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Census will essentially conclude by the end of Sept.

The 2020 Census will essentially conclude by the end of September.

The director of the North Dakota Census Office said that includes self-reporting, as well as door-to-door contacts.

Kevin Iverson said originally, the plan was to have the Census completed during the summer.

"But those plans changed, due to COVID-19," Iverson said. "There was a proposal to extend the data collection into October, but the plan is to wrap things up September 30."

Iverson saids about 64 percent of the state's residents have self-responded, slightly below the national average. But he said the state is a little ahead on “non-response” follow-up, where census workers go door-to-door.

"An additional 22 percent of the state's households have been followed up on," Iverson said. "Statewide, about 86 percent of households have responded."

Iverson said he's comfortable that in the next few weeks, the state will be pretty close to, or completely done with, accounting for all the households in the state. He's encouraging people who haven’t yet been contacted to go online to census.gov and fill out the form.

"When people self-respond, they respond more accurately than having someone come to the door," Iverson said. "I think a lot of people, especially during the age of COVID, feel imposed upon by somebody coming to the door. It's just a lot easier."

Iverson said what’s at stake is the state’s share of federal dollars, which is based on population.

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