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A2 UP FRONT
Thursday 4 January 2024

Several Midwestern cities are going to be counted again like it’s 2020

Continued from Front count — Altoona, Bondurant, The Village of Pingree Grove
Grimes, Johnston, Norwalk, outside Chicago has expe-
Some also believe that new Pleasant Hill and Waukee — rienced rapid growth, dou-
results from a second count are fast-growing suburbs of bling from more than 4,500
will open up their community Des Moines. The reason spe- residents in 2010 to more than
to new businesses by showing cial censuses are so popular 10,300 residents in 2020. Vil-
they have crossed a popula- in Iowa is because the state lage officials believe there will
tion threshold. uses the once-a-decade be 12,300 residents in 2024, so
“We anticipate a significant head count as the official the special census is needed
increase in population from population when it comes to to bring in an increased share
the special census, particu- funding based on population of state revenues, “versus
larly given that we have had size, said Gary Krob, coordina- waiting another six years for
a record building-permit tor for the State Data Center the 2030 Census,” said Laura
year,” said Marketa Oliver, at the State Library of Iowa. Ortega, the village clerk.
city administrator for Bondu- Other states between cen- University of Illinois students
rant, Iowa, a city of more than suses use annual population make up about half the pop-
8,700 residents in mid-2022, estimates for calculating how ulation of the college town
the last year figures are avail- much funding local govern- of Urbana and city officials
able, which is an 18% increase ments should get each year. maintain the 2020 census
over the count in 2020. “That means the 2020 census missed a lot of them.
Officials in Norwalk, Iowa, population is currently the of- During the 2020 census,
hope the second count ficial count for every city and places with large numbers
shows the city has surpassed county in Iowa,” Krob said. of students emptied out as
15,000 people, since that is “The only way to adjust your campuses shut down in-
the threshold typically used population count between person classes because of
as a rule of thumb in com- now and 2030 is to conduct a the COVID-19 pandemic.
mercial real estate for when special census with the Cen- Urbana’s expected mod-
a community can support a sus Bureau and then have est population gain for the
business like a supermarket. this new count certified by 2020 census ended up be-
“Once a city hits 15,000, the The bell tower at Altgeld Hall, one of the oldest buildings on the the Iowa Secretary of State.” ing a 7% decrease from the
market opens up tremen- University of Illinois' Urbana-Champaign campus, is seen, June The geography of the Illinois 2010 head count, with the
dously,” said Luke Nelson, 9, 2010, in Urbana, Ill. Associated Press cities and their reasons for largest decreases in student
Norwalk’s city manager. seeking a second count — neighborhoods near campus,
Unlike the 2020 census, the ing numbers won’t catch up ing from just over $370,000 McDonough, Pingree Grove, Mayor Diane Marlin said in
second counts won’t be with them until after the 2030 to almost $500,000 for the Urbana and Warrenville — are an email.
used for redrawing political census. communities. a little more scattershot than The uncounted students
districts or determining how Local, state and tribal gov- Some communities have al- in Iowa. are costing the city at least
many congressional seats ernments across the U.S. ready forged ahead with their Officials in Warrenville, a sub- $500,000 to $750,000 annually
each state gets. Instead, have until May 2027 to ask own do-it-yourself recounts, urb of Chicago with more in missing state and federal
they will be used to deter- for a special census from the unwilling to pay the price tag than 13,500 residents in 2020, funding, the mayor said. The
mine how much the commu- Census Bureau. While the tab for a bureau-organized spe- believe they can get an extra 2024 count in Urbana will be
nities will get in state funding for the 2020 head count was cial census. Others have chal- $1.2 million annually in fed- limited to neighborhoods that
that often is calculated by picked up by the federal lenged their numbers with the eral and state funding, based saw the biggest decreases.
population size. Communities government, the local mu- Census Bureau and gotten on the calculation that they “If we recapture our popula-
losing population in the past nicipalities have to foot the small wins. have added almost 1,000 tion through a more accurate
three years have nothing to bill for their special censuses. The cities in Iowa paying for new residents from several count, we recapture lost rev-
worry about — their declin- The cost isn’t cheap, rang- a Census Bureau-run second new housing developments. enue,” Marlin said.q

U.S. again renews protection for former Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo and top aide over Iran threats

one of his top aides, who have soared since the out- And Iran has blamed both
have been the target of break of Israel's war against for the killing of Soleimani.
persistent threats from Iran. Hamas in Gaza and esca- The notifications to Con-
The State Department no- lated further Wednesday gress, signed by Deputy
tified Congress late last after dozens of people Secretary of State for Man-
month that the threats were killed in blasts in Iran at agement Richard Verma,
against Pompeo and a memorial service for Iran marked the 16th time the
Trump administration Iran Revolutionary Guard com- State Department has ex-
envoy Brian Hook remain mander Qassem Soleimani, tended protection to Hook
"serious and credible" and who was assassinated in a since he left office in Janu-
continue to warrant gov- U.S. airstrike in Baghdad on ary 2021 and the 13th time
ernment-provided secu- Jan. 3, 2020. it has been extended to
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo waits for a television
interview at the Capitol in Washington on Nov. 7, 2023. rity details. The notifications Pompeo and Hook were Pompeo.
Associated Press are dated Dec. 19 but were the public faces of the U.S. The discrepancy arises be-
not transmitted to Congress "maximum pressure" cam- cause Pompeo, as a former
By MATTHEW LEE once again renewed tax- until Dec. 22. They were ob- paign against Iran after Cabinet secretary, auto-
AP Diplomatic Writer payer-funded protection tained by The Associated former President Donald matically had government
WASHINGTON (AP) — The for former Secretary of Press on Wednesday. Trump withdrew from the security for several months
Biden administration has State Mike Pompeo and Tensions in the Middle East Iran nuclear deal in 2018. after leaving office.q