By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Census workers focus on Barton County
census rep Wendy Prosser
Census Response Representative Wendy Prosser and Census employee Steve Hale are shown at the Great Bend Public Library, where they offered U.S. Census questionnaire assistance on Tuesday. Prosser said people who haven’t completed the 2020 Census questionnaire will also be able to get help Thursday, Aug. 13, at the Great Bend Summer Street Stroll Farmers Market. - photo by Susan Thacker

Representatives from the 2020 U.S. Census held a questionnaire assistance event Tuesday at the Great Bend Public Library. Local resident Wendy Prosser, working as the Census response representative, was joined by Steve Hale from Gardner, who is a senior partnership specialist at the U.S. Census Bureau.

The event was created to help anyone who hasn’t yet answered the 2020 Census Questionnaire.

Statewide, 66.8% of Kansas residents have completed the Census, Hale said. 

Only 64% of Barton County residents have done so.

Prosser said she’ll also have a spot at Thursday’s Great Bend Summer Street Stroll Farmers Market, which takes place from 4-7 p.m. Aug. 13 on the south side of the Barton County Courthouse.

“We’ll have equipment available to help them,” Prosser said. The events allow people who don’t have a smartphone or internet access to complete the questionnaire.

Census takers will soon begin visiting households that have not responded to the 2020 Census. Those who have not yet completed the questionnaire are encouraged to “stop the knock at your door” by responding now.

U.S. Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham released a statement on Wednesday about the bureau’s goal of delivering a complete and accurate 2020 Census count by the end of the year.

“To date, 93 million households, nearly 63% of all households in the nation, have responded to the 2020 Census,” he said. “If you know someone who has not yet responded, please encourage them to do so today online at 2020census.gov, over the phone or by mail.” To complete the questionnaire by phone, call 844-330-2020 for assistance in English or 844-468-2020 for assistance in Spanish.

To respond by mail, return the paper questionnaire sent to your home.  The return address of a legitimate 2020 Census questionnaire will show: U.S. Census Bureau, National Processing Center, 100 Logistics Avenue, Jeffersonville, IN 47114. The enclosed envelope for mailing the completed paper questionnaire will be addressed to either Jeffersonville, IN or Phoenix, AZ, where the Census Bureau has mail processing centers.