Jill Schramm/MDN Minot Mayor Shaun Sipma uses a census kiosk placed in MarketPlace Foods in March as Brian Billingsley with the Minot Complete Count Committee sits at an information table at left. The mobile kiosk, one of three that had been set up around the city, signed up 35 people during its four days of operation before shut down by the coronavirus pandemic.

A pandemic played havoc with plans to promote Minot’s complete count in the 2020 Census. However, the city’s Complete Count Committee continues to employ advertising strategies and hopes to yet use its kiosks and hold a census block party before the count ends Oct. 31, Brian Billingsley told the Minot City Council Monday.

Billingsley, community and economic development director for the City of Minot, said the census is important because federal funding that flows to the city depends on the count, as does representation the city has in the state Legislature. Achieving a population of 50,000 would entitle Minot to receive direct federal Community Development Block Grant funds.

As of Monday, Minot’s census response rate was 62.3%, ahead of the state average of 58.8% and Ward County’s 60.51%. Of Minot residents who have responded to the census, 89% did so online.

The census began March 12 but has delayed some planned activities and target dates due to the pandemic. Enumerators who were to begin going door to door May 11 to follow up on households that haven’t responded will now not perform that task until Aug. 11.

The last day to respond, July 31, has been pushed back to Oct. 31.

“So the good news is we still have five and a half months to get these people counted – the ones who have not signed up yet – so we have a lot of time in front of us,” Billingsley said.

Going forward, the Complete Count Committee wants to use promotional door hangers and grocery bag inserts remaining in its inventory to target neighborhoods with lower response rates.

The western portion of the city has the highest response rate at 75%. Areas that need targeting include downtown, southeast of downtown and in the northwest, which are below 60%.

The committee would use other remaining resources to purchase radio and social media advertising, city vehicle advertising, water bill inserts and more grocery inserts and pizza box stickers.

Of the committee’s $25,000 budget, $13,048 has been spent, primarily on advertising through grocery bag inserts, pizza box stickers, door hangers distributed through the local apartment association and advertising on city buses and garbage trucks. Money also went to kiosk events and items such as banners and posters. Budgeted income included $8,700 from the state through the North Dakota Department of Commerce.

“We eventually want to reopen the census kiosks and try to get more people signed up for the census,” Billingsley said. Kiosks would be placed at grocery stores, food banks, soup kitchens, Minot Housing Authority properties, churches and schools during fall registration.

Anticipating schools will be back in session in the fall, the plan is to hold a block party to encourage census signups. There will also be an effort to sign up oil field workers by promoting the census at oil field safety meetings.

Minot’s Complete Count Committee originally sought to assist Minot Air Force Base and Minot State University in their counts, conduct outreach to oilfield workers and ensure a count of snowbirds.

Minot Air Force Base’s response rate is 40%, but Billingsley said the Census Bureau and military have yet to fully promote the count on the bases.

People can sign up for the census at My2020Census.gov. People also can go to 2020Census.gov/jobs to apply for census jobs that remain open.