Article Body
500 E. Capitol Ave.
Pierre, S.D. 57501
(605) 773-3212
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, July 20, 2011
CONTACT: Tony Venhuizen or Joe Kafka at 605-773-3212
Governor Designates State Census Data Center, State Demographer
PIERRE, S.D. – Gov. Dennis Daugaard has designated the Rural Life/Census Data Center at South Dakota State University as South Dakota’s State Census Data Center, making it the official representative of the U.S. Census Bureau in South Dakota and the census liaison with state and local governments.
The national State Data Center Program is a partnership between each state and the Census Bureau. The program began in 1978 to make census data available locally.
The State Census Data Center at SDSU receives all South Dakota census information in various formats and will disseminate the information to those who request it across the state; it also will provide technical assistance in understanding and application of 2010 census information.
“Census data is used for a variety of things, including congressional and legislative redistricting,” the Governor said. “It is also used to distribute funds for government programs, such as Medicaid, and to plan the right locations of schools, roads and other public facilities. In essence, it helps plan for many future needs.”
Gov. Daugaard has appointed Dr. Mike McCurry, an assistant SDSU professor in the Department of Sociology and Rural Studies, as the state demographer. McCurry can be contacted by email at Michael.McCurry@sdstate.edu or by phone at 605-688-4901. He can also be reached by writing Michael McCurry, SDSU Census Data Center, Scobey 202, Box 504, Brookings, SD 57007-1296.
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