Tuesday that Missouri will lose one Congressional seat in 2012 had some federal lawmakers worried about the loss of political clout in Washington, even as those in the state's Republican-led legislature promised a bipartisan effort in redrawing the districts...
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Census shows slowing U.S. growth, brings GOP gains (12/22/10)WASHINGTON -- Republican-leaning states will gain at least a half dozen House seats thanks to the 2010 census, which found the nation's population growing more slowly than in past decades but still shifting to the South and West. The Census Bureau announced Tuesday that the nation's population on April 1 was 308,745,538, up from 281.4 million a decade ago. ...
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Missouri to lose congressional seat; drops from 9 to 8 (12/21/10)JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's loss of one congressional seat will give the state its smallest delegation since the 1850 census and provide Republicans who control the state Legislature with an opportunity to redraw districts to solidify their party's power.
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Census Bureau's population report today to decide fate of Missouri's congressional districts (12/21/10)JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- One of Missouri's nine congressional districts was on the chopping block Monday as officials waited for word about whether the state population was high enough to keep the current congressional delegation. Losing a seat would mean fewer lawmakers in Washington to advocate for Missourians and seek federal money for local projects. ...
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A fifth of Cape Girardeau residents in poverty from 2005 to 2009 (12/19/10)The Rev. Deborah Young has seen it all. She's seen a 13-year-old mom-to-be with nowhere to turn. A mother and her six children living in a van. Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with nothing and no hope. "I have seen it all, and I have heard it all," Young said. "To put a sentence together, to sum it all up: It is very sad."...
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Comparison of Cape Girardeau with county, state (12/19/10)Cape Girardeans were better educated than their fellow Missourians, but they made a lot less money on average between 2005 and 2009, according to the latest census information released last week. The American Community Survey, a broad survey of 3 million American households, includes demographic data on everything from age and race to household income and housing. ...
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Black segregation in U.S. drops to lowest in century (12/15/10)WASHINGTON -- America's neighborhoods took large strides toward racial integration in the last decade as blacks and whites chose to live near each other at the highest levels in a century. Still, segregation in many parts of the U.S. persisted, with Hispanics in particular turning away from whites...
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Besides seats, GOP wins sway in redistricting (11/8/10)RALEIGH, N.C. -- Republicans don't just control much of the electoral map. In some cases, they now have the power to redraw it. Overwhelming victories in statehouses and governors' races across the country last week have placed the GOP in command of redrawing both congressional and legislative districts to conform with census results. ...
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Elections expert expects state to lose a congressional seat (9/28/10)JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- An expert on congressional reapportionment expects Missouri to be one of eight states that will lose a seat in Congress because of its census count. But a Missouri congressman involved with an effort to increase census participation in the state said there is a good possibility that Missouri will hold on to all of its nine seats in the U.S. House of Representatives...
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Poverty rate rises to 14.3 percent, Census Bureau says (9/17/10)They come in hungry, homeless, often helpless, with nowhere else to go -- and they're arriving in greater numbers than ever. The Shelter of Hope in downtown Cape Girardeau is the temporary home of eight displaced men. On Thursday, the homeless shelter was filled to capacity, as it was the day before and the day before that. The emergency dwelling, which serves men, has moved four families into volunteer homes...
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Report: Cape Girardeau-Jackson area grew more in private sector than public in 2009 (8/11/10)The Cape Girardeau area was one of only five areas in the country that had more earnings growth in private sector jobs than government jobs during 2009, according to a new report by the U.S. Commerce Department.
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Latest census estimates show moderate growth in Cape Girardeau County (8/8/10)When the U.S. Census Bureau released 2009 population estimates last month, the numbers indicated Cape Girardeau County has continued to grow since the 2000 census.
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Layoffs of census workers in June will distort jobs data (7/1/10)WASHINGTON -- For the first time in six months, the federal unemployment report to be released Friday will likely show a net loss of jobs. But hold off on the panic button. It's true that employers are expected to have cut more than 100,000 jobs in June. But that figure, if accurate, will be deceptive. It will reflect the end of up to 250,000 temporary census jobs. The real focus Friday will be on how many net jobs private employers created...
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Experts: When census is finished, Missouri likely to retain nine congressional seats (6/21/10)State experts predict Missouri will retain its nine Congressional seats, but the count will be close. Enumerators will wrap up the door-knocking portion of the census in late July, said Lori Simms, spokeswoman for the Missouri Office of Administration...
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GAO: Census has computer problem (5/2/10)LOS ANGELES -- A computer system that the Census Bureau needs to manage its door-to-door count of the U.S. population remained buggy and prone to crash a day before enumerators were set to begin their work, government officials said Friday. The bureau's Paper Based Operations Control System did not function reliably in tests and, despite hardware and software upgrades, "may not be able to perform as needed under full operational loads," the U.S. ...
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Officials say 2010 census return rate lags from decade ago (4/21/10)For those who haven't yet mailed in a census form, it's probably too late to avoid a visit from one of the army of enumerators that will begin home visits May 1. The home visits will follow up on the massive mail-in campaign that has been going on for the past month, said Rich Gerdes, assistant regional Census Bureau manager in Kansas City, Mo. But it is not too late to mail in the form or contact the bureau directly to have census information taken by telephone, he said...
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U.S. Census Bureau urging same-sex couples to be counted (4/6/10)NEW YORK -- With backing from the Census Bureau, gay-rights activists are urging maximum participation by their community in the first U.S. census that will tally same-sex couples who say they're married -- even those without a marriage license...
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Census provides short but welcome job boost (4/4/10)WASHINGTON -- As census workers gear up to count us, they are counting themselves lucky to be employed. This once-a-decade temporary work force is giving a timely boost to the job market. Census workers accounted for nearly a third of the jobs added in March, when hiring occurred at the fastest pace in three years...
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Second census notice to be mailed soon (3/28/10)Cape Girardeau County and Missouri are ahead of the national average on returning census forms, but some people may have been missed when the questionnaires were mailed and the federal government wants to count those people, too. A second mailing to households that have not returned their forms is due to go out in coming days, said Rich Gerdes, assistant regional Census Bureau manager in Kansas City. ...
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Cape Census office manager advises people to check worker ID badges (2/11/10)When Census Bureau field workers start hitting the streets in force beginning in March, residents should make sure that the person claiming to work for the federal headcounting agency has the proper identification, the local Census office manager said Wednesday...
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Census topic of discussion at First Friday Coffee (1/8/10)John McGowan, a member of the local 2010 census committee, will be the guest speaker today at the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce's First Friday Coffee. McGowan, who also is community impact director for the United Way of Southeast Missouri, will discuss the upcoming census. Topics will include employment opportunities, the form that people will fill out and the schedule for completion of the census form.
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State, local leaders encourage support for census count efforts (1/5/10)State and local leaders gathered at the Cape Girardeau census office Monday to drum up support for the upcoming headcount.
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Census Bureau to hire up to 1,000 in 25-county area (12/11/09)The U.S. Census Bureau plans to hire as many as 1,000 people in the area to fill temporary positions. Bureau officials said Thursday they are now interviewing candidates for 2010 census office and field positions in a 25-county region in southern Missouri. Pay ranges from $18 to $30 an hour for managers and from $8.50 to $15 an hour for nonmanagerial staff...