April 21, 2010
April 21, 2010
More responses needed as competition with Ohio nears finish line
LANSING - Just one day before Michigan's challenge with Ohio for the highest mail-in participation rate in the 2010 Census comes to a close, both states are reporting that 75 percent of households have returned their census forms.
On Census Day, Governor Jennifer M. Granholm issued a challenge to Ohio Governor Ted Strickland in an effort to encourage 100 percent participation from Michigan citizens in the 2010 U.S. Census. Granholm and Strickland have agreed that the governor whose state has the higher percentage of census forms returned by mail by Earth Day, April 22, will donate a specimen of its state tree to the state with the lower rate of return. The tree exchange will take place on Arbor Day, April 30, and the governor receiving the tree will have it planted in a spot of his or her choosing. A photo of the governor and the tree will be publicly released.
"I issued the challenge to Ohio, because I know we love to compete here in Michigan," remarked Governor Granholm. "Our competitive spirit is second to none and we want to win. We want that photograph of Governor Strickland planting a Michigan White Pine."
Current updates on state and local census participation rates are available online at http://2010.census.gov/2010census/take10map/. According to the Census Bureau, the city of Livonia currently has the highest census participation rate in the nation at 86 percent (of locations with 50,000 people or more). Of the top 10 locations in this category, three are in Michigan - Livonia, Macomb Township, and Rochester Hills.
"We have a few hours left, and I know we can win," said Lieutenant Governor John D. Cherry. "What better victory than to have the cones of a Michigan White Pine falling to the ground in Ohio every autumn, every football season."
Anyone in Michigan without a census form can call 1-866-872-6868 (toll free) to provide their information to a census-taker over the phone. For every person in Michigan not counted in the census, the state loses $10,000 in federal funds over the next 10 years.
Only four other states currently have participation rates higher than Michigan and Ohio. Wisconsin has a current participate rate of 80 percent; Minnesota stands at 78 percent; Iowa registers at 77 percent; and Indiana logs in at 76 percent.
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