Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Population Down In Both City, County
The population total, according to new census figures, needs to go down on this Highway 30 sign on the east side of Kimball.
The 2020 census figures have been released, and the population of the city of Kimball from 2010 to 2020 decreased from 2,496 to 2,290, a loss of 8.3% of the total population.
Kimball County, meanwhile, experienced a 10.1% loss of people from 3,821 to 3,434. The county figures include Dix, Bushnell, and the rural parts of the county.
Like many local people, Mayor Keith Prunty was surprised by the current statistics.
"Wow, I am surprised," he said. "We do expect it to go up with all the new ventures; hopefully, the numbers will reverse themselves."
Meanwhile, Nebraska state Sen. Steve Erdman's response to the decline in population centered on the 49 unicameral seats. According to Erdman, each state legislator represents between 38,000 to 40,000 people; the district lines will be redrawn and the unicameral committee is working on this. He said this is a difficult process and cautioned people not to jump to any conclusions.
Article 1, Section 2 of the United States Constitution requires a count of the people or a census every 10 years in order to determine the number of U.S. Representatives, among other things. Nebraska has a population of 1,9633,333 with three representatives. Nebraska will neither gain nor lose any representation at the federal level.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population count is also used to allocate federal funds over the next ten years for community programs such as after-school programs, hospitals, roads, housing, disability, and senior citizens programs.
Counties throughout the Panhandle experienced a decrease in population. Cheyenne County suffered a 5.3% population decrease, Scotts Bluff County decreased 2.4%, and Banner County showed the slightest reduction in the area with a 2.3% downturn.
Anyone driving west on I-80 to Cheyenne has witnessed the growth of Laramie County, Wyoming. Laramie County's population increased over the past 10 years from 91,737 to 100,512, an increase of 9.9%.
Neighboring Weld County, Colorado, has blown the roof off their population with an increase of 30.1%, from 252,795 to 328,981. Even Morgan County, Colorado, experienced an upturn with a 3.4% increase in population.
Nebraska has a land area of 76,817.9 square miles and has a population density of 25.5. From 2010 to
2020, Nebraska has had an increase in the population of 7.4%. Although neighboring Colorado has more landmass, they have more people with a population density of 55.7 people per square mile.
Losing one representative each in the U.S. House will be California, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and West Virginia. Gaining one representative are Colorado, Florida, Montana, Oregon and North Carolina, and Texas will gain two seats. The population of Texas increased 15.9% over the past 10 years.
Local ag producer Sheila Newell responded to the census figures this way: "Kimball County is an agricultural based economy. Our county lacks economic diversification. There has been little change in the age structure of the county. There is also a migration of the youth and young families out of the county. An older community may be less attractive to new business. This in turn puts a rise in the dependency ratio on the agricultural producers."